Reflections
Rev. Dr. Catherine Smith
Catherine lives a life of contemplation in action. This is a way that intentionally cultivates space to notice and receive the Holy Presence in all things. From that receptive space and encounter all vital action is set in motion. This is as important for the identity and life of our churches as it is for…
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The telling of children
On the news we hear that two Israeli children, held hostage by Hamas, but also by Isreal in its avid pursuit of genocide. Perhaps they were murdered by Hamas, perhaps they died of starvation like many Palestinian children. Food and health care are both more than scarce. The death of these children is heart-breaking news. …
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Fireworks and the Darkness
I love to watch fireworks. They pull me into a place of awe.Standing in the darkness, I am watching for pure delight. Colour shot into the ordinary dark,for nothing but celebration,holds something of the transformative qualities of play. Fireworks remind me that life is about more than the practical,the explicable,the next task,the next outcome,the managed moment,the…
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Advent Ember Days: The Time of Tender Light
(The Wednesday, Friday & Saturday following St. Lucy’s Day which falls on December 13th.) This is an excerpt from the Advent/December section of the resource Entwining: Ember Days and the Circling Seasons. It is the first day of three in this season. You can read more about Ember Days here. You can purchase the complete…
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Grief Should Have It’s Day
This for many of us is a gut blow of a day. It’s hard to catch a breath. The very air we move in seems heavy. We’re frightened and full of grief. Perhaps too full of grief to be angry, though that may come. Or numbness, that may come too, even more numbness than we’ve…
Read MoreWhat I hope for . . .
Today,the fading fibre of my fatherheavy-makes my heart. And there is more. The thick, malignant possibilityof a draining democracy;the stoppers all are out. Circles more and more of politicians’ speechand less of limbless children,mothers’ gasping griefand fathers’ dust-covered diggingwith no end. We hear breaking news that is broken,thin,repetitive.It is hoped, by some, perhaps,manageable. But what…
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Hallowing What Shines Through
It’s early morning and the sky is a thinning dark; the sense of light is in it. It is a familiar long loved fabric washed over and over, the colour under the colour showing through. It is the first of the Hallows Days, the Triduum of Thin Days. Hallows, according to etymonline comes from Old…
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Soft Blossoming Within
These days it feels as though touch is ever more important. I need the soft mulch of the labyrinth under my feet, the cool rain drops left on the deck, the stone in my hand, the basil picked for the sauce. In the midst of the torrent images of war, and genocide, floods, fires and…
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Swimming Dreams
I went down in the afternoonto the seawhich held me, until I grew easy. About tomorrow, who knows anything.Except that it will be time, again,for the deepening and quieting of the spirit. Mary OliverIt’s been a year; a year with its own particular labours of spirit, mind, and body. Each one’s weight shared with the others. Each…
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Beautiful, Beloved, Beginning
Music Oh My Children Sara Thomsen Prayer: (In unison)Holy One,May we come to this momentas though we were a gardenand You the softening rainas though we were the blossomsand You the orchardas though we were sandand You the tide, offering herself to the shore. May we come to this momentas though we were a bodyand…
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Glittering Pandemonium
Opening to Pentecost Spirit lets in grief and joy. On Friday I watched the news of the shooting at Santa Fe High School as many of us did and felt the spirit of despair lapping at my heart like a cold tide. In the midst of my sorrow, for those who experienced the violence of…
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