Snowdrop carpet photographed by my friend, Gill Henwood
Lakeland carpet thoughts :
Seven years on… the old snowdrops have drifted for a hundred years or more. Now cleared of overgrowth (though brambles will keep growing due to the seeds in the ground), they are a dancing carpet – here in the gentle February rain.
The sticks mark an edge so we don’t tread on the shoots…
In the dell meadow beyond, we’ve planted a black walnut tree and a hornbeam, both native. The grass is full of old wood anemones running through it (creeping a little further each year, now they have some light).
Joy in wet mid February!
Gill.
February tiptoes across a winter landscape, dressed in white array, luring us away from cold depression of dark, dank January, with dazzling brightness; promising the hope of Spring beyond.
Ah! What trembling beauty lays a carpet of expectant joy!
In the past, the days before Lent were used to eat up all the food in the house which were traditionally ‘banned’ during the period of Fasting. It was the period of ‘Carnival’ (Carnivale) which is still popular in parts of Southern Europe. One of the most popular being in Venice with its parades and fancy dress and general merriment. ‘Carnivale’ means, literally, ‘farewell to meat’ – a reminder that in Lent meat was not eaten. The Monday before Ash Wednesday is known as Collop Monday because on this day, any meat remaining in the house was fried into collops (like a medallion) and eaten. A traditional recipe involves bacon collops with eggs. Then on the day before Lent, Shrove Tuesday, the remaining eggs were used to produce pancakes (a tradition still extremely popular). Like meat, eggs were forbidden in Lent. Shrove Tuesday has all sorts of customs attached to it as a result.
When I lived in the countryside in a place called Whitechapel in North Lancashire, the children were given a half day holiday to go round the village calling at the farms and homes. They asked politely, please, a pancake!’ I think in the past they received just that but eventually people opted for easier, and more healthy, food. They were each given an orange. No doubt a lot of juice was made that day!
Shrove Tuesday was also the day when people confessed their sins and made themselves ready for the Lenten Fast. The word ‘Shrove’ comes from ‘shriven’ meaning ‘to confess and receive God’s absolution/ forgiveness’.
Nowadays some of the festivity continues but the meaning behind it is lost. Lent is no longer a time for absolute fasting though many ‘give up’ things like chocolate or alcohol. (Sometimes the motive for this abstinence is to do with losing weight for the summer!). Fasting is a good spiritual discipline for all sorts of reasons. It is meant to train the body so that the soul is free to communicate more closely with God; it is a reminder of our Jesus’s desert time when, after fasting he was tempted by the devil and resisted—and we are called to resist the temptations that beset us. Going without food of any kind and perhaps eating more simply at all times helps us to identify with so many in the world who are suffering from malnutrition—people we can help if we give the money saved by avoiding luxury foods to Third World charities and, increasingly, local Food Banks.
More than anything, fasting is also about giving up earthly things in order to concentrate on heavenly ones. A proper Fast is accompanied by a deeper praying. In our modern world we could give up things other than food—such as watching less television—and using the time saved to read a spiritual book. A negative should always be accompanied by a positive. Lent can be a time to ‘take on’ something as well as ‘give up.’ Lent is a positive time. Lent is not a time of gloom but as the word itself means—a spring time for spiritual growth. An exciting time of opportunity to spend more time with God.
For all of us, whether we are religious or not, there is a lot of value of giving something up that would improve our inner being. I remember that, some years ago, the Vicar on the Radio Programme, The Archers, suggested that people should give up gossiping about others. Negative and disparaging comments don’t really affect those about whom they are made unless they hear them. They do, however, destroy the character of the people who participate in such gossip.
Here’s a story.
A certain monk couldn’t wait to tell his abbot the rumour he had heard in the market place. “Wait a minute”, said the abbot, “what you plan to tell us – is it true?” “I don’t think it is.” “Is it useful?” “No, it isn’t” “Is it funny?” “No.” “Then why should we be hearing it?”
The Vicar of Ambridge finished his sermon on a positive note. He encouraged his parishioners, and, by extension, us, to do random acts of kindness. We live in a world which many think is cruel and unkind but there are so many acts of goodness happening all the time. They don’t get reported in the media but we all know that they happen and I dare say most, if not all, of us do them. Our world would be a much better place if our random actsof kindness become even more frequent.
Valentine’s Day dawn over Hawkshead Church. Photograph by Gill Henwood.
Today we celebrate St Valentine who was martyred in Rome about the year 269AD. At that time there was a persecution of Christians under the reign of the Emperor Claudius. Valentine’s association with expressions of love to those special to you isn’t really known. In Medieval times it was thought that on this day birds began to mate but there are other ideas.
Today it is associated with the sending of cards to someone you would like to express your love to. However, as there is a custom that this is sent anonymously, it rather defeats the object! It is also one of those festivals when purveyors of love signs – flowers, chocolates, cards etc – encourage us to express our love in some tangible way. Obligingly those who supply these needs increase the cost of purchase, just to prove that you really mean it!
The One who truly expresses His deep love for us is God, though as ever, he pays the price Himself. God is busily renewing our world at this time and all around us are signs of His love in the joy of creation beginning to show itself in the bursting forth of new life. Valentine’s day can therefore be a day when we give thanks to God for creating us, loving us and sustaining us.
There is much that is dark in our world right now so it is good to be able to pause from our anxiety, pain and despair to look also at what is hopeful and what sustains us in the depth of our souls. The Valentine’s day message from God is that we are to love one another as He loves us. That is what Jesus tells us and it is when we put that into practice we have already turned the world into a lighter and brighter and more loving place.
Meanwhile, thanks to my friend Gill Henwood, God has sent us a Valentine’s card full of beauty and vision. Look around you. God really does want you to be filled with His joy and love. Give Him thanks.
Here’s another reminder of the beauty of Creation, and below it, a suggested text for your Valentine’s Card to God. (Don’t forget to sign it – Amen!)
[Mr G]
Creator God, We acknowledge that as your handiwork, we stand alongside all that you have made. Trees and rivers, mountains and valleys, soaring birds and scuttling creatures, all are held within your care. May we grow in our love and appreciation for the fabulous variety around us; and may our awe and wonder draw us closer to the natural world, and through it to you, the God of all things. We pray in Jesus name, Amen
Prayer by Revd Cate Williams, Mission and Evangelism Officer Diocese of Gloucester
On April 22nd1993, a Black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, aged 18, stood at a bus stop in Eltham, South London, with his friend, Duwayne Brooks. A group of white youths appeared and attacked them – for no reason other than they were Black. As a result of this racist attack, Stephen died. That was 30 years ago and it began a struggle for Justice that is not yet fully resolved.
Two particular things marked the ensuing 30 years. The first was that Stephen’s family and friends had to struggle against great odds for Justice. The investigation into Stephen’s killing by the London Metropolitan Police has attracted a great deal of criticism over the years, with a bungling investigation, a disregard for evidence before them and a scandalous failure by them of transparency on a monumental scale. Despite a Coroner returning a verdict of ‘unlawful killing’, it took the Lawrence family 18 years to secure partial justice when two of the five assailants were sentenced a jailed for the crime. Not everything has been resolved.
The second result of the murder was that in 1995, through the determination of the Lawrence Family to honour Stephen’s name, and assistance from the Methodist church they attended, Racial Justice Sunday was initiated. Stephen’s mother Doreen (now Baroness Lawrence) has written:
“My fight for justice for Stephen, in many ways, has been a fight for justice for us all, and is driven by a core belief that every person, regardless of their background, should have the opportunity and support to flourish in a society that treats them withkindness, fairness and respect.”
The struggle for that to be to be fully established continues. In 30 years a lot has changed in attitudes towards Black people. The Movement, Black Lives Matter is helping, as are the churches but, as Baroness Lawrence has noted:
Too many young people still struggle to succeed because they are disadvantaged by factors beyond their control, and too many of the institutions upon which they should be able to rely, are still infected with institutional racism and the structures of biasand discrimination that uphold it.”
Inspired by Stephen’s story, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has taken the Lawrence Family experience as the basis for this year’s theme for Racial Justice Sunday. In particular, to help people to Remember, Reflect and Respond.
• Remember the importance of racial justice;
• Reflect on human diversity and thank God for it;
• Respond by working to end injustice, racism and ignorance through prayer and action.
To help us to do this, a wealth of material for prayer and reflection has been produced by CBTI which is accessible from their website and through the publication of a book Race for Justice, offering in-depth explorations of how Race matters have been addressed by churches, congregations and individuals over the past 25 years. It is available from Amazon at £9.99
God of life and love, In Your infinite wisdom You created all things to live in harmony. You choose to make us in the image of the Creator of the cosmos – Born of the same imagination And lovingly crafted from the same dust, You breathed all peoples into being, Blessing us with different gifts and talents, A tapestry of cultures and stories Interwoven into Your story of all creation.
We thank You for our world, Tired and groaning though it may be, But it is still beautiful and filled with so much potential To reflect and display Your Glory. Help us to work together for the care of our shared home.
We thank You that You have blessed us with each other, Every nation and community, filled with beautiful and gifted people, Each called to be fully who You made them to be, And all called to be co-workers with You.
We thank You for the gift of immigrants and refugees And the many blessings they bring to our communities.
We thank You for the gift of our young people, Filled with hopes and fears, dreams and ambitions –
May they inspire and challenge us to be better. We thank You for those who have been in our communities for many years, The storykeepers and griots, the history makers and caretakers – May their experience and wisdom enrich our lives.
We thank You for the diverse nature of Your people, Each imbued with dignity and each worthy of value and respect.
Thank You for inspiring so many to lift up their voices against the sin of racism. But we still lament that there are so many voices silenced or ignored, Shouted over or made to feel irrelevant. Move in power, God of justice, So that we would no longer have to witness violence and loss of life, As with the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence; So that we would no longer have to witness miscarriages of justice and misuses of power,
As with the unlawful killing of George Floyd; So that we would no longer have to fight against systems of control and oppression To make people understand that every human being has dignity That needs to be seen, recognised and respected.
Lord, we thank You that we can meet together And give thanks and praise for the progress made, That we can sing in protest of injustice, That we can cry out in anguish, giving voice to our lament, That we can pray in hope together for a better future. We seek the power of Your Holy Spirit To guide, empower and sustain us.
Mr G's Ponderings 