Tag: Gill Henwood

Learning of God from Island Saints

Sunrise from Lindisfarne over the Farne Islands, St Cedd’s day, October 26th 2025. Photo by Gill Henwood.

October 26th is St. Cedd’s Day:

The little that is known about Saint Cedd comes to us mainly from the writing of Saint Bede in his Ecclesiastical History Of The English People.
Cedd was born in the kingdom of Northumbria and brought up on the island of Lindisfarne by Saint Aidan. He was one of four brothers: Chad (originally Ceadda), Cynibil and Caelin being his siblings. The first datable reference to Cedd by Bede makes clear that he was a priest by the year 653. It is likely that Cedd was oldest of the brothers and was acknowledged the head of the family. While he was alive, he seems to have taken the lead, while Chad was his chosen successor.
Cedd was sent out from Lindisfarne to take the Gospel to Essex, landing after a sea journey at Bradwell where, today, there is still a Chapel built on the foundation of Cedd’s monastery.
As well as this mission, Cedd also established a monastery at Lastingham in the Cleveland Hills. From here he established a mission in North Yorkshire. When he died of the Plague, his brother Chad took over. Today, at Lastingham, the crypt chapel is said to date back to Cedd’s time.

Learning of God from Island Saints.

I come to this Holy place
where, when the tide turns,
silence and conversation
meld into stillness.
God is here.
His sanctuary, enclosed by the sea,
welcomes those who are seeking after meaning.

What am I looking for, here on Lindisfarne,
where the spirit of Aidan
gathered together those chosen by God,
on whom the Saint poured out his soul,
his faith, into their waiting hearts?

I sense and seek the company
of those who first prayed here
through the storms of the sea, the blowing of the winds
sweeping over the Headland Heugh,
in the strange light of pale day
and the fading shadows of eventide.
In silence and in prayer; through learning and in listening;
by becoming steeped in God’s word;
twelve young monks, were inspired to mission the good,
Gospel news, of Jesus Christ.

Cedd and Chad, Cynibil, Caelin and companions
allowed Jesus to be etched upon their hearts,
discovering a love which must be shared.
How else would others inhale God’s blessing
and love in their own lives
and cause a world’s darkness to be bathed and transformed
by the dazzling light of God’s Spirit?

And I, kneeling somewhere between the waves and shore
of my inner being, must hear anew this call
to open the Gospel pages illuminated by God within my soul,
that through me also
God may mission to others His amazing and saving Love.

Mr. G.
St Cedd’s Day 2025.

Dawn over Lindisfarne, taken from Bamburgh by Gill Henwood. St Cedd’ s Day 2025

After the Rain

My friend Gill Henwood has been reflecting on Midsummer life in the Lake District, Cumbria.
She sent me her reflection in the form of a poem with a P.S. about Nature at work. When she sent it, we were all awaiting the August Summer Storm christened by the weather people as Floris. The North of England, the whole of Scotland and the Western Isles as far as Orkney are bearing the brunt of it, but already things are improving in Cumbria.
Gill invites us to ponder on the beauty, stillness and calm, which can so often follow a storm. This is not just true of Nature but also in our own lives too. Sometimes we are buffeted about by what life throws at us but God is always near, ready to throw his rainbow cloak of love in a great arc over us. We do, however, like Elijah in 1 Kings 19, be still to hear and know God is there for you.
Here’s Gill’s poem:

AFTER THE RAIN. Gill Henwood

The winds are soughing
In the beech tree canopy.
Sound ripples away
As the waves on a beach.

Lichens reach into the air
Dewdrops and sun
A rich garden
Growing on the stump.

Badgers have clawed
Bark for grubs,
Dragonflies shimmer
Past, in the sun shafts.

Life is renewed
The seasons turn again
After rain, the sun.
After storms, the calm.

And throughout, the
still
small
voice.

1 Kings 19:11-13

P.S.
The dragonfly, emerald and gold, dazzled me. S/he flew on but, having stopped, I looked. Noticed. A miniature garden on the decaying tree stump. Was s/he a fleeting messenger? “Remember, it’s Lammas…”.
The farmer was baling the hay last night at 10pm, headlights on the tractor, collecting the bales before overnight rain. First fruits, in the sheep-dwelt fells: the grass harvest for winter feed.
And for all the local creatures of hedges, dry stone walls, woods and tarns: plentiful seeds, berries, nuts, leaves. A harvest festival is quietly underway.

[Lughnasad is the Celtic name for Lammas, time of the ‘first fruits’ of harvest. (Newgrange website) Lammas is the Christian Festival on August 1^st when we give thanks for Harvest that is coming and offer to God the gifts of the Land.]

Gill Henwood
posted by Mr G. 5th August 2025

A rare and joyous beauty

The Dog-Wood Rose. Photo by Gill Henwood.

“The hedgerows are arching with dog rose blooms, buzzing with bees and heralding summer.”

My friend Gill has sent me this photo of a dog-rose growing in the Lakeland hedgerow near her home. It is a sign that summer is bursting forth in our part of the world, even though June rain storms try to tell us otherwise!
The dog-rose is perfect for pollinators such as bees and later in autumn, as its blooms are transformed into rose-hips, it is a source of food for birds.

The legend that gave it its name is attributed to ancient times. It is suggested that the Roman naturalist, Pliny, encouraged a belief that the plant’s roots could cure the bite of a mad dog. Hence its botanical name is ‘Rosa Canina’. The plant was popular for treating bites from rabid dogs in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.
Another view is that the name is related to the hooked prickles of the plant which have a look of dog’s teeth. It’s thorny, unruly stems make it an ideal hedge plant, giving it a density which allows it to do it’s job of protection.
It may, of course, simply mean wild rose, of which there are several species, to differentiate it from cultivated and posher roses! Maybe that could remind us that wild beauty is a God-given pointer that Nature has its own way of painting our world with a rare and joyous beauty.

This can be related to some of the meanings of the dog-rose.
One such meaning is that of ‘Purity’, especially in a religious and spiritual sense.
It is also known for its ‘resilience’ in that, whilst having delicate flowers, it can withstand harsh conditions.
In affairs of the heart the Dog-Rose has been linked with ‘love and beauty’, in many cultures and mythologies. In Victorian times the flowers were given as a sign of affection which, if returned, suggested an interest in marriage. You can always trust the Victorians to find ways of expressing sentimentality.

Though there is no specific reference to the Dog-Rose in the Bible, it has been linked with the Rose of Sharon In the Song of Solomon 2:1, we read : I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys.
Links have also been drawn with Isaiah 11: I – a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse and from his roots a bud shall blossom, which has been interpreted as a reference to Jesus.
There is no real link with the Dog-Rose in either passages and the Rose of Sharon is usually taken to refer to the plant, Hibiscus Synacus.

However, in one symbolic meaning of the plant, there is a direct link with Jesus Christ. The Dog-Rose is strongly associated with Rebirth-and Resurrection. This is partly because of its association with love and purity but it is also linked with a legend about the Crucifixion of Jesus.
In this legend there is a suggestion that the tree was once very large and the wood was strong. It was thus able to be used in Crucifixion.
According to the story it was the dogwood tree that was used to make the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. Because of this, it is said that God both cursed and blessed it.
It was destined to be forever small so that it could never grow strong and tall again and be used as a cross for crucifixion. Also, its branches would be crooked and twisted which would make it useless for such a purpose.
Then God also blessed it. It would produced beautiful flowers each Spring, white or pink, as a sign of Easter glory. God also made its petals in the shape of the Cross, each flower having four such petals. In the centre was a crown of gold.

Like all legends there are things that could be disputed but, legends are never made-up stories nor fanciful thoughts. They always contain a truth which, whilst sometimes clothed in mystery, leads us into a deeper understanding. God is always bigger than the words and thoughts we have of him and we would be wise to see His signs and hear His language in Nature and in the Cosmos and also in our hearts where God’s Spirit constantly dwells. So the lovely Dog-Rose has much to teach us and we who seek God’s truth have always more to learn.

In this spirit, I print below an anonymous version of the Legend.
Make of it what you will but don’t just dismiss it for it may be that otherwise you will, to quote the poet Frances Thompson, you may miss the many splendid thing.

In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew
To a stately size and a lovely hue.
‘Twas strong and firm, its branches interwoven.
For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen.
Seeing the distress at this use of their wood
Christ made a promise which still holds good:
“Never again shall the dogwood grow
Large enough to be used so.
Slender and twisted, it shall be
With blossoms like the cross for all to see.
As blood stains the petals marked in brown,
The blossom’s centre wears a thorny crown.
All who see it will remember Me
Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree.
Cherished and protected, this tree shall be
A reminder to all of My agony.

[Anonymous]

Mr. G. 6th June 2025

Keep me as the apple of your eye

Morning near Tarn Hows, Lake District. Photo by Gill Henwood

An early morning reflection from the Lake District
by my friend, Gill Henwood.

Out early morning, the dogs have swum in Tarn Hows
and we’re returning through the woods above Coniston.
The birds are singing all around us,
in the unfurling tender canopy of leaves and tree blossom.
No wind: the day is rapidly heating in the nearly-summer sun.

A cuckoo sounds across the fells. We heard two yesterday in Little Langdale
… heralds of summer (and danger, if you are a future foster parent bird sitting on eggs).
The shade of the delicate canopy brought to mind:

“Keep me as the apple of your eye
Hide me under the shadow of your wings.”

Psalm 17.8

The peace and calm of protecting shade, the ‘wings’ of myriad mature trees above.

But other wings break into the birdsong (though they ignore them).
Fighter jets are training, flying circuits below the fell tops, preparing for defence,
reminding us that peace and calm have a terrible cost.
Thinking of Ukraine, the Middle East, people in conflict wherever.
May they one day hear the birds sing, the cuckoo call, and find shelter under shading trees.

Till then, may our prayer be with the psalmist,(above)
prayed at Night Prayer, Compline, the traditional offices, prayed at Night Prayer, Compline, the traditional offices.

Gill Henwood.
May 2025