Tag: Hope

Hope rises from the ashes

The old earthquake damaged Cathedral at Christchurch, New Zealand
and below The vista looking east, of the temporary cardboard Cathedral [G H]

Thoughts in Holy Week
from the Revd Dr Gill Henwood

My phone chose a Christchurch photo this morning for me. Herewith the damaged cathedral (Photo taken 2020) and the temporary one made with cardboard roof struts I believe.

The white chairs installation (see below) is for the 185 who died in the earthquake- all different chairs, all unique people. Freshly repainted and evocative, in the cleared wasteland around the temporary cathedral.

Loss, hope, death, resurrection, darkness, bright sunlight and blue sky. Juxtaposed. Past. And now….

Nearby was a war memorial for NZ troops in the world wars. Next to it was a smaller memorial for people lost in 1919 by the Spanish Flu epi/pandemic.
Today, all these losses resonate in Europe and also globally, keenly, acutely, in the present. 

As we approach Jerusalem in Holy Week once more, may God give strength to all who are suffering and bereaved in our world now – through natural disasters, war and pandemic – to endure and trust that in Love there is a better way. We are ‘keening’ (mourning and lamenting) worldwide, drawn into the reality of suffering and death in the timeless journey of Holy Week.

May each one – in time, with others, together – find hope and, as the Light of Christ comes in the darkness of Easter Eve. May each glimpse even the possibility of solace and, one day, the renewing recreating joy of resurrection.

Gill Henwood

In love is our strength

My friend Joyce has sent me this lovely picture tweet. She writes,
This sleepy wood pigeon is enjoying the warmth of the sun and the beauty of the blossom before it is blown away. With my love and prayers. God bless, Joyce

There is a call to stillness as nature and the natural world bring forth the joy of creation. The blossom heralds Spring and, though fleeting, it is a sign of hope.

We all know that there is so much darkness and despair right now. Ukraine weighs heavily on our hearts and other places are unsettled. The girls denied an education this week in Afghanistan are only part of the problem there, as children and families suffer increasingly from malnutrition.

We need to remain aware, too, that there are many in Russia who oppose the war at their peril and yet are brave enough to speak out. They too need our prayerful support.

So whilst all around us there is destruction and fragility, it is good to be reminded that the earth still blossoms with beauty and the promise of new life.

Two years ago we went into the first Lockdown against Covid.  That virus in differing forms is still with us. I myself am battling it at the moment, as are about a million others in the UK alone. Maybe we didn’t really learn the lessons. Maybe we should have taken up the opportunities of a new way of living and so developed new values by which to be truly human and truly at one with each other and creation.

At the time of the first lockdown, the artist, David Hockney, painted a series of paintings. Alongside them he said, Do remember, they can’t cancel the Spring! Maybe, in the midst of all that is besetting and destroying humanity in a maelstrom of the demonic, we need to pray and work for that truth.

Spring is God’s time of renewal and re-birth. To give us that gift, however, he had to take on the demonic of evil by dying on the Cross. It was the triumph of love and light against evil and darkness and, in the words of the poet T.S.Eliot, it cost God not less than everything. For Ukraine and other places of suffering, that is a personal reality for many right now, not least their inspirational and dedicated President, Volodymyr Zelensky. It is costing the Ukrainian Nation not less than everything.

Many of us are deeply humbled by the people of Ukraine and by the multitude of people who are receiving the victims of the war by opening their countries, their hearts and their homes with a generosity, compassion and love which is rapidly enfolding those for whom life has changed so deeply.
In such hospitality the demonic is being confronted and in many ways defeated by love.
God is enthusing and empowering that love.

Our little wood pigeon surrounded by blue sky and gorgeous blossom is, in its own way, a reminder that not only has spring not been cancelled but also, neither has love. It may be very fragile but it cannot be broken.

[Mr G]

Little birds of Clothall

I’ve just been to church in Clothall, near Baldock.

Every year, at the beginning of Advent, there is a wonderful Advent Service with music, imaginative readings, beautiful prayers and all the enthusiasm of people intent on praising God at the beginning of the very special season of Advent. A season, which oddly this year, we are more free to celebrate and enter into its meaning.

So often, Advent is dwarfed by all the hype leading up to Christmas and we miss out on so much of preparation, not so much for the feasting and revelry and frenetic shopping, but the real Preparation. Advent is a time when We are prepared for Christmas, as one of the clergy reminded us tonight.

As we continue to be affected by the Virus and the change in life lockdowns of various types bring, the Advent message and celebration has so much to say to us and to uplift our hearts, minds, souls at this time.

I say I went to Church at Clothall, but this year it was a ‘virtual’ visit by way of Zoom. But somehow, those clever Christians there made it just as extra special as it usually is. We even had a live demonstration of making an Advent Ring. A talented lady made it look so easy! (but it’s not!) Thankfully, her husband was on hand to turn off the smoke alarm when the first Candle was lit and set it off! That too, brought its own contribution to a unique service.

Above you will see a detail of some of the Clothall birds in the East Window.
They’ve been strutting their stuff since the 14th century, I think. They have danced through quite a lot then! And that includes a lot of dark days in our human journey. They’re still there, so hopefully, they can encourage us that, indeed all this shall pass and we will be enriched, renewed and, even maybe set on fire like that Advent candle, by God’s love and the demonstration of it in the birth of our Saviour.

Sing and strut with the Birds of Clothall this Advent! And, as our friends in Sweden say, Glad första Advent, kära vänner!
(Happy first day of Advent, dear friends!)

Mr. G

Moving On

I was reminded of this prayer reflection by my friend Jo who sent it to me. It was originally written by Barbara Glasson, President of the Methodist Conference.

Given the negative news we have received today (12th September) about the spike in Coronavirus infections, and the importance of social distancing and wearing face masks, we need to also hold on to a bigger and more hopeful focus.

In whatever way you can, may you ponder what the words say and, despite everything, become a beacon of hope to those you have contact with.

The photo is by Piers Northam of flowers in my garden

[GC]