Prayer for a Pandemic

Prayer by Cameron Bellm

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Second on the right....

J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, was born here in Kirriemuir. The wee red toun of Kirrie is full of reminders of the boy who never grew up. I came across this bench up at the Neverland Play Park. It reads, 'Second to the right' said Peter 'and then straight on till morning'. These are the directions that Peter gives to Wendy for Neverland. 

We may all need help with direction in our lives at different times.   Often talking to wise friends, praying or reflecting on God's word can give us the clarity we need to move forward. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you".

Prayer is like watching for the kingfisher

Prayer is like watching for the kingfisher 

by Ann Lewin

Prayer is like watching for the kingfisher.

All you can do is

be there where he is likely to appear, and

wait.

Often nothing much happens;

there is space, silence and

expectancy.

No visible signs, only the

knowledge that he’s been there

and may come again.

Seeing or not seeing cease to matter,

You have been prepared.

But when you’ve almost stopped

expecting it, a flash of brightness

gives encouragement.

A Step Along The Way

Every year our church walks along the Ministers Walk between Glen Prosen and Glen Clova. Gordon (my husband) and I are pictured above on this year's walk. We have a service in Prosen Church at the beginning and a communion service at Clova Church at the end of the walk. Physical walking and spiritual walking are often closely linked. There is a well-known prayer called 'A Step along the way that offers us powerful reflections as we step out along our way today:-

 A Step Along The Way

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent
enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of
saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an
opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master
builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw


*This prayer was composed by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw, drafted for a homily by Card. John Dearden in Nov. 1979 for a celebration of departed priests. As a reflection on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Romero, Bishop Untener  Bishop Untener included in a reflection book a passage titled “The mystery of the Romero Prayer.” The mystery is that the words of the prayer are attributed to Oscar Romero, but they were never spoken by him.

Is your snow-globe shaken?

I don't know how many times I've been asked the question recently "Are you all set for Christmas?"  The question of course is about cards being written, parcels being posted, shopping being done, cake being made, turkey ordered and so on. The question picks up on the frantic nature that we find ourselves in of getting organised for Christmas Day. The general rushing around, queueing in queues at post offices and supermarkets, filling freezers, locating the wrapping paper, sellotape and scissors are all part of this maelstrom of  preparation.

It all reminds me of the snow-globe. That wonderful glass ball that used to amaze and delight me as a child. It was so much fun - shaking it and letting the snow gradually fall and then settle at the bottom. The calm, the storm and then back to the calm again.

The few weeks leading up to Christmas are like that snow storm for many of us. The flurry of activity that can send us spinning. But, there may be time in each day to let the snow gradually fall and settle. David Adams wrote this caim prayer - a circling prayer that can give and sense of peace and calm.

Circle me O God

Keep hope within

Despair without

Circle me O God

Keep peace within

Keep turmoil out.

Circle me O God

Keep calm within

Keep storms without.

Circle me O God

Keep strength within

Keep weakness out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May your storms, in whatever form they take, be without and may you find calm within.

,

A Highland blessing

I was going to say that I was attracted to this picture because it had great ap'peel' for me - but, I really shouldn't as I'm always in trouble for my bad puns!

Picking yourself up and carry on. That reminds me of the lyric from the old song 'pick yourself up, brush yourself down, and start all over again'. Sometimes that is easier than others. There are days when all we have done is trip up a bit. Other days we have fallen, hurt ourselves and are a bit battered and bruised. Then there are the days when we are so flat out that we wonder if we can ever get back on our feet again.

Perhaps from experience we have learned what it takes to do just that, to get back up and pick up the threads of life again. There may be certain people we lean on. There may be pieces of music that we turn to. There may be activities that take us out of ourselves long enough to get some strength back. For some it may be the depths of prayer - the sharing of our burdens to the one who can lift them. Our 'pick up' tools are unique to each one of us.

Wherever you are today and however you are, may this highland blessing enfold you:-

The King to shield you in the glen,

the Christ to aid you on the ben,

Spirit to bathe you on the brae,

Hollow, or hill, or plain your way,

be glen, or ben, or plain your way.

From Poems of the Western Highlanders by G.R.D. McLean