Easter Season Newsletter
Easter Season Newsletter
Photo, Quotes, Poem, Reflection, Resources.
Hello Prayer Bench friends and Easter season greetings to you,
In this Easter season newsletter, look for:
A photo and story about the Lent Pause & Practice series.
A quote and mini reflection about tuning into the resurrection frequency.
A poem that is providing me with rich images for pondering resurrection.
You might want to check out Worship Sheets, a new resources.
The Stroll for Your Soul 2023 Theme Announced.
I am delighted to share (with her permission) this picture from Kerry Howarth of her Lent altar-table. She used the Pause & Practice Lent series and added a symbol each time a practice arrived. She writes.
The plate and fork were for Week 1. They are antique and my way of calling on my ancestors to journey with me. They were my great grandmother's, Limoges Bridal Wreath. The small blue New Testament was my first scripture book and I used it for Week 2, Gospel Contemplation. For Week 3. I used one of my spiritual direction books, with a prayer I wrote for contemplative service: "May the work of my hands and heart, led by the Spirit, make a difference in our world." The pea seeds are for Centering Prayer, Week 4. My word for this year is seed and cede - working with both. For Week 5, I used my two Iona heart rocks for Eco Divina, and for Week 6, I used my little NT and Psalms open to Psalm 139, my favourite one. I used a sentence from Christine Robinson's paraphrase as my active prayer/breath Prayer- breathe in: "You are closer to me”, and breathe out: "than I am, God."
Thanks for sharing, Kerry. Even though lent is over, this resource with the Practices is still available and adaptable for other seasons.
Tuning into the Resurrection Heart Frequency
“…Jesus, the living master, is real, alive, intimately and vibrantly enfolding you right now. He is more present, in fact, than even your breath and your heartbeat. But to really know this presence you need to tune in on a different wavelength: to shift to the heart frequency where this Jesus connection broadcasts.” - Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Jesus
The Living One comes to each of us in the way we need the most. Mary needed to hear her name. The two on the Emmaus road needed to sit at table together, Peter needed three questions. Paul needed to be brought to his knees by blinding light. I seem to need to work with words or get amazed by a bed of blooming crocus.
What is your way?
Perhaps over the next few days you can pay special attention to —
what amazes you,
what bothers you,
what angers you,
what stirs you to deep thought.
These are the openings the Living One uses to heal, restore, transform and invite.
These are the moments when we open our hearts to Love and tune into knowing Jesus in a new way.
Resurrection, by R. S. Thomas
Easter. The grave clothes of winter
are still here, but the sepulchre
is empty. A messenger
from the tomb tells us
how a stone has been rolled
from the mind, and a tree lightens
the darkness with its blossom.
There are travellers upon the road
who have heard music blown
from a bare bough, and a child
tells us how the accident
of last year, a machine stranded
beside the way for lack
of petrol, is crowned with flowers.
Read the poem slowly and generously.
What connections, memories or other images or feelings are stirred by the words?
What particular phrase or image is calling out to you?
What might the poem be inviting to you to ponder or think about?
Rest with the poem or a word or image. Let this be your prayer.
Worship Sheets: A New Resource
A collection of 10 meditations designed for occasional worship leaders, for worship leaders seeking inspiration for worship, or for personal devotions.
Stroll for Your Soul
Soon it will be time for Stroll for Your Soul. I’ll have another email soon with more information about this popular program, co-written with Caroline Bindon of Kereru Publishing.
Our 2023 Theme is “Returning to Our Senses.”
Our senses help us navigate daily life. They help us to interpret our world. Their job is to perceive information about what is happening both externally in the environment immediately around us, and internally in our own bodies. We use our five “familiar” senses -Taste, Touch, Smell, See, and Hear to explore the world springing around us. We learn about two other senses, Proprioception and Interoception, to help us enjoy and appreciate this Spring season with a sensory lens.
We begin with a Welcome Email on May 12.
Visit the Prayer Bench for more information about an Individual or Group subscription. And watch for an email next week with lots more information.
