Greetings to you in these mid-summer days,
“The divine voice comes to us cooing like a dove.” These are words from an ancient Jewish commentary. I’m reminded of these beautiful words when listening to birdsong at the cottage.
This summer newsletter brings you a reflection and spiritual practice on birds in nests. It is a particularly potent metaphor for me as I have recently left the nest of a part-time pastoral relationship to semi-retire. Then, I saw more nesting in July. Read on!
In this edition, please enjoy a preview page of the next Prayer Bench resource to come your way, Autumn Rambles. It is a collaborative program shared with Kereru Publishing.
There is lot of summer left to make a beach mandala. See below for directions.
Have you read these books? There are four summer book recommendations from Prayer Bench friends.
For those of you planning forward, please check out two new Advent resources from the Prayer Bench.
I hope you find something to nourish your spirit in this summer edition.
With love and respect, Janice
Host of the Prayer Bench
REFLECTION & PRACTICE: NESTS
It is said that birds are the best engineers. We saw that up close when a family of barn swallows built their nest above the porch light at my parent’s house. What an interesting July. They were close to us and we came close to them. I have a few photos to share with you.
Spend time with each photo. You might want to practice Visio Divina (Sacred Seeing).
Allow your eyes to softly gaze on each image.
Notice where your eye is drawn and your heart seems to follow.
Slowly become aware of the place on the image that is just for you today. It might be a colour, a shape, or a tiny detail. Linger here. Be open and present to this.
What one-word prayer rises in your heart? Ponder any invitations or insights for this moment of your life?
Make sure to leave time to rest in Loving Presence.
Birds are everywhere in the Bible...
from the opening verses of Genesis through to the book of Revelation,
they show up in poetry and songs,
they are part of the landscape of creation,
they are messengers, a place of refuge,
the currency of mercy as part of the system of sacrifice,
they are food for wanderers.
You might enjoy spending time with these images and stories.
Ezekiel 31: 3-6
Deuteronomy 32:10-12a
Psalm 84:1-4
Matthew 8:18-20
Matthew 6: 25-27
The Spirit has wings.
Once we start looking for birds
- whether it be the Bible -
or hidden in the bushes, perched on treetops
or hovering over the waterways,
we will find them.
It's the same way with the grace of God.
When we start paying attention,
we'll discover grace in places we've hadn't noticed before.
AUTUMN RAMBLES
Here is a preview of the next Prayer Bench program, Autumn Rambles. You can sign up for an individual subscription or get a group subscription and share it with an unlimited number of friends or people in your community of faith.
Autumn Rambles begins on September 25.
BEACH MANDALAS - A Circle Prayer
Mandala is a word that means “sacred circle.” Making a mandala is a spiritual practice in many religious traditions. They are used for meditation, healing and personal growth. A circle is a symbol of wholeness and unity. Working on a mandala helps us focus inward, so we can bring our best selves outward.
You might enjoy making a beach mandala in your backyard or at the beach. It is a wonderful practice to share with children or friends.
Go on a nature walk picking up special stones, beach glass, twigs, flowers and petals.
You can shape your mandala by drawing a circle on the beach or making a circle with a scarf or rope or use a hula hoop.
Work on your mandala from the centre out and in fill in the spaces with the materials gathered from our nature walk. If you are sharing the experience with children or friends, notice if quiet we became as we worked. It always seems prayerful and truly meditative.
Now and then, someone would run off for another nature element they thought would work well in the mandala.
Mandalas are not forever so you might want to decide what to do with yours. You might want to take a picture or return the elements to the beach or forest or garden.
SUMMER BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
A favourite book from this summer’s reading: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How The Communicate (2015). Drawing on scientific evidence, Wohlleben describes the social life that trees share and how the help each other resist disease, defend themselves and each other from pests, and communicate dangers that threaten the life of their community. It changed the way I look at trees. — Charlotte
Summer Reading: The Giver of Stars by Jo Jo Moyes. A journey of female friendship, literacy and love. — Rosemary
I am reading Sarah's Key book right now. It is about the French Police rounding up Jews and later sending them to the concentration camps. It is fiction but based on truth. I did not know that France did this and it is an eye opener to even more of the sadness and Holocast truths. Written by Tatiana De Rosnay.2007. — Lois
Erin Littleken, The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, 350 pages. Although this is a novel, the factual content related to the “Holodomor” (Stalin's intentional starvation of Ukrainians in 1932-33) is heartbreaking. Well-written; a compelling read for these times. — Bob
ADVENT RESOURCES
There is a new Small Group Study for Advent called Navigating Mystery. Perhaps it is my own personal transition, but when I came across a question from Martin Shaw it inspired and challenged me.
Here is the question: “What if we re-framed ‘living with uncertainty’ to ‘navigating mystery?'” So I am writing a three week Small Group Study to invite reflection on Navigating Mystery. The resource will also include process for an All Ages Event called All Creation Waits.
Wake/Sleep Prayers, the Advent Email Retreat for 2022 is created around a series of 26 prayers for use Dec. 1-26, and includes a spiritual practice for each Advent Week.