Thursday 14 March 2019

Enhancing your Easter worship


I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a magpie when it comes to collecting helpful quotations, images and poems.  Maria Kondo could have a field day decluttering my office.  It goes with the territory of being a retreat leader and a writer, I guess.  In my world, I find I can never have enough new and different resources; things which spark my imagination and bring new insights.  And I guess that's true for those of us who lead worship too.  Different perspectives are always helpful when we're opening up the scriptures.

So, if you're still looking out for poems or meditations to enhance your Easter services, I might have the answer. The Gift of a Cross is just such a resource.  With seventy meditations, following Jesus from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem through betrayal and crucifixion to death and resurrection, this will enable your listeners to explore the story of the cross from the inside out.

Copies are still available from here at the knockdown price of £3.50.  I'd love to send you a copy.
 
You can get a taste of my Easter meditations on my poetry page 

 
     They hardly noticed
     the blood splashing red onto earth
     as the dice
     rolled, tumbled
     and bounced over dusty ground;
     the Christ
     haemorrhaging
     above them:
                   Extract from 'Jocular Game'


     Have a truly blessed Easter.

 

Thursday 7 March 2019

Where would I have stood?


Anam Cara, on their album 'Peace and the Spirit' have a beautiful song entitled, 'Where would I have stood?'.  It's a good question to ask ourselves and it enables us to see the gospel stories through a different lens.  What was it like to be there?  How might I have reacted?

The stories become so familiar that we easily forget that Peter, Mary, Judas and all the others where in so many ways just like us, living alongside Jesus and yet nevertheless often struggling to make sense of his teachings.  They made mistakes like us, felt shame and joy like us, often found it hard to understand what was going on, frequently questioned what Jesus was doing.

If we could speak to them today how might they tell their story?  Many of the reflections in my book, The Gift of the Cross, attempt to answer that question.  If you'd like to look at the Passion narratives from a different perspective, you can get a copy of the book here.  For a limited time, it's on special offer at £3.50, with free postage.  I'd love to let you have a copy - especially today: World Book Day.
 
 An extract from 'The Rooster'  ...

         No, no Master,
       not I:
       I'll never deny you.
       You'll always have my loyalty.
 
       He'd turned my life around, you see,
       this man.
       I used to be a fisherman:
       a hard life, that was.
       And now here I was
       following him   ...  ..

For an even more immersive experience of being face to face with Jesus, you might like to try meditating with my Pathways to Healing CD, available on my shop page.
.