you spoke to the prophets of old
of a Saviour who would bring peace.
You helped them to spread the joyful message
of his coming kingdom.
Help us, as we prepare to celebrate his birth,
to share with those around us
the good news of your power and love.
We ask this through Jesus Christ,
the light who is coming into the world.
Amen.
Today Hilary and her team are beginning to knit the Nativity in the church and elsewhere...
...and the Mothers Union will be sharing their Christmas Lunch together at the Bold Dragoon.
Open church!
These days it's very difficult for churches to stay open outside service hours, particularly in urban areas, and we probably all appreciate why. Of course it would be lovely to grow our church community to the point where we could afford to staff our lovely building 9 till 5, even with volunteers, but that's a huge ask. This season at any rate, we're finding every morning moment we can for it to be available for quiet meditation, and yesterday we made a start. Sue Kirby has put together a great Prayer Space focus in the Crispin Chapel. Good conversations were had, and the winter sunshine flooding through the windows gave the stone pillars an uplifting beauty. We're open again today...and tomorrow. More about the content of Prayer Space then...
The Minor Prophets by Michael Lind
None of the minor prophets
knew that he was minor, of course. Habakkuk, I imagine,
thought that his visions earned him
standing as Ezekiel's peer, if not indeed Elijah's.
Then there was Obadiah,
who could be forgiven if he thought he might be a Moses.
How they would be remembered
Providence concealed from them all, though they could see the future.
Maybe it doesn't matter.
If you're on a mission from God, sent to rebuke a city
or to redeem a nation,
where by canon-makers you're ranked may be inconsequential.
Nor is the voice within you
any less authentic for not having a distant echo.
Seers of the world, be heartened.
Even minor prophets can have genuine revelations.
Michael Lind is a Texan, a political and economic theorist and academic as well as a poet. This comes from his 2008 collection 'Parallel Lives' published by the Etruscan Press.
A long term resident of the church book-case showing how much he loves us...
No comments:
Post a Comment