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Water
Monday 29th July 2019
Iain Tweedale
Many of our worries come from being unable to live in the present. By worrying about the future or re-running events from the past in our minds we can find it difficult to focus on the here now where we can just be. John Main likes to use the analogy of drops of water for the word or mantra used in meditation or silent prayer. Like the drop of water in a river it contains in itself the whole river, right back to the source and right down to the ocean. The drop of water enters the flow of the river and is part of its entirety in the here and now. There is no future and no past, it…
The Sacred Spaces of Pen Llŷn
Tuesday 23rd July 2019
Joan O'Rourke
Joan was a guest on the recent Journeying holiday to the north west tip of Wales. Here is what she had to say: "Thank you 'Journeying' for the opportunity to encounter the outstanding natural beauty and awe inspiring sacred spaces of the Llŷn Peninsula. The two leaders, Susan and Phil, ensured that our diverse group were made to feel at ease from the start. The programme was very well organised, the hotel central to the area and the food was fab! Each day opened a new door to thought provoking and often spiritual experiences. Susan, with her personal knowledge of the area, introduced us to people and places we would never have seen otherwise. The result was having precious time for personal…
St Cuthbert and St Aidan at Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands
Sunday 7th July 2019
Sue Degnan
Journeying recently had a journey to Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands. In our reflections, we followed the Celtic saints who brought Christianity to the English in the north of England. St Oswald, the Northumbrian King, who had been raised on Iona where he accepted Christ, invited monks from Iona to teach his people about Christ. After a first, unsuccessful attempt, Iona sent Aidan (Saint Aidan) to fulfil this mission. Aidan, whose name means flame, was on fire for Christ, but he was also gentle and discreet. He listened to people, great and small, and met them where they were. He loved everyone as a child of God but saw their need for Christ and believed the Gospel to be the greatest…
The Green Isle
Sunday 30th June 2019
David Gleed
Islands often feature in Journeying holidays... Once, in the Highlands of Scotland, we chartered a small fishing boat to visit the tiny Isle of St. Finnan in the middle of loch Shiel. A lovely place, known locally as the Green Isle. The Island was very overgrown and we needed to clear a way through the brambles and bracken to reach the ruined chapel. Among the ruins, an ancient bronze bell stood on the Altar. Standing inside the chapel we began our evening service with the hymn 'Colours of Day.' Barely had the first verse ended than the heavens opened and a deluge of rain came crashing through the open roof. With the determination of true pilgrims, we continued to sing. And…
Arrival at St Davids
Friday 28th June 2019
Iain Tweedale
We have arrived at St Davids, the destination of our pilgrimage. We have walked 100km and felt a great accomplishment, as much as from the journey and time together as the destination at the shrine to St David, St Patrick and St Andrew. A poem of St David seems appropriate: St. David's Pilgrimage: Sea and sky before you lie, this earth beneath your trusting feet, God lifted from the Ocean bed marks clear the way. In heritage of ancient days your Pilgrimage goes forth vibrating to a song of known endeavour to quicken every heart and mind. These myriad years our Ancient Land has known and Treasure made, we now absorb. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of all these things, born of…
Thoughts on Pilgrimage
Wednesday 26th June 2019
Iain Tweedale
The Bible suggests that spiritual life is a journey. Through the centuries, pilgrims have gone on pilgrimage to find inspiration, to find a new direction in life and for healing. Life is a process of continual change and movement from one state of being to another. Our physical journey is mirrored by an inward journey from the head to the heart. Going on pilgrimage is a rare time when we can just be ourselves. We may not even know who we truly are, so it might be a journey to our lesser known self, our true self. Where we discover who we are, what really matters to us and how to live authentically in line with our true self because…
Finding God in Nature
Tuesday 25th June 2019
Iain Tweedale
Back in the twelfth century Bernard of Clairvaux said "You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters." He was one of the most influential medieval Cistercians who was at the heart of the first wave of expansion of the Cistercian monastic Order as it spread out from its origins in Citeaux. There were once many monasteries and hermitages on The Way of St David. Now, only the names remain but I like to remember Bernard at Monk Haven. Bernard was called on to mediate in the political and church affairs of the day and he wrote a wide range of theological texts. But it is…
Way of St David
Monday 24th June 2019
Iain Tweedale
Today we saw the spectacular coastline on the Way of St David and I was reminded of these beautiful words: By his word the heavens were made, by the breath of his mouth all the stars. He collects the waves of the ocean; he stores up the depths of the sea. (John 1:3) This passage demonstrates how it is as impossible to comprehend God as it is to count all the waves on the ocean or the stars in the sky. This seems particularly apt on the Way of St David as it is such a good place to sit and observe both. There is no better place to observe the waves as they come from the Irish Sea. To watch…
Pilgrimage to St Davids
Saturday 22nd June 2019
Iain Tweedale
Today we start a pilgrimage to St Davids, the smallest city in Britain, named after the sixth century patron saint of Wales. Over the next week we'll share some of the sights and readings from the 100km walk, starting with a poem by Peter Millar: Lord of every pilgrim heart, you are beside me and before me on the way, surprising me through your Spirit at every turning on the path. Yet, like your disciples on the Emmaus road, I often fail to recognise my companion. In this morning hour, and in whatever the day may hold, open my eyes to see your presence, that I may celebrate with you the gift of the morning, O Lord of the unexpected. …
A Hesitant Start
Monday 17th June 2019
David Gleed
Thirty years ago, today... Saturday June 17th 1989 and a small group gather in the evening light at a remote hillside chapel on the fringe of the Snowdon mountains. A little over a year from its founding the first Journeying (then Pilgrim Adventure) pilgrims were about to set off along the pilgrim's way. The following morning, I waved the group off and watched them for a while as they made their way across the parched grass and down the narrow valley, east of the great cone-shaped hill that had sheltered us the night before. "Keep the hill to your right" a helpful bystander called. It was a fine mid-summer day, sure to get hot before we rendezvoused again at camp number…