For exiles
For exiles
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: For exiles Proper 16 year A Exodus 1: 1.8 – 2.10 (In Egypt, the Israelites were first welcomed and then despised. The world doesn’t seem to have changed much, even after all this time.). Compassionate God, we pray for those who are living in a foreign country, tolerated, …
For the beginning of another year
For the beginning of another year
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: For the beginning of another year Time flies. The years slip away. Spring soon turns to winter and the days become shorter in the passing. Never-ageing God, when we begin to count the years it seems impossible that so many have passed. How did they slip by so quickly? Is …
Fortynine days to celebrate Easter - Pente - What?
Fortynine days to celebrate Easter - Pente - What?
by Margaret Mason
"Forty-nine days to celebrate Easter? That's seven weeks. We'll never make the Easter eggs last that long! And then Pente - what? " Pilate stamps the file, "Case Closed". He thinks that that is it. A distasteful business, but Jesus the Galilean isn't the first troublemaker he's b…
Poem: Always missing, never grasping
Poem: Always missing, never grasping
by Andrew Pratt
(Doubting Thomas after Leonard Cohen’s song 'Suzanne' which has the line: '…and Jesus was a sailor...') Always missing, never grasping, hope amid this shifting sea, coast and haven seem remote now, too far off to harbour me. Yet those fishermen are telling news that I can't compr…
Poem: Passion can distort our judgment
Poem: Passion can distort our judgment
by Andrew Pratt
Passion can distort our judgment, twisting love, distorting fate. Is this Adam's sin returning as endearments turn to hate? In the cold light of the morning, looking back on what we've done, even at the new day's dawning, feeling chill in morning sun. Continues... Also available …
Poem: Father of Jesse and father of David
Poem: Father of Jesse and father of David
by Andrew Pratt
Father of Jesse and father of David, born of a foreigner here in their midst: Ruth would nurse Obed, then comfort and nurture. Boaz brought safety it seemed she had missed. Now as we listen we re-tell this story, try to untangle the mystery and worth, one thing is certain: a love…
Poem: Oh why are we searching from cradle to manger?
Poem: Oh why are we searching from cradle to manger?
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: Oh why are we searching from cradle to manger? Luke 2: 41-52 Oh why are we searching from cradle to manger? From Christmas to Easter God comes as a stranger. From Bethlehem's stable, a child in a temple, two people in exile, a man with a temper, Beyond all the tinsel the st…
Poem: Held in the cleft of the cold, dark rock
Poem: Held in the cleft of the cold, dark rock
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: Held in the cleft of the cold, dark rock Held in the cleft of the cold, dark rock, the summit of human fear, pursued to the end of his life's reserves, the hunters were drawing near. God was remote, Elijah quaked, protection was hard to find, the One he had heard and sought…
Poem: Hear the echoes of the scripture
Poem: Hear the echoes of the scripture
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: Hear the echoes of the scripture Hear the echoes of the scripture in the parting of the waters, see Elijah in the whirlwind, see Elisha, looking, waiting. See Elisha take the mantle, see Elisha strike the water, faith and action moving forward, faith is passed from hand to …
Poem: O what a place for living, divine accommodation
Poem: O what a place for living, divine accommodation
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: O what a place for living, divine accommodation O what a place for living, divine accommodation; the dwelling place of God through every generation. Here swallows sweeping, rest from endless navigation; find a safer place, a nest for pro-creation. The cosmos is exultant, wh…
Poem: Beyond our context, out of time
Poem: Beyond our context, out of time
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: Beyond our context, out of time Beyond our context, out of time, can we believe the things we read? Are these imagined, false or fact, or signs that we should test and heed? A woman dies then finds new life, a metaphor or something real? The narrative has truth to tell in w…
Poem: The Psalmist reckoned fools were unbelieving
Poem: The Psalmist reckoned fools were unbelieving
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: The Psalmist reckoned fools were unbelieving The Psalmist reckoned fools were unbelieving, but faith, like fashion, leaves to sink or swim. No God indeed? perhaps as others paint 'him'. No goddess either? Faith is just a whim? We look at life and context moulds our seeing, …
Poem: The wisdom of women: discernment of thought
Poem: The wisdom of women: discernment of thought
by Andrew Pratt
The wisdom of women: discernment of thought, with love's intuition that cannot be bought; how long will we limit these God given gifts while fudging church unity, fearful of rifts? All people are worthy and all have a place, all people are gifted with God-given grace, yet barrier…
Poem: To dish the dirt we need to know
Poem: To dish the dirt we need to know
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: To dish the dirt we need to know To dish the dirt we need to know the detail of a life, and advocates must understand the truth, to counter strife. Yet knowing all, the Christ of God was willing to defend a remnant, rabble, humankind, to care, to bind, to mend. A paraclete,…
Poem: This towering edifice of shining glass