On Pilgrimage

ON PILGRIMAGE

Recently I had the opportunity of spending 6 days on a personal retreat at Brookfield. It was to be a commencement point to a pilgrimage I am designing for myself, although I had already begun weekly day pilgrimages.

The idea of pilgrimage is new to me. Westwood writes, “The greatest regular assemblies of human beings on Earth are those of pilgrims”. Whilst NC Brisbane at Brookfield, namely St. Clare’s Cottage, does not feature in travel books relating to sacred places around the world, it certainly features as a significant sacred place for me. 

Joining the Northumbria Community in the daily prayer rhythm blended with the pace I found myself ‘walking’ as I ventured into each day, following the currents and movements peculiar to the hours. It wasn’t a silent retreat, so I allowed myself the freedom for chats here and there with other visiting “pilgrims” who shared in the quiet spaces.

 Often I joined in the mealtime procession to St. Clare’s Cottage where those visiting from near and a bit further on, gathered around timbertop table. Long arms reached over to the centre for food bowls, and so started the clockwise serving of a delicious variety of wholesome foods. Another plate would successfully find a spot on the edge for the unexpected late comer. All were welcomed.  Here, sitting at the table, I felt the hearth or heartbeat found in open hospitality accompanied by a growing sense of belonging.

Lighting the candles in the chapel, ringing the “prayer” bell seven times and joining my four-legged friend/companion on her daily walks, became a perfect formal opening to my pilgrimage.  I am very grateful.

Lorrell

“On Pilgrimage: Sacred journeys around the world” by Jennifer Westwood

Maiden Hair

Have you ever grown Maiden Hair successfully?
If you have you know it needs just the right position, light, water, temperature etc etc to truly flourish.....
These delicate ferns are beautiful when they are doing well.  They tend to be very forlorn when they are suffering any neglect!

In our household we have a pot of Maiden Hair that almost died recently.  Everyone was busy doing important stuff and it got a bit neglected and almost perished.  But the amazing thing is that with just one little tender touch and a few sips of water in a short time a whole new frond of beautiful delicate life sprouted up without any supervision at all.  Now it looks as if it might spring into life again.

Yes we will need to keep nurturing and caring for the wellbeing of our Maiden Hair.

How much more do we forget to tend our close relationships and only notice the parched or dying fronds of our life. We get busy.  We neglect to be kind or gentle with ourselves and with others. We get parched and some parts of us dry up and even die.  Yet new life can come and even flourish with a tender touch or word or prayer or just a sip of fresh water. Can you take the time to tend the delicate and beautiful parts of your garden soul?

-- Heather --

Reflections from Retreat

Rhonda, a recent visitor to our community, writes:

I am far from being a disciplined blog writer, but in a recent retreat/holiday visit to Brookfield Northumbria Community I wanted to take this opportunity to write and share my story from St. Clare’s Cottage.  Having just finished a challenging semester of study, I knew that time away from the ordinary would do me good. In essence, while at the community, I took each moment as it came and lived at, and shared life with the folk at St. Clare’s.

I have not found it easy to find the words to express my community experience. So I thought, if I can find a story, or expression of thought already written, maybe this could be a jumping off point for my own thoughts. In the words of Charles Ringma, in Hear the Ancient Wisdom, he says, “In being heard and embraced we are healed. Therefore, the community of faith needs to be a place of welcome and honesty. It needs to be a place where we are accepted with all our hurts and needs. …. A place where our true self . . . is in the forefront”.  And then he adds a concluding thought, “Healing is being comforted into wholeness.”

Participating in the rhythms of prayer throughout the day became a surprisingly delightful experience and thus I became the “bell ringer” for the days I was there. I rang the bell with gusto as this seemed to represent the joy that I was feeling on the inside. I am certainly at home with being by myself, but maybe all the long hours of study I had had, left me hungry to talk, share and laugh with others, when possible, amongst the varied activities and life of the community. I particularly looked forward to the times of communion during meal times, as it fit. Oh the conversation, the laughter, the spirit of fellowship was so alive and life-giving. The mornings at Brookfield were very cold (7.6 degrees at 5 am), but what warmed my heart, indeed my whole self, was the spirit of love and hospitality at Brookfield. 

My involvement with the Northumbria Community at large, though sparse at times, has been a wonderful blessing and strength and as quoted earlier, this community has demonstrated that, “Healing is being comforted into wholeness”.

Rhonda Ransford  

New Monasticism and New Friars

Lisa’s going to Myanmar tomorrow for two weeks of living with a Servants team there and a time of discernment about her future.

It’s made me think about Servants and Northumbria Community, about the New Friars and the New Monasticism.

My understanding is that there is a move of the Spirit calling us to rediscover some of the ‘old’ – and ever new – characteristics of community and mission.

Living here at The Old Friary is a step to being part of the New Monasticism and forming our lives around the rhythm of prayer, and being in intentional community to share life together and offer hospitality to others. As Lisa’s last blog says – it’s challenging us enough so we've written no blogs for a while!
And even more challenging are the New Friars. “These communities of men and women have voluntarily removed themselves from the status quo in order to seek justice and mercy with the poorest of the world’s poor.” (Wikipedia) 
Yesterday when Mac became a Franciscan he was asked what he thought Francis would say if he was here today. He said "Speak for those who have no voice."
Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor choose to live in the slums to befriend and share life there, and to speak for those who have no voice. So Lisa’s going to check it out while we live the prayer rhythm back here. It reminds me of the call to live incarnationally and my longing is to respond.

Chaos

In his book The Different Drum, M. Scott Peck writes about 4 stages in community growth: pseudo-community, chaos, emptiness and true community. Living in this community house at St Clare's, I desire to be living in true community with my housemates. Yet while true community sounds beautiful and the desire for it is admirable, to get to true community there's the far less sexy work of chaos and emptiness that must be done first. Chaos is that stage in a relationship when we're trying to fix, heal or convert the other person. Even when I really do know what's best for the other person and their life actually would be better if they did what I know they should do, that's not the path to true community. The path to true community is through emptiness. I must first empty myself of all my desires (regardless of motive) to change the other person and truly accept them as they are (warts and all) to experience real communion with them.

Sometimes this path of pseudo-community - chaos - emptiness - true community is a daily journey for me. The day dawns, the sun is shining and all is well in the world of Lisa. But then... a tap is left dripping... someone doesn't do what I expected them to do... my avocado is eaten... the clouds roll in and the thunder rumbles in the world of Lisa and I am annoyed! It takes a quiet moment, most often in the chapel, where I'm still, silent and gracious enough to realise that the other person is not at fault. I'm annoyed because the other person hasn't fit into the box I've put them in. On my better days, this is a doorway into humility and repentance and I can welcome the other-ness of the person, value the diversity of our community and see the gift that this community house is to me. Sometimes, the storm takes longer to clear and my mood stays cloudy for longer than I care to admit.

I usually find that I'm more open to and accepting of others when I'm open to and accepting of myself. And I'm usually more open to and accepting of myself when I'm centred in the loving gaze of God. Would you like to join me in taking a moment to be still, silent and gracious enough to know yourself, to experience God's loving gaze and to embrace emptiness in your relationships with others? How about now? It'll only take a few minutes, I promise.

Labyrinth journey

Today I was reminded of the incredible beauty of this place and how grateful I am to be here. Very simply, early this morning I realised that God was giving me a new fresh day to be alive and grateful. So I was reminded of my Labyrinth experience in March.........

Journal 19 March 2015
Waking early after sleeping poorly, I perused and paid bills and updated some outstanding correspondence. All the while, I felt uneasy and unsettled within...
Outside in the dark emptying bins and checking cleaning needs in St C Lodge. Still unsettled and uneasy....
Decided to sweep and walk the Labyrinth.... 

Sweeping the path... I need to put down the broom and stop this chore so that I can walk this labyrinth. Started carrying all my baggage and concerns on the opening of the inward path. Moving around the path, I spot the overhanging bushes which ask me to stop walking and cut them back. "You can go away and get the cutters now, Heather. It's your choice." No... stay on this journey... that can wait. As I kept slowly walking and consciously focusing my attention on God, I felt all my burdens and worries falling away. It was as intense a feeling as the sensation of all my clothing being stripped off me. As I reached the centre I realised I was unburdened and naked. There was no fear, shame or doubt. Staying in that place I felt God with me, enveloping me with Love. Then God was clothing me with heavenly garments to go back and out again into the world. This whole encounter happened before 6.30am and changed my earlier worried state to a more attentive attitude and a deep awareness of God's Grace and Love.

Easter reflection

Being at the Old Friary is so still and quiet many

mornings that it encourages reflection and

gratitude.

Over Easter we have, of course, been revisiting

the stories of our faith.




Here is a poem from Malcom Guite - a Sonnet for Thomas

“We do not know… how can we know the way?”

Courageous master of the awkward question,

You spoke the words the others dared not say

And cut through their evasion and abstraction.

Oh doubting Thomas, father of my faith,

You put your finger on the nub of things

We cannot love some disembodied wraith,

But flesh and blood must be our king of kings.

Your teaching is to touch, embrace, anoint,

Feel after Him and find Him in the flesh.

Because He loved your awkward counter-point

The Word has heard and granted you your wish.

Oh place my hands with yours, help me divine

The wounded God whose wounds are healing mine.

https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/blog/

The Pomegranate Tree

Sometimes in this household we say that we have a garden that keeps on giving. It's the upside of many years of neglect, I guess. As we give this garden love and attention, it gives back revealing it's hidden wonders and beauty. About a month ago, Heather uncovered a pomegranate tree. It had been overtaken by vines, just barely managing to show a sprig of leaves that caught her eye. Now it looks like this.

In my eyes, this pomegranate tree is a little fragile with its spindly branches that are used to the crowding of vines but it's also heavy with fruit that's slowly ripening. I connected with this little tree today. My life in India was crowded and suffocating. As I've come back to life in Australia I've felt fragile, trying to embrace new life without the support of unhealthy thoughts and habits. And God invites me to see the fruit that is growing in my life and the fruit that my life bears for others. May this little pomegranate tree be your invitation and encouragement too.

Folk at the Friary

If you're keen to have a fun Saturday night and you're free on the 18th April come along to Folk at the Friary. 

The pretty advert is below but some of those details are hard to read so I've written them here too:

6pm - 9pm

featuring JUMPING FENCES & GETANO BANN

$10 Adult, $5 Child/Pensioner, $25 Family

Supper will be available from the Friary Kitchen and coffee from The Rich Pour.  This is a BYO venue.

139 Brookfield Rd, Kenmore Hills.

Gardening with God

While sitting with the community recently, I was reminded of the impact that praying three times a day has had on me. I recalled a particular day when I was shovelling and discovering the (ancient) pathways in the woods down from St Clare’s and the words from Midday Prayer came to me:

            “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us

            And establish thou the work of our hands.”

Sometimes the work here can be quite difficult but these words from midday prayer have changed the way I engage with it. I find I can now work with enjoyment, feeling as though I’m spending time with God in His garden.

The gift of new life

Our sweet pea seeds have started to come to life! There are so many ways we are rejoicing in creation here.