'Speak to Me'

A lot has happened in the 10 days since I last blogged. There have been 2 very busy weekends, and in between a special time on Holy Island/Lindisfarne with 8 other folks from our 3 churches. We spent the mornings in seminars, thinking about how Celtic spirituality and mission 'speaks' to the church of today; the afternoons were free to wander and wonder; the evenings spent in conversation together. Each day, we observed the prayer rhythm of early morning/midday/evening and night prayer.

Travelling to the island, I was listening to the latest album by the band Iona. One track stuck in my mind: Speak to Me. The words are by Chief Dan George, and are worth quoting:

The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass
speak to me.

The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea
speak to me.

The faintness of the stars
the freshness of the morning,
the dewdrops on the flower
speak to me.

The strength of fire,
the trail of the sun,
and the life that never
goes away

They speak to me
and my heart soars.
They speak to me.

As a famous theologian once said, we should pray with eyes open sometimes, lest we miss anything that God may be wanting to show us. I carried those words 'speak to me' through the week and found inspiration. Easy enough of Lindisfarne! For example, 'the rhythm of the sea.' Last year, I made a DVD recording in which I suggested that Church can sometimes feel like a beached whale, the tide of secularism having washed us up. But as I observed the beach at low tide, a couple of things occurred to me. First, one thing you can be sure of, the tide will come in again. There are seasons in the life of the Spirit, as in creation, so there is every reason to hope. Second, low tide does not mean the absence of life or energy. There are rock pools full of life and colour: crabs, shrimps, small fish, seaweed, sea shells etc. Even the occasional treasure, for the beachcomber. So when it is low tide for the Spirit (personally or nationally) look for the signs of life and work with them!

Immediately after my return, I was privileged to attend the opening of the refurbished City Library. Talk about a wow factor - it is amazing. The best thing, as Mayor Joe Anderson and others said, 'it's for the people of Liverpool', something of which we can justly be proud. (Mind you, the best quote of the evening came from Joyce Little, Head of Libraries, who has worked for 15 years on this project. Speaking of her favourite book, by Hilary Mantel, she said 'it has intrigue, passion, loyalty and treachery!' Sounds like a good read!)  The next night, Les and I went to see 'Blue Remembered Hill' at the Playhouse (that's another story) and thence to the Library so Les could see it. It was wonderful to see 1000s of people streaming through, late at night. A Library as a tourist attraction! That speaks to me.

This is a bit of a leap, but what a shame to hear the row in the Tory party about Europe. There has been a lot of talk about 'what's best for Britain', and I can't help feeling this comes from a Little Englander mentality, which is surely outdated in the modern world. Today, the world needs trustful partnerships (so there is a link with the Library, which is a PFI partnership). We should be thinking not just about what we can get out of Europe but, perhaps even more importantly, what we can contribute to a thriving European community. That speaks to me.