From the tawny light from the rainy nights from the imagination finding itself and more than itself alone and more than alone at the bottom of the well where the moon lives, can you pull me into December? The black moon turns away, its work done. A tenderness, unspoken autumn. We are faithful only […]
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unspoken autumn
Posted on by James Woodward
Joy, my love, joy in all things, in what falls and what flourishes. Joy in today and yesterday, the day before and tomorrow. Joy in bread and stone, joy in fire and rain. In what changes, is born, grows, consumes itself, and becomes a kiss again. Joy in the air we have, and […]
Barmouth Bay
Posted on by James Woodward
On the west coast of Wales within the beautiful Snowdonia National Park, Barmouth Bay sits between a spectacular mountain range and the sea, close to the town of Barmouth, the bar at the mouth of the river Mawddach.
Gregynog Hall
Posted on by James Woodward
Gregynog has existed for eight hundred years. By the sixteenth century it was the home of the Blayney family, local gentry who claimed descent from the early Welsh princes and whose courage and benevolence were praised by the court poets. Their coat of arms is the centrepiece of the fine oak carvings in what […]
become the sun
Posted on by James Woodward
Love whispered to me make yourself my fool: leave the hunt become the prey live with me be homeless don’t cast shadows become the sun. Rumi
Spirituality and Personhood in Dementia
Posted on by James Woodward
‘SPIRITUALITY AND PERSONHOOD IN DEMENTIA’ Edited by Albert Jewell, Jessica Kingsley publishers 2011 ISBN: 978-1-84905-154-5 Albert Jewell is a skilled researcher and together with his knowledge of the field of ageing, a third book has been published exploring what happens to an individual (and community) in the face of dementia. Jewell […]
letting Go!
Posted on by James Woodward
“Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life reveals just the opposite: that letting go is the real path to freedom.” —Sogyal Rinpoche Glimpse After Glimpse
9/11
Posted on by James Woodward
People draw near to God in their distress, pleading for help and begging peace and bread, rescue from guilt and sickness, nearly dead. Christian or not, all come in helplessness. People draw near to God in his distress: find him rejected, homeless, without bread, burdened with sin […]
autumnal
Posted on by James Woodward
It is an afternoon toward the end of August: Autumnal weather, cool following on, And riding in, after the heat of summer, Into the empty afternoon shade and light, The shade full of light without any thickness at all; You can see right through and right down into the depth Of the light […]
Ruthin Craft Centre
Posted on by James Woodward
The Arts Council of Wales Lottery funded transformation of Ruthin Craft Centre is now complete. This amazing re-development designed by Sergison Bates architects is located on the existing site in its own landscape and is a dynamic zinc and cast stone building with undulating roofs to echo the surrounding Clwydian hills. With three galleries, six […]
CARE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Posted on by James Woodward
“The only thing that can save us as a species is seeing how we’re not thinking about future generations in the way we live. What’s lacking is generativity, a generativity that will promote positive values in the lives of the next generation. Unfortunately, we set the example of greed, wanting a bigger and […]
What is theology?
Posted on by James Woodward
On the other hand, theology could be provisionally described as that which attempts to come to grips with this life-giving experience, to describe the source from which everything is suspended and from which our faith is born. In faith God is experienced as the absolute subject who grasps us, while in theology we set about […]
seagull
Posted on by James Woodward
If my spirit descended now, it would be a lost gull flaring against a deepening hillside, or an angel who cries too easily, or a single glass of seawater, no longer blue or mysterious, and still salty. From Philip Levine, Holding on
Living with Difference?
Posted on by James Woodward
Being able to think differently from those around us and being able to function lovingly with people who think otherwise is the ultimate in human endeavor. It requires three things: a heart large enough to deal with conflict positively, enduringly, and kindly; a keen sense of personal purpose, the notion that there is something on […]
Queen Anne Ride Windsor Great Park
Posted on by James Woodward
Queen Anne’s Ride, dating from 1708, is a grand avenue similar to The Long Walk, also three miles in length, but unlike its more famous counterpart, it features only a single row of trees on each side. It runs south-west towards Ascot. In the 18th Century it was known as Queen’s Walk, the name changing […]
ripples
Posted on by James Woodward
Little patches of grass disappear In the jaws of lusty squirrels Who slip into the spruce. Cars collapse into parts. Spring dissolves into summer, The kitten into the cat. A tray of drinks departs from the buffet And voilà! the party’s over. All that’s left are some pickles And a sprig of wilting parsley […]
‘Those who want to save their life will lose it’ (Matthew 16.25)
Posted on by James Woodward
28th August Mattins St Georges Chapel Windsor (Jeremiah 15. 15–21 Matthew 16. 21–28 ) ‘Those who want to save their life will lose it’ (Matthew 16.25) I remember going to a Ruby Wedding party in my last parish and delighted in the way the couple seemed to be able to laugh at themselves and each […]
Embrace all of life as gift
Posted on by James Woodward
Life, after all, is a struggle, a journey in uncharted space, an exercise in both gain and loss, joy and sorrow. No life consists of nothing but success and satisfaction, security and self- gratification. Failure and disappointment, loss and pain are natural parts of the human equation. Then what? What use is an alleluia then, […]
wrought flower
Posted on by James Woodward
I believe the earth exists, and in each minim mote of its dust the holy glow of thy candle. Thou unknown I know, thou spirit, giver, lover of making, of the wrought letter, wrought flower, iron, deed, dream the ordinary glow of common dust in ancient sunlight. Be, that I may believe. Amen. […]
In Memory : Father Donald Allchin
Posted on by James Woodward
FR DONALD was our Warden for 27 years, and then Warden Emeritus. During the intercessions at Mass he would pray for the Sisters of the Love of God ‘wherever they may be’, and we would wonder… And we could apply the same phrase to him, praying for Fr Donald ‘wherever he may be’, whether in […]