All Hallows' Eve: Wednesday 31st October 2018

Different points in the turning year may be understood as corresponding with different stages of our lives – which may help us to make some sense of our life experiences, and to go onwards more cheerfully and trustingly. All Hallows' Eve, traditionally celebrated on 31^st October in the Northern Hemisphere (30^th April in the Southern Hemisphere) is the old date for the beginning of the new year, marked by a three day festival. This is the third and final harvest – the harvest of nuts, herbs (a last opportunity to dry them for use through the winter) and of meat – cattle and sheep were brought back down from their summer pastures, and some were killed and laid down for eating during the winter. The three day festival also used to be known as the Time of No Time, when order and structure were set aside and good-willed chaos could reign. It is a time of transition, as Summer has ended and Winter approaches. Often it is also a time of the Dark Moon - when no sunlight is being reflected from the moon. Some believe that during this time our mortal sight is obscured, enabling us to glimpse beyond what is immediate, and gain new insights into the nature of life. It is also a time when the spirits of our loved ones who have died are honoured, and we give thanks for their wisdom and for the spiritual legacies we have received from them.

The short responsive liturgy, below, is appropriate for use by any group of people, especially before sharing a meal together: ask everyone to bring something to share. If possible, sit in a circle. You will need a candle for each person present (night lights are good), matches to light them, and a broom. Please exercise common sense when lighting candles, and ensure there is no risk of fire. Everyone is invited to join in saying the words in bold type. There may be one leader to say the biddings, you can take it in turns, or simply share the reading as is best for your group.

The liturgies, celebrations, ceremonies, prayers, and reflections offered on this blog are the result of my thoughts, reflections, and experiences, woven together using my own words and sometimes adapting the words others have used: I am indebted to their wisdom. Please use these liturgies freely, altering them as suits your own context. I am always pleased to hear from people who have used them. 

The Gathering and Thanksgiving:

Welcome to you all, as we gather today to celebrate All Hallows' Eve.

We offer thanks for the arrival of this hallowed season,

for the remembrance of those who have died,

and for the opportunity to open our selves to the mysteries of life & death:

       We offer thanks.

For all the many changes we have lived through,

for all the endings and beginnings, the losses and the gains,

the order and disorder, the departures and the returns:

       We offer thanks.

For all the people, the creatures, the situations, and the settings,

that we have learnt from, and for all the opportunities we have

to pass on our learning open-heartedly:

       We offer thanks.

For our families, friends, and loved ones:

       We offer thanks.

For the pains and joys of love and loss:

       We offer thanks.

For the transformation of sorrow into joy, of tears into laughter:

       We offer thanks.

And that the veil is thin between the visible and the invisible:

       We offer thanks.

The Remembrance:

A few moments of quiet are kept, to think of our loved ones who have died,

grateful for all they gave us, all we learnt from them,

and all our happy memories of them...

Death is part of life, and nothing real is ever truly lost:

       Even in deep darkness, still there is light.

Everyone present lights a candle in remembrance and thanksgiving.

The Sweeping Away:

All of us carry with us things that are best left behind:

       We burden ourselves with old habits, past quarrels,

       broken trust, chosen wrongs, memories of being treated badly, 

       low self-esteem, accretions of negativity.

But now we can sweep away from our selves

everything we need to release from our lives;

we can sweep away the dust and ashes of the past

and step forward into a new beginning.

A broom is passed from hand to hand

and used to sweep outwards and away, each person saying:

       I sweep away the dust and ashes of the past,

       and I step forward into a new beginning.

The Sharing of Peace:

Every day, every moment, is a new opportunity to begin again,

to align our selves more nearly to becoming the people we are born to be,

and to share love and light with others.

       We have filled our world with trouble & sorrow,

       even though all around us is beauty and glory.

       We have brought chaos, but wish to bring peace.

In the sure and certain hope that all things can be transformed,

we now share with each other a sign of peace, saying to one another

Peace be with you:

       Peace be with you.

The Closing:

The summer is over:

       The harvest is ended, and we give thanks for its bounty!

The dark and cold of winter wait for us as the earth turns:

       But spring will come again!

In food, in friendship, in life, in death, and in all seasons:

       We will rejoice!

The candles are now extinguished

St Crispin, and International Religious Freedom Days, 25th & 27th October

St. Crispin's Day: Thursday 25^th October 2018

and International Religious Freedom Day: Saturday 27^th October 2018

Crispin is believed to have been born to a noble Roman family in the 3^rd century A.D. He and his brother fled the Diocletian persecution of Christians, settling in Soissons, about 100 km north east of Paris. They earned their living there as shoemakers, but so successfully that they drew the attention of Rictius Varus (aka Rexius Vicarius), the governor of Roman Gaul. He had them tortured, thrown into the river with millstones round their necks, and, when they survived that, beheaded. Some stories say the governor subsequently repented and converted to the Christian faith himself. The day is most famous, however, for the battles that occurred on it: Agincourt (1415), Balaclava (1854) and Leyte Gulf (1944). 

27^th October is International Religious Freedom Day, which began to commemorate four members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) who were executed by public hanging for their religious beliefs, under the legislation of the (Puritan) Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1659, 1660, and 1661. The punishment of several other Friends was commuted to that of being whipped out of the colony and from town to town. 

The short liturgy, below, adapted from the prayers of various faith traditions, may be used on either day, and is appropriate for use by individuals or groups. If using it in a group, then everyone is invited to join in saying the responsive words in bold type. There may be one leader to say the biddings, you can take it in turns, or simply share the reading as is best for your group.

The liturgies, celebrations, ceremonies, prayers, and reflections offered on this blog are the result of my thoughts, reflections, and experiences, woven together using my own words and sometimes adapting the words others have used: I am indebted to their wisdom. Please use these liturgies freely, adapting them as suits your own context. I am always pleased to hear from people who have used them.

Praise be to the Maker, god, goddess, universal spirit, mystery of mysteries, from whom all worlds flow in continual creation,

like a fountain bubbling up, a cup that is never empty.

         Blesséd are You, who has kept us in life, sustained us,

         and brought us to this moment.

Enrich our hearts that we may more perfectly love you

and more joyfully offer thanks.

         We offer thanks for all the gifts of creation,

         for the air we breath, giving us strength,

         for the sun, lighting each new day,

         for the beauty and guidance of the stars,

         for the teachers of all times and traditions.

Show us the straight way, and keep us from going astray.

         As sparks from a blazing fire, flying forth by the thousand,

         so do all beings come forth from the imperishable,

         and return again to the inner Self of all beings.

May we become at all times protectors for those without protection,

guides for those who have lost their way,

ships for those with oceans to cross.

         May we become bridges for those with rivers to cross,

         sanctuaries for those in danger,

         places of refuge for those who lack shelter,

         and servants to all in need.

May blessings rest upon us and upon all creatures,

for we are all partakers of the same Divine Nature:

         We are all animated by the same Presence,

         all sustained by the One Power, all united with One Voice,

         through many languages, many creeds, many customs.

We are all free to choose to honour the tradition into which we were born, and we are all free to express our own truth.

         We are all called to the responsibility of respecting

         each other's choices, and ensuring each other's dignity.

May love surround us:

         And may we learn at last how to live in harmony. 

         Amen. So may it be.

Michaelmas - belated, sorry!

Michaelmas: 29^th September

Michaelmas is the feast day of St. Michael and All Angels – those beings believed to protect humankind against evil, which was associated with darkness.

It is celebrated at the time when darker nights and shorter, colder days begin, and historically was the time to begin taking measures to ensure protection during the winter months, such as the tolling of the curfew bell, when household fires should be covered (couvre feu) for the night. But it is also a good time to strengthen our inner reserves, becoming more meditative and reflective, facing our fears with courage, recognising what threatens and prevents our peace, and considering how to be peaceful warriors, taking a stand for what we hold most dear.

The short liturgy, below, is appropriate for use by individuals or groups. If using it in a group, then everyone is invited to join in saying the responsive words in bold type. There may be one leader to say the biddings, or you can take it in turns. You will need a central candle, enough small candles for each person present, and matches to light them. Please exercise common sense when lighting candles, and ensure there is no risk of fire.

The liturgies, celebrations, ceremonies, prayers, and reflections offered on this blog are the result of my thoughts, reflections, and experiences, woven together using my own words and sometimes adapting the words others have used:

I am indebted to their wisdom. Please use these liturgies freely, adapting them as suits your own context. I am always pleased to hear from people who have used them. 

Opening: A central candle is lit

The days are shorter, the nights are longer, the air is colder:

         We are coming into the darker time of the year.

Darkness is not of itself bad:

         Light is not of itself good.

Darkness and light are both outside us and inside us:

         All things need the balance of dark and light

         in order to become whole.

There is nothing to fear in the dark:

         Darkness is where hidden seeds lie unfolding,

         where ocean depths teem with unimagined species.

"Gardeners of the spirit know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, as without light nothing flowers." [May Sarton]

         Darkness is where we can rest and sleep and arise refreshed,

         where there are no distractions for our thoughts,

         and where the deeper parts of our selves lie hidden.

A few moments of quiet reflection are kept...

Michaelmas Prayer:

We admit that we have not been agents of goodness and grace:

         We have valued our own interests

         rather than the interests of others.

One person lights their individual candle from the central candle

We admit that we have not sought fullness of life for everyone:

         We have not fought so that others

         might be free, secure, and valued.

A second person lights their individual candle from the central candle

We admit our own fears and our lack of vision,

and we admit that we have not been peace makers:

         We have allowed people in need to be turned away.

         We have sought our own good

         rather than the good of our neighbours.

A third person lights their individual candle from the central candle

We admit to our yearnings for victory, rather than for peace,

and we admit that we have confused the absence of war

for the presence of peace:

         We have believed that one side must lose

         for the other to win.

         And we have forgotten to love others as we love our selves.

A fourth person lights their individual candle from the central candle

We admit that we have drawn a closed and selfish circle around our selves:

         We have kept peace for our selves, and left others in conflict; 

         we have kept safety for ourselves, and left others in danger.

Any remaining individual candles are now lit from the central candle,

and a few moments of quiet reflection are kept...

Here and now, may we forgive our selves and each other:

         Here and now, may we turn around and start anew.

         We release that which has passed, which now holds no power;

         We acknowledge our broken-ness and we claim our strength.

May we find the strength to seek peace inside and outside:

         May we find that which enables the balance of dark and light

         within and without our selves and others.

A few moments of quiet reflection are kept...

The Closing:

Be strong in love and in the strength of love.

Stand sure, wearing the belt of truth, the breastplate of grace,

the shield of hope, and the sword of peace:

         Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time,

         accepting hardships as the pathway to wholeness and peace,

         and trusting that all things shall be well. So let it be!

The candles are now extinguished