Green Patches

Epiphany Four - Wandering Shepherd

..and as we wind our way towards the Fourth Sunday in Epiphany, Chief Shepherd left his post at the stable for a few hours this evening. But don't worry; the outing was planned and he's now back safely in the creche.  More to come later.

Christus Mansionem Benedicat - Return of Wiseman 3

Yes, Wiseman 3 has returned!  It turns out he never went AWOL in the first place. Mr GP found him the other day - in the Nativity scene, sheltering behind a gigantic magpie (made from a kit given to me for Christmas by Ms GP). So much for my policy of inclusivity (and the state of my eyesight). The little chap has been reunited with his friends on the windowsill amidst much general rejoicing and merrymaking. I broke open a late Christmas pressie of toffees to celebrate  and in an absent-minded moment bit down on one way too hard and broke a filling. I'm now trying hard not to wonder whether the cost of a new one works out any dearer than the original cost of the Wiseman...

Christus Mansionem Benedicat

Alas and alack - I've turned the place upside down; still no sign of Wiseman 3. 

 

 

Never mind. The Greenpatch dwelling has been well and truly blessed. Maybe our prayers and the generous whiff of incense (which an hour after the event is still around -  and  is certainly an improvement on our house's normal Parfum de chien..et chatte), will bring him out of his hiding place.

Epiphany: The Three Kings

 

One of my favourites, to make up for the tone of my past post. Sung here by The Academy of St Martin in The Fields, soloist  - Gerald Finley.

One of our wise men is missing!

Horrors! I dropped into our creche earlier  - to move the magi to the alcove window ready for the Epiphany House Blessings tomorrow evening and ...Wise Man Number Three was nowhere to be found. He's gorn, scarpered, gone AWOL, taken the long and winding road back to Persian Lands afar... Oh Where oh Where Can He Be? Was he left abandoned in the nativity shoe box all Christmastime, with only a Provencal lavender bag and a pile of wood shavings for company? Or was he ever there to begin with?

This is worrying. Not the best way to begin the New Year methinks. Thank goodness not all creches are as disorganised as the Greenpatch one: Over on Spiritually Directed, the magi have at last reached the stable.Thanks to the wise words of their landlady, they've escaped the scarey prospect of remaining stuck in a Permanent Advent. Thank you, miniature Magi; I've loved  following your journeyings along the bathroom shelf.  It's helping me process my own sense of Advent discombobulation. If you should come across my missing Wise Man, speak kindly to him and point him back across the Atlantic.

The Journey of the Magi

 

I've been searching through Youtube for a reading of TS Eliot's The Journey of the Magi; coming first to an old BBC recording of the poet himself, which I was all set to use, until I came across the above performance which begged to be shared.  Enjoy.

 

Epiphany

 On the eve of Epiphany:  Mike F of the Mercy Blog and barefoottowardthelight  reflect on on Meister Eckhardt’s Meditations and the book of  Romans.  

 

 

New Year - Journeying on

 

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

- TS Eliot – Little Gidding

 Belated New Year Greetings and advance Epiphany wishes from the Greenpatch Blog.  You'll have noticed that I've slipped out of my Christmas guise into something new.   In fact, any readers who've stuck around over the four year life of Greenpatches may have noticed that I've reverted to my original 'Hills' typepad design. That 'Little Gidding' quote is rather apt, when you think about it!

So  - to a new year.  Journeying and pilgrimage have played quite a part in Greenpatch life over the last year or so, both physically and spiritually and  this it looks to be even more the case in 2011.

Blogging has become rather sporadic for me of late.  The above picture points to the reason why - in part at least : whilst I've made the odd attempt at putting paint to paper previously, these last few months I've become ever more drawn into art journaling. I love it! I had thought of putting more of an arty  slant to GP; however, given my gifts of procrastination and spiritual fluttering about, I just know that it'll end up even less focussed than it's been up to now.  I talked early on about the different flavours I was going to use here; all good in their way, but Too Many Cooks and all that... And much of it is quite personal as well.  Greenpatches was orginally intended to  have a Franciscan/Greeny tinge, and it's best kept that way. Simplicity covers more than you think!

Of course, that won't stop me including the odd piece of creative meanderings - if my newish and definitely not Franciscan -spirited computer allows me to.