Green Patches

Green Patches - Five Years On

As we've been here in blogosphere for nearly five years now I think  that  new readers - who might have stumbled upon us  in the mistaken impression that Greenpatches is all about midwifery - are owed an explanation.  So, here for your edification, we have...'Greenpatches - Five  Things You Wished You'd Always Known.' 

1. Greenpatches began in February 2007 when I accepted the Methodist Church's No New Shoes Lenten challenge to Live Simply.  I was following a module on environmental issues and vocation with St John's College Nottingham at the time and taking my first tentative steps into simplicity with  the Anglican  Franciscan Third Order ; No New Shoes was a useful way of helping me to remain accountable. Have I succeeded? Who knows...

2. TSSF, Third Order Society of St Francis  part of the Anglican Franciscan family is a dispersed community whose members try to live a life  of simplicity, love, joy and service after the manner of their founding Saints Francis and Claire -  in the midst of their everyday lives.  I was professed into TSSF in Spring 2009 after three years of discernment and formation.  For the moment I'm convening our local small group. (For the uninitiated, each larger area is divided into three or four smaller groups; much of everyday tertiary life and community takes place at local level). I'm not sure what Francis would have made of me; to be honest, I'm more Claire than Francis, but so far they've not thrown me out.

3. For any confused cyclists, Mr GP has in the past taken part in La Marmotte, the LEL, Kelloggs Tour of Ireland and many other competitive events. I blogged a fair bit about him in the early days as well as co-authoring his own blog for a while, which might account for why you ended up here in the first place!

4. The metaphor of the search for God as journey has always spoken to me and has taken me to places I'd neither have  imagined nor had the confidence to go.  Moving churches gave me valuable  space and time for reflection which in turn led me to some  wonderful experiences of formation in spirituality and spiritual direction skills. The journey continues...

5. Look here to learn about some of our experiences of pilgrimage. Since I made that decision to move, Mr GP and I have walked  along sections of  the Way of St James, the Wayfarers Walk and, finally last year a wonderful 200 + mile trek through the North of England and the Western Scottish Highlands to Iona.

So there you have it. Greenpatches in a nutshell...or a rucksack.  Whether you're a confused cyclist, midwife, methodist,  tertiary, oblate or other religious (of whatever denomination), pilgrim or spiritual searcher, I hope you'll enjoy reading along with me for the next five years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who do you say that I am?

 

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

    “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

 - Matthew 16, text Biblegateway

 

To return to our wandering shepherd, now reunited with his friends after a brief if inglorious career as a visual aid at our church's prayer group.

"Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked  his disciples. The Sunday before during the service, we'd been encouraged to reflect on who Christ is to each of us wherever we currently find ourselves on our journey of faith.  I say encouraged - maybe 'gently challenged' might best describe it. I picked up on this, leading  into our customary time of silent prayer with Matthew's text and a short meditation posing the question once more "Who do you say that I am?"

I guess any of Christ's questions could equally well have   applied just then.  Maybe they did.  He asked plenty of them, after all. "What do you want me to do for you?" Who are you looking for?" "Who touched me?" "Where is your faith?" "What concern is it of yours?" "What is your name?" and dozens and dozens of others.   

But later I fell to thinking about the approaches different  branches  of our faith communities take to those questions, to discipleship and encouraging  each other to grow and change.  Particularly after glancing through another 'Ship' discussion on Altar calls and 'decisionism': the good old call to the front, altar call, sinner's prayer and whatnot. Not all of it unfamiliar to me, in a fairly restrained Anglican version of from my old church. I'll try  not to  get into arguments about soteriology here; they've been pretty thoroughly covered on the thread.  However, my own reflections did get me pondering some aspects of my own journey - and  where I stand now on some of the methodology used over on the more evangelical and charismatic wing of the church, now that I've spent a few years in a slightly broader and more catholic setting. 

More so  given my own moves since into discerment of a possible  call to spiritual direction, my deeper appreciation and understanding of the nuances of peoples' faith journeys. 

Was,  for instance, my group  meditation  an 'altar call' in a different guise? It certainly didn't occur to me at the time that it might be considered to be this.  That my initial feeling was one of slight...only slight and probably  misplaced  - guilt at even an unintended hint of manipulation on my part  is maybe just the lingering remains of  hangups from my previous experiences.  Certainly I find the more laid back style of 'Newchurch' is enabling me to   grow into a way of relating to both God and my fellow Christians that's far more autonomous, less dependent than  before. Living, as well as living with...the questions.

Likewise, I consider my own style to be less 'directive,' more 'fellow pilgrim,' 'companioning.'  That could account for my ambivalence. Am I confusing  directiveness (is there such a word?!) with challenge? That should pose some implications for my own companioning. 

So after all that hot air, no answers...more questions. Which neatly brings us back to Matthew 16: "Who do you say that I am?" 

 

 

Three Ways of Making a Rule of Life

With Francistide and review of my TSSF Rule of Life still fresh in my mind,  here's some advice on the process applicable to anybody looking to live life more intentionally and holistically:

 

A rule is a document embodying the values which are central to your life, and the praxis which allows you to live this out with genuine integrity. 

 - Hermit Sr Laurel from notes from stillsong.

Developing a Rule of Life 13 Tips - from soulgardeners

 

and

Balancing Life by The Rule by Debra Farrington

I came across a wonderful piece of advice yesterday -  that  rule of life should not be a list of 'to do (s)' but of 'to be (s).'

Words, words, words...Over on the Franciscan Support Thread on Shipoffools posters are asking - Is it possible to make a rule of life without using them ? It's been suggested for the TSSF Principles in the past. Could you sign it? Paint, sing or dance it? Any other medium? Suggestions please...

For Franciscans I"d have thought creative ways like these would be spot on, given their sprituality and the famous "Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words," saying popularly attributed to our founder.

Granted we might have problems at annual renewal presenting them all at the altar - still I'm sure there are ways and means of getting over that one!

Late Blog of The Week - The Cartoon Blog

Welcome to my Blog of The Week - 'late' this time, not  - thankfully - in the Precious Ramotswe, Alenxander Mcall-Smith sense, more in the 'unexpected diversion caused by fault at the telephone exchange and subsequent circuitous and ultimately time-wasting wanderings round the labyrinthine bowels of a certain provider's website and call centre system' sense of the word.  But that's another story, which, I hope, will not be set to run and run...

So, to BOTW: this time round, I chose what I call one of the 'Big Blogs,' Dave Walker's Cartoon Blog and his reflections on his struggles to maintain his creativity under pressure.  I've had a bit of a sea-change myself, lately, partly prompted by the examples of other people who've not been afraid to be seen to be vulnerable. (At times in the past, the dreaded words:"Now, I'd like us to turn to our neighbour and share..." has had me glancing at the door to locate  the nearest exit for the loo). Hence, I have a great deal of respect for those of us who have the courage to stand up and share their 'seagulls,' or in my case, 'seabirds.' Yes, I know the picture here shows a stork; there is a perfectly simple explanation for this here.

Seagulls, seabirds, storks; which gives me a chance to make an even more tenuous link: Wildgoose and tertiary and actor Paul Alexander's classic reflections on the work of the Holy Spirit: Chasing The Wildgoose which he originally wrote for Franciscan enquirers.

"In the Celtic tradition ‘the wild goose’ is the symbol for the Holy Spirit. The

 

wild goose is an enigmatic creature; once seen, never forgotten; once

 

heard, always remembered; here one moment, gone the next; fond of

 

desolate places and freedom; a romantic figure living a wild life; almost

 

impossible to follow, but once pursued, almost impossible to give up."

 

Keep your seagulls flying, Dave. They're an inspiration to us all. 

When I started this feature, I'd planned never to repeat a blogger, but, as it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day yesterday, I simply couldn't resist linking to Archdruid Eileen's Liturgy. 

                                                                                                                                                          aarrmen!

 

 

 

Greenbelt Part 1

A few thoughts on my experience helping out with the TO presence this year, taken from 'The Ship.'

I thoroughly enjoyed my stints on the TO stall at Greenbelt. Plenty people stopped to make enquiries, browse through our literature and just to chat. I had some really inspiring conversations there. 

It was also good - if amusing - to note how many tertiaries, apart from those of us involved with the organisation of the stall - were there 'incognito' but who sidled by and 'outed' themselves when they realised we were there! 

 Taint always easy to meet with TO folk out of one's immediate area; (come to think of it, it isn't that easy to maintain contact with tertiaries within our own areas). I came away feeling quite encouraged.

Should any of the organisers be lurking here, this was definitely A Good Idea and I'm looking forward to next year's stint.

 

 

Blog of The Week - The Mercy Blog

...comes earlier than usual this week - time being in short supply over the next few days.  I've chosen a long-standing member of my blogroll, Mike F of The Mercy Blog, Franciscan tertiary and contemplative. His was one of the blogs I stumbled across early on in my own vocational wanderings and I've watched it grow and develop over the years.  At risk of totally embarrassing him, IMHO it's one of the top-league Francisan blogs (and yes, I know classing blogs must definitely run contrary to the Francisan ethos!); however, I'm referring to quality and integrity here. He's been brave enough to  share some of the joys and struggles of his journey honestly, often at great depth, yet with a humble simplicity that's an inspiration to others.  He's also a great encourager.  

Mike, ongoing wishes and prayers for you as your journey takes  a new turn. I hope we'll still be able to read your reflections in future, even if you're not able to blog as frequently as before.

Peace and all good.

 

Last week's Blog of the Week:  Adam McHugh's Introverted Church and Aubry Smith's My Offerings.

'Rule of Life' - Commitment to transformation

"The keeping of a rule is not an end in itself. It is not so that  we can feel more in control or that our lives might be in order. It is not even so we can feel closer to God. Its purpose is transformation: that we make become more Christlike... It is not about a one-off change. It is rather about an ongoing, life-long openess to keep on being changed, with and by the communities which we are committed to."

 - from Alan Hargrave's Living Well: Finding a 'rule of life' to Revitalise and Sustain Us, SPCK Publishing 2010

'Living Well' is one of my current reads.  It's compact, accessible and practical  yet deep. Would that it had been around when I was working out my own rule  with TSSF (Third Order, Society of St Francis). He uses the ancient rule of St Benedict as a structure for his reflections, but the book is designed for anyone who is searching for life-giving transformation and a pattern to their lives.  And 'community' includes : family, partners, work, church, friends; any and all of the groups we live and work with day by day.

Poultices and sticking plaster

 

Another thought-provoking post today from Franciscan Ponderings. I love his likening the healing power of Christ in the Eucharist to a poultice, quoting from the medieval  The Epistle of Privy Counsel.

 

'Take good and gracious God, just as he is,

and without further ado

lay him on your sick self  just as you are,

for all the world as if he were a poultice.

For touching God is eternal health.

You are touching his very being,

his own dear self, no more, no less.'

 

 Thanks to the vagaries of the sacristy rota, I seem to have spent a fair amount of time over the last weeks counting out communion wafers - an activity which oddly enough, I find to be very  calming and conducive to reflection. 

 When I left my previous church a few years ago, and went searching for a new 'home,' one of the first things I was looked  for was a place where celebration of the Eucharist was central - weekly,if not daily.  As  this coincided with my journey into TheThird Order, where the Eucharist is the focus of our prayer and way of life, it became even more of an imperative. At least the field was narrowed - if I'd ever harboured thoughts of changing denomination, this was a staying point.

The heart of our prayer is the Eucharist, in which we share with other Christians the renewal of our union with our Lord and Saviour in his sacrifice, remembering his death and receiving his spiritual food.

-       From the Principles  of the Third Order, Society of St Francis

Already -  as I began the slow process of personalising the order's rule  to fit my circumstances  - I could see it shaping my decisions and way of life.  This is where the poultice image really speaks to me, I think.  During the last  months or so at Oldchurch, that limbo time where I withdrew from all that I'd been involved in in that community, piece by painful piece, both mentally and in actuality, the one straw I clung to, if you like, was Holy Communion.  It was the one constant, a place where I could try, at least to simply 'be' with God.  To let God draw out the poison.  It's an apt analogy. Funnily enough, in some writing I did for 'Newchurch' I've likened them to a sticking plaster - a giant one; a reference to the space I've been given to just 'be' without too many (or any!) demands or expectations.  A place where we embody the love of  Christ. Well, most of the time, anyway! And yes, the Eucharist is celebrated. 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogging up and down like this

Welcome to Green Patches on this bright and sunny summer's afternoon.  An especial 'hi' to those Shippies  who've dropped in via a thread on all things blog. I hope you've managed to gain some inkling as to what  on earth a Franciscan tertiary is, and if not, at least had a good laugh. 

 

 

 

 

Pondering Franciscan Spirituality

Alongside ballroom dancing, quite a few visitors to Greenpatches seem to arrive here via a search for Franciscan spirituality. Obviously, I'm not the only one out there trying to pin down that (sometimes) elusive something or other.  It's always good to discover other souls out there, often far wiser than myself, who are pondering and trying to live out a similar path.  So, a happy discovery  - a newish blog: Franciscanponderings  who says:

 

Like a many-faceted diamond giving off different colours and hues as it is turned in the light, so the unsearchable riches of God encountered in Christ are reflected in the great variety of Christian approaches to the spiritual way. Each spirituality has its own tone and unique flavour, with its own particular emphases. I hope in ths blog to share a taste of the Franciscan contribution to the quest of the human heart for what will refresh our soul and give light to our path.

 - to read more, link here

Thank you for sharing your ponderings. I'm looking forward to listening to what you have to say.