Uncategorized – Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings

Pilgrimage

In this season of Lent we journey toward Easter and the theme of pilgrimage is a familair way to make our preparations for discipleship. It is hard to imagine that in the turmoil of Elizabethan England, pilgrimage was itself prohibited as was all use of catholic imagery following The Reformation. The photo above is ofContinue reading “Pilgrimage”

“…seagulls are grounded”

“How To Speak Love In A Storm?” How to speak love in a storm?depends on the substance of the voice,as the trees rageand roof tiles smash,where seagulls are groundedand there is only chaos. How to speak love in a storm?is to put up a signpost for the lost,as on the bitter hillsideyou lie murmuring,‘Why isContinue reading ““…seagulls are grounded””

“Death has come here on holiday…”

From Minneapolis in Januaryby Michael Bazzett We live in the numbnessof an occupied citywhere every story has anotherstory curled inside its labyrinth— and when Sleep readsto you at bedtime, it isthe nested one that comesslinking out to sew you, with tiny stitches andscarlet thread, to the mattress.It is a story that believes itselfto be permanentContinue reading ““Death has come here on holiday…””

To see oursels as ithers see us!

In my old school book The Albatross Book of Verse, from which I have used many of the peoms found there, I marvel that Robert Burns sits between William Blake and William Wordsworth – poets of the early nineteenth century! The three of them would make interesting dinner guests. Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns, wasContinue reading “To see oursels as ithers see us!”

The Flow Country

In the far north of Scotland, in the two most northernmost counties, Sutherland and Caithness, there is an abundance of natural beauty. When I lived there close to 40 years ago I took it all for granted and as a barrenness that I had to drive through. Oh silly me! Recently a friend from thoseContinue reading “The Flow Country”

The Leper Window

Carrickfergus is my hometown. The castle, around which the town took its shape, was built in 1177. In 1182, the Anglo Norman, John de Courcy, who had the castle built, turned his attention to the building of a church, which today along with the castle dominate the town’s landscape. Please give yourself a treat andContinue reading “The Leper Window”

For Auld Lang Syne

This is my last post of 2025 and I wish to express thanks to you for reading the posts and for the comments you leave. I am hoping 2026 will be a year in which we can discover new poems and visit old favorites and be inspired by the vision they embrace. We all claimContinue reading “For Auld Lang Syne”

Arrival!

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a hopeful New Year. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, we read of the journey of the wisemen from the east. When they actually arrived is not known, but we should not be surprised to learn that it may well have been some days or many weeksContinue reading “Arrival!”

The Gospel story is old but it is always new.

It is hard to share an image of that first Nativity. This year I leave an empty square for you to imagine Bethlehem Square in whatever way you choose. I am still haunted by my one and only visit to Bethlehem. Israeli soldiers boarded our bus as we approached the city of Bethlehem to checkContinue reading “The Gospel story is old but it is always new.”

Struggle of Waiting!

We struggle to wait, whether that be in a shopping line, a ticket line, at a bus or train stop, even at a red light! When everything seems so instant waiting for the tea kettle to boil can be a struggle. Advent is a season of preparation and hopeful waiting. Today, I share with youContinue reading “Struggle of Waiting!”