In “normal” times during the summer months if you spend anytime in Scotland you have the opportunity to watch in awe the sheepdog trials or if attending some Highland Gatherings fall in love with both sheep and collie dogs! The working sheep dog displays amazing concentration in the job at hand working with amazing partnershipContinue reading “Sheep dogs!”
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On Turning Ten
Thanks to you who have been reading these posts. If you have labored through the last three with T.S. Eliot then I offer you a treat, how about a doughnut and a cup of coffee. Today, I too need a treat so I am turning to poet Billy Collins. On the cover of one ofContinue reading “On Turning Ten”
“The Church must be forever building”
In this the third and final post from T.S. Eliot’s Choruses from the Rock we continue to hear Eliot wrestle with the question -Can faith itself hold up? Today we hear a few lines from Part 2 of this 10 part poem. To read the whole poem please use the link https://www.arak29.am/PDF_PPT/6-Literature/Eliot/Chtherock_eng.pdfEnjoy! And the ChurchContinue reading ““The Church must be forever building””
Build with new bricks!
In April 2019 we watched, with all of Paris, in disbelief as Notre Dame Cathedral suffered such destruction. This towering miracle of beauty and majesty was suddenly engulfed by fire. What once was, might never be again! Prayers were offered all over the world as the roof slowly gave way. Could faith itself hold up?Continue reading “Build with new bricks!”
Choruses from the Rock
In the next three posts I venture to bring to your attention, and hopefully for your enjoyment and pondering, the words of T.S. Eliot in his Choruses from the ‘Rock’, 1934. In brief, The Rock was a play written on commission to support the 49 Church Fund of the Diocese of London. The funds raisedContinue reading “Choruses from the Rock”
Standing Uneasily
In the most recent publication of the journal Poetry, there is a piece by Jennifer Horne in which she describes the work of the poet and of poetry. She writes “I embrace poetry as a subversive force, for once you are split open by a poem you can only become whole again by refashioning yourselfContinue reading “Standing Uneasily”
Untying knots!
It is many years since my youth, when I recall I was able to gain a merit badge for tying knots. Knots themselves are not that difficult to learn, the real skill is being able to untie the many knots we inadvertently tie. If we are honest we have tied knots at times in ourContinue reading “Untying knots!”
Nothing Fancy
A few weeks ago the leaders of the G7 gathered for their summit in Cornwall, the southwest corner of England. I recalled a walking holiday a few years ago along the coastal paths of Cornwall. Some days the path stayed fairly close to the coast and other days it took turns inland and uphill asContinue reading “Nothing Fancy”
The Summer Day
In my last post I mentioned I would be staying with the poems of Mary Oliver for a few days. Her poem The Summer Day ends with the often quoted last two lines. Yet don’t be in any hurry to arrive there, enjoy her every word. The poem begins with the questions we have allContinue reading “The Summer Day”
Sunflowers
Although I’m “not in Kansas anymore” I can recall the surprise and delight of the hot summer days and the wide wide prairies, and the sight of fields and fields of sunflowers. The contrast of the wide horizons of the prairies from the smaller, tighter space of Scotland took much adjustment. In fairness though, bothContinue reading “Sunflowers”
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 