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Contemplative Fire PostJuly 2017 – no.23ARC (Anglican Religious Communities)Conference 4th – 7th JulySharon Roberts writes:Early in July, Elaine Wilkins and I joined nearly100 delegates, drawn from religiouscommunities old and new, at the beautifulChristian Centre at Lee Abbey in Devon, for anintensive two days of input and sharing,exploring the theme of “God, Ourselves and theWorld”. The invitation for Contemplative Fire toparticipate came through our status as anAcknowledged Community (although we arenot, of course, part of the Anglican Church).The Community of Hopeweavershttp://www.hopeweavers.co.uk/The Community of Aidan and Hildahttps://www.aidanandhilda.org.uk/index.phpThe Northumbria Communityhttps://www.northumbriacommunity.org/The Community of St Anselmhttp://stanselm.org.uk/Moot http://www.moot.uk.net/Although the communities represented werevery different – from monks and nuns who havelived under vows for all their adult lives, to newdispersed communities such as ourselves – weall had in common a commitment to a rule orrhythm of life of some sort, based on times ofstillness, commitment to learn andcompassionate engagement with the world.A feature of our time together was the sharingof gracious wisdom coupled with completeopenness, although what really surprised mewas the noise level! When we were not insilence or listening to speakers, there wasalways an amazing buzz of conversation as wetold our stories, or met up with old friends andmade new ones. Every age was represented,and the commitment to build relationships andlearn from one another across traditions wasimmensely strong.As it’s always interesting to learn what otherdispersed communities are up to, here is a listof some who were ------------A few thoughts following my trip to the“Trinity: Soul of Creation” conference inAlbuquerqueCaroline Newton writes:It was a rather wonderful moment just beforelast Christmas, when I realized I could combinea family visit to the USA with Richard Rohr’sTrinity conference in Albuquerque. I sold it tomyself as a short internal ‘hop’- in reality itproved to be another four hours flight fromAtlanta - the USA is surprisingly large! But thepresenting panel of Richard Rohr, CynthiaBourgeault and William Paul Young (author ofThe Shack) was a strong attraction, and Ineeded very little to persuade me it was‘doable’.The city’s convention centre was host to the1,800 conference attendees. I met a handfulfrom Europe and the UK, but unsurprisingly themajority were from Canada and the USA. Whatwas more surprising was to discover a largewoven trefoil on the stage for the duration, anda backdrop containing a dancing Elizabeth theFirst!
Richard Rohr refered to the trefoil asrepresenting the flow of the Trinity in kenoticlove. Cynthia referred to it as ‘the three foldreality joining the realms together:Cosmos/World, Theos/God, Andros/Man. Thebackdrop was part of “The Dancing Saints” iconby artist Mark Dukes, including Sojurner Truth,Malcom X, and Teresa of Avila. This scene camealive for me on the Sunday morning when, aftera farewell Communion, all 1,800 of us did ahuge circle dance to Lord of the Dance!Each of the three days we spent togetherstarted with Cynthia leading the whole group in20 mins of silent Centering Prayer. I had beenreading her “Heart of Centering Prayer” andfound her short verbal explanation helpful - theexperience of sitting in deep silence with 1,800others was very enriching.The conversations that the three presentersthen had on the topic of the Trinity each daywere equally mind expanding! Richard spokeabout the mystery of relationship andrelatedness, and that this is where true poweris- a power not just found in the healing force oflove, but power found through relatedness inevery dimension, even the molecules in ourmaterial world. He spoke of the underpinningnature of God and reality as flow, unrelentingaffection, every moment in the flow of love, areality that can only come to wholeness inrelationship and community. “Deny relationshipand people flee into religiosity, because whenour hearts are broken we run to our heads. Godhad to descend into religion to save and bringus back into relationship.” Many of the thoughtshe shared I had encountered in his latest book“The Divine Dance”, which I highly recommend.Cynthia focused some of her time on expandingthe Law of Three. Within this law there is anaffirming force (the initiative/push forwardforce), a denying force (the push back force)and a reconciling force, which allows the twoothers to come together and create a newbeginning. When we understand this law, wesee that without what we often perceive as the‘negative’ denying force, there can be no newcreation. Evolution needs limitation andconstriction in all areas of life. I found thisconcept fascinating and extremely helpful incoping with challenges in life.The greatest surprise of the conference for mewas William Paul Young. The back story to hiswriting “The Shack” is a powerful testament tohow Spirit works through our lives. He has doneseveral interviews sharing his considerable livedexperience of challenge and healing and, if youwish, you can find one on YouTube which willtell the story, rather than me filling the nextpage with it. He spoke of the God of hischildhood - a solitary disapproving God, and hespoke of the God he came to know - the God ofthe Trinity, where “Inside the circle ofrelationship all of creation matters” and hisgradual realization that “Everything aboutreligion that is contrary to relationship has beenbrought to the table by us”. Paul’s unique wayof explaining concepts with stories had me spellbound, and if you can get to download a copy ofhis presentation I would highly recommend it.These talks were wrapped around with spacegiven to chanting, meditative walking, yoga andof course book signings! In addition Richard hadgiven his personal library - some 3,500 books to charity, and we had a chance to browsethese and make donations for them, quite adelight!Richard, Cynthia and WilliamI fear these are woefully few words to conveythe riches that these three presenters laid outbefore us, and the experience of the event, butI hope they have given you a flavour of thedays. Albuquerque also laid on good food,interesting music and friendly people. So, on myreturn I can confidently say that if a futureRichard Rohr Conference inspires you, don’tpush the possibility into the ‘No’ basket tooquickly .it is a long way away, but theexperience is unique and very ------------------
Reflections on the Contemplative FireRetreat, Parcevall Hall, 16th-21st JuneCanada, was based on the seasonal writings ofParker Palmer.Have teapot will travelJeremy Timm writes:This year was the second time I joined theRetreat at Parcevall Hall .and loved it.We all live carrying “To Do Lists”, either in ourheads or on a post-it note on the fridge, but theretreat allowed me to put mine down andindulge the spirit, without pressure to bemoving on to the next task.This is another simple exercise that is hard tosqueeze into my normal daily routine, but herein the silence of my lovely room I was able tofocus fully on drawing and still all thosechattering thoughts about my “To Do List”I love tea . In the morning I arose quite earlyand enjoyed a leisurely cup of tea . Wellactually a chawan of tea. This became a realmindfulness exercise as I started the day,engaging all the senses, in my own quiet teaceremony. The pleasure of all the senses, thesound of pouring, the beauty of the full cup, thesmell of fresh green tea, the smooth touch ofthe chawan and of course the refreshingtaste . all focussed me on the presentmoment. This is a simple mindfulness exercisewhich I regard as a gift from our retreat which Ihave brought home with me and now forms apart of my morning awakening .Before our silent breakfast, we gathered in thechapel for a time of silence together which,together with our evening gathering, becamecornerstones in my daily routine. It is hard toexplain that as Community gathers in thePresence of Divine Stillness, there is both acommunity experience and a personal one. It isthis centering and settling in silence togetherthat means when we move out of silence at theend of our days together, that people we mayhave never met actually feel like good friends- awonderful experience for me. I may not be ableto take days of silence with me back into thebusy daily round, but I return to that roundquietly changed by the experience.Another pleasure I had in the space provided bythe Retreat was the time each day to create amandala based on each of the seasons, as ourdaily input, led by Anne Crosthwait fromAfter lunch I had a siesta! Now that is a luxury,but it is important to rest the body as well asthe spirit, so together with a bath in the hugehundred year old tubs - which could be atraining venue for Olympic swimmers! - I leftfeeling physically refreshed.For me the retreat was rich because it gifted mespace . space for tea, drawing, snoozing andbathing. Also the space to settle both alone andin community into the silent stillness ofPresence which, in ways we may not recognise,transform us as individuals through theencounter and also enrich community.The Whiff of the Rose VineAnne Crosthwait writes:When I’d step out the door sometimes I’d catchthe whiff of roses. The old manor house whereContemplative Fire hosted their annual retreatthis year was Parcevall Hall in Yorkshire. Therewas a beautiful rose vine that grew beside thedoorway and over our bedroom windows. Itbecame a friend during the week I stayed there.
The devotional focus for the week was seasonalchanges. We walked through the letting go ofautumn, the dormancy of winter, the mess andbuds of spring and the abundance of summer,only of course to begin again with letting go assummer’s abundance fades and the frozen timeof winter approaches - the relentlessness ofseasons.The rose vine was a picture of all the seasonsfor me and the whole picture was beautiful.There are beautiful roses in bloom, and smallbuds emerging too, but there is also ascattering of rose petals on the ground asblooms finish and of course dead heads thathave yet to be cleared away – buds, blossoms,fallen petals and deadheads - spring, summer,fall and winter, an ongoing cycle in front of me,relentless and all beautiful. In its completenessit is beautiful. Yes, there is a part of me thatonly wants full blooms . But truly the wholevine is beautiful.The whiff of the rose vine – may I embrace allthe seasons of my life. Am I resisting one ofthem? Don’t want to experience the autumn ofletting go of something? Fearful of buds – whatwill they look like? How messy will it be?Uncertain, tentative to bask in the beauty ofabundance? What sustains me in the times ofdeadheads, times of deep waiting? Therelentless turn of seasons. Winter won’t lastforever, spring will come, but also summerwon’t last forever either, autumn will come aswell. What do I need to be content with theseasonal cycles? Another twist to being aMystic in Motion.Love and prayers on our journey,Anne Crosthwait- Community Leader,Contemplative Fire Canada (taken from Anne’sblog - Mystic in Motion --Clean Space and Doorways to theSacred“At the edge between the known and theunknown there is a fertile place, full ofpossibility. Playing at the edge can lead us toexperience fresh new learning, creativity, joyand wonder.”Philip Roderick writes:As I write on 27th July, in the space of a coupleof days, two books have been posted throughour letterbox in Saltdean. The first, entitled“Insights in Space: How to Use Clean Space tosolve problems, generate ideas and sparkcreativity”, was written by James Lawley andMarian Way. It expresses in an accessible waythe experiential process called Clean Spacewhich I have found to have a profoundusefulness, both on my personal journey and inthe preparation and leading of worship, in CFand beyond.At the very front of the book is a one sentencequote with which I totally resonate. WhatSteven D’Souza and Diana Renner write (seequote above) goes straight to the heart of whatdraws me; it also, to my mind, expressescogently some of the key ingredients or threadsin the formation and continuing life and work ofContemplative Fire.This insight bridges with a lovely synchronicityto the second book to pass through myletterbox in a matter of hours - the latest in the“Ancient Faith, Future Mission” series publishedby Canterbury Press. In previous years, theseries has contained articles on ContemplativeFire both by Tessa Holland and me. The title ofthis ‘hot off the press’ book of essays is“Doorways to the Sacred” and it contains anarticle on Contemplative Fire’s baptismaljourney with three Companions on the Way, cowritten by Susan Blagden and me. Our chapter
is entitled “In at the Deep End: TransformingInitiation”.In this book of sixteen essays focusing ondeveloping sacramentality in Fresh Expressionsof Church, you will find in the Afterword byMichael Moynagh an important reflection forContemplative Fire: “Traditionally, localdiscretion was highly constrained by liturgiesauthorized nationally, which reinforced thehierarchical nature of discernment. Recently,however, greater discretion and creativity at alocal level have been encouraged .As agrowing number of new ecclesial communitiesin particular push the boundaries of acceptedpractice, experimentation can be helpfullyframed by a policy of generous exceptions.” (cfLindsay Urwin’s ‘What is the Role ofSacramental Ministry in Fresh Expressions ofChurch?’ in Steve Croft (ed.), Mission-shapedQuestions, Church House Publishing, London,2008, p.35)This should not be a means to keep newcommunities at arms-length from themainstream – ‘we’ll generously permit them tobe exceptions so that we don’t have to change.’Rather, generous exceptions can be Spirit-givenopportunities to test and learn frominnovations. Exceptions enable the Church toask, ‘Lord, is this the direction in which you arenow leading us?’ . Through generousexceptions, the Spirit can continually reform theChurch and keep it moving towards its ultimatedestination.” (pp 194,195) Amen to that!your support, especially during our transitiontime after Philip's retirement as leader. Yourhumility, sensitivity and creativity, together withyour gentle and honest authenticity which attimes must have been costly, have been muchappreciated and have been an example for us tofollow as a way of Christian leadership.On behalf of the Contemplative Fire Trusteesand Companions I would like to thank you mostsincerely for the gift of yourself to us, especiallyat our Community Weekends. We will miss youthis year, but readily understand the demandson your time, not least in your own diocese.So we say farewell to you, and thank you again for your time, your encouragement, yourgenerous sharing and everything you havedone to help our Community. May Godcontinue to bless you and enrich you.Charlotte (Chair of CF ---------------Pilgrimage to Now/hereLongshaw, DerbyshireSaturday 1st ------------Jacky Stride and Ruth Iantorno led our day andwe were delighted to be joined by Companionsfrom “down south” who had travelled up toSheffield for the Hub meeting the day before.Dear Bishop Paul,I have learned from Gill Greenwood, ouradministrator, that you believe the time hascome for you to conclude your time with us asBishop Visitor.I know, without doubt, that the Companions ofContemplative Fire are most grateful to you forWe were invited to walk mindfully in thebeautiful space of Longshaw, getting in touchwith ourselves and our place in wild nature.Then, with the help of an exercise based on theNative American tradition of the MedicineWheel, we were invited to each seek God’sinvitation for our journey of life in Christ.“Jacob, travelling across wild country, wearilyplaces his head on a boulder. Asleep under thenight sky, his powerful dream-vision evokes thecry:
Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did notknow it! How awesome is this place! This isnone other than the house of God. This is thegate of heaven. (Genesis 28:16-17)In the Sinai wilderness, Moses stands in front ofa desert scrub-bush that is burning withoutbeing consumed and hears a voice:Remove the sandals from your feet for the placeon which you are standing is holy ground.(Exodus 3:5)In both these stories we see how the naturalworld reveals God directly, the landscape andeverything in it is alive with the presence of thedivine; we literally stand under an open heaven.The seasons of the year and the cycles of themoon create spiritual rhythms for our lives.Job’s wisdom crumbles in awe of wild natureand the creatures that inhabit it. God appearsamong oak trees and mountaintops, and isimagined as a roaring lion, nurturing eagle andprotective mother bear. For psalmists andprophets hills “skip like lambs”, trees “clap theirhands” and forests sing along with the rest ofcreation in praise of God. The earth is seen tobe a living entity within itself in its relationshipwith God – quite apart from human beings.”Taken from Fingerprints of Fire Footsteps ofPeace by Noel Moules. (pp ----------Wrapped upGently, glowing, swaying, bubblingrustlingA day concerning Children andSpirituality and the natural worldled by Rev Dr Chris Walton“My magic spot, well that’s what it was. Puremagic. I could feel the wind flying by my face.A symphony of different birds rang in myeardrums! Something that really caught myeye was a bed of daffodils. Until I did magicspots I could never find silence like thatbefore. It really was a life changingexperience for me. It was like being inheaven.” 10 year oldSaturday 14th October 201710.30am - 4pmArrive at 10am for coffee and 10.30 startAt Broomhill Infant School Garden, Beech HillRoad, Sheffield, S10 2SASuitable for all with an interest in children’sspirituality (including teachers with aninterest in spiritual development) - cost 50Booking is essential: places are ordpress.com/This day is for all those who are concerned tofacilitate opportunities for children to experiencequietness, especially in the natural world and toarticulate their relationships with otherness. It willbe a mixture of indoor work and outdoorexperience, investigating, exploring and sharing ourexperience of the mystics we are privileged to know,or teach, to accompany and to love. Experience Magic Spots for yourself – solitudein the natural world Consider the role of adults accompanyingchildren in their spiritual experience A looking at the almost impossible concept of‘children’s spirituality’ Breathe in children’s imagination, joy andinnocence enough to re-evaluate yourrelationship with ------------
The Divine Dance _, which I highly recommend. Cynthia focused some of her time on expanding the Law of Three. Within this law there is an affirming force (the initiative/push forward force), a denying force (the push back force) and a reconciling force, which allows the two others to come together and create a new beginning.
