Four Legged Bundles of Love

I have been noticing the various uses people have for social media for sometime now and quite enjoy some of the things that get posted.  The inspirational quotes intended to send a positive message, the connecting with friends, the wonderful pictures of the places that people travel, the soap box to have your say and sadly the harsh talk or hate talk.  It makes me ask what is the purpose of social media?

I freely admit that I am selective about who I friend, what I post and how much I am willing to follow others but tonight as I was scrolling through the facebook news feed there was a picture of Pope Francis with a dog and the quote, "One day we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God's creatures."  It caught my attention.  When I was a seminarian there was much discussion around this topic and various opinions.  A visiting Bishop, not about to be cornered, responded to our question with a question, "How many angels can dance on the point of the needle?" We were left with no clear answer.   I have not given a lot of thought to the question through out the years and then this evening there is this lovely post and quote.

I have always considered that the one who created all creatures would also be the one who received them when death came.  I enjoy the Blessing of the Animals service in October as people bring their beloved creatures to church for the celebration.  More than any of that though is the intense joy and pleasure these animals bring to our lives.  They sense our mood, our feelings and offer incredible support and comfort.   I also remember being asked, many years ago to describe a time when I have felt close to or in the presence of God.  I remember writing about the experience of having one dog lying on my feet under the desk as I typed and the other lying at the back of the chair.  There was peace and complete harmony in the room.  In that moment I knew that the presence of God was everywhere and it is frequently offered through the companionship that has been shared through the years.

So as memories of beloved creatures that have graced our lives for too short a time come to mind Pope Francis offers comfort to all animal lovers.  The hope and grace of God is extended to all of creation and is not a human monopoly.  The God who creates also receives all of the beloved creatures  back to himself.  So how many angels can dance on the point of the needle?  Who knows, who cares?  Pope Francis has reminded us of a loving God that is bigger than we can hope or imagine, that supersedes our expectations and loves all of creation especially the four legged variety that teach us much about unconditional love.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself"

Josh Billings 

 

O. G. P.

Sometimes it is hard to get inspired!  This is true of any aspect of life from an exercise program, weight loss, career challenges or in my case this week, the blog.  It is not meant to be cumbersome and it is not that I have not had numerous encounters this week with a variety of people and varying needs.  I have gone from the high points of life,  meeting couples for marriage planning, to low points of life, funeral planning.  Now I get to step back on the merry go round of ministry and start all over again tomorrow.

Inspiration, when it happens is a fabulous thing.  The eulogy at today's funeral ended with the acronym OGP.  The daughter in law, who delivered the eulogy, went on to explain that the deceased always ended his letters this way....Okay, Good, Perfect!  It was a lovely summary of a life well lived, filled with teachable moments and this occasion of his funeral was one more opportunity to leave those gathered with a positive message.  Everything is okay, good perfect.  OGP

I pondered this as I left the service and thought what a happy thought if we could all look at life in this way and have a positive outlook it would make so much difference to how we look at the world and the people in it.  It doesn't mean that we won't have our moments of weakness but three simple letters can change our outlook tremendously.  I am always impressed when families share memories that have such an impact and leave many people gathered with such a strong impression.

So when inspiration seems hard to come by because I have gotten caught up in the demands that get placed in the schedule I am reminded that the everyday and ordinary circumstances of life can be the source.  Ordinary letters of the alphabet can take on a whole new outlook and as a result they will never be considered in quite the same manner again.  So if you are struggling to find some inspiration look to the ordinary, find encouragement from a friend, share a moment of your time and always remember to listen.  Inspiration will come!

"Faith begins as an experiment and ends up as an experience"

William Ralph Inge 

A Chance Encounter

This morning, a nice fall crisp one, I took the dogs for a walk.  I know that you are not supposed to talk to strangers (but I will talk to almost anyone) but as we were strolling along we chanced to encounter a gentleman walking his dog.  This dog was harder to control and the man was trying to get him to sit for me to continue on with my dogs, without much luck.   In the meantime mine were sitting and waiting patiently for the new comer to continue down the street.    This dog, a pure bred Doberman, was making a coughing sound and eager to meet two new furry friends.  The man and I established that the three dogs were friendly and let them meet each other.  They were all happy to make a new friend.

The man was quite curious about the leads that I was using and started up a conversation as the one that he used was not working so well in controlling his dog.  So we discussed the merits of the Halti harness versus the Gentle Leader (my preferred harness).  He was quite impressed with the Gentle leader and the way it controlled the dogs.  He also shared that his dog, now called Bruno, is a rescue, had spent most of his two year life on a chain and had sustained some sort of damage to his throat as he could no longer bark, only make the coughing sound that I had heard.  This dog certainly had a sad story.  I also learned the man’s name and where he lived and that he did shift work.   So as we were chatting I told him that I was a priest with the Anglican Church and without pause he said, I’m Anglican. I quickly figured out that he had not been there in a while since he referred to it as the Church of England.

It was a friendly visit, a chance encounter of two dog owners who happened to be walking the same sidewalk on the same morning but it left me thinking about the comment “I’m Anglican.”  This man, like numerous others that I have encountered, still claim some loose affiliation with the denomination but for some reason are no longer in attendance.  My question is not so much why he doesn't  attend a church but where has the church failed?  Why are we not engaging people?  Why have people walked away?  Is it disillusionment?  Work commitments?  Family engagements?  Hypocrisy of the institutional church?  I am sure that there are any numbers of reasons that people can provide by way of explanation.  Yet, there is still this claim to the denomination even if the person has not been in a while.  The challenge then, I think is to meet the people where they are enter into conversation, it doesn’t have to be deeply philosophical, and let a chance encounter change both parties.  I once read “God meets us where we are, but he doesn’t leave us there” and I hope that chance encounters like the one I had this morning plants a seed in both the man that I encountered and me so that there will be more encounters, more conversations and that we will both be richer for the experience.

Bits, Pieces and Scraps

I opened a drawer in my craft room, quite by accident, as I was looking for material that I had bought to make a fall table cover.  In this little drawer I found a bundle of pieces, already cut into 2.5 x 5 inch pieces.  I had no idea what I had cut them for or what pattern I had envisioned.  Along with the small pieces I found other pieces ready to be cut on the 5 inch mark, many more pieces of left over scraps as well as a series of 6 x 6 inch blocks.  Google is definitely a most useful tool so I entered in my material measurements and up comes the idea of a scrap jelly roll quilt.

 The bits and pieces that I found (trust me there are a lot of pieces here, enough for at least 1 double quilt)

 Scraps ready for ironing and cutting

Apparently you piece it together however you wish upright, sideways, long or short pieces and there is no wrong way because each one is unique to the creator.  So this got me thinking (a most dangerous sport) that I need to go quilting again.

And what I hope it will look like, but with more colors 
(photo thanks to Christa's Quilts Online)


I learned to quilt over 20 years ago when the older ladies of the Parish of Forteau thought it would be fun to teach me how to make some of those works of art that they produced.  At best I was and am a mediocre student, but it was a lot of fun and a good way to get to know some of the matriarchs of the communities and the congregations.  It was also a very pleasant way to pass a winter evening.  So this skill that has lain dormant for the last 10 years or so has emerged and as I looked at the bits and pieces of materials that were ready to be cut up I found a completed quilt top and back ready to go together, another put together ready for quilting (no picture as it will hopefully be someone's Christmas gift) and of course bits, pieces and scraps ready to be made into at least 1 masterpiece.

The Queen size quilt top that I found, ready to be assembled and quilted

Paths to explore, I thought, would be about new ventures.  Today I learned that it is also about the past and what has been learned along the way, skills that have been acquired and visiting with some old and pleasant memories.  Paths to explore with it bits, pieces and scraps are the things that make up the memories of life, add colour and character.   Our interactions and encounters show us that life is not perfect in symmetry, nor is it monochromatic but it is diverse and rich because of the paths that we travel, explore and allow others to enrich when we enter into relationships.

Think of Happy Things

We have returned from France and will during this week ease back into a full work schedule.  It hardly seems possible that the trip is finished.  When we finally got up today after 28 hours of flying and lay overs in various airports, Edmund said “well yesterday this time we were doing….” whatever it happened to be.  Over a coffee we chatted about how fast the time went, it seemed like a long time coming when we booked in February but passed so quickly.  As we chatted about the highlights and the fun we had together Edmund said the quote that keeps coming to mind is a thing of beauty is a joy that will last forever.

There is no doubt it will last forever.  What we were able to experience, the educational, the spiritual and the fun rolled into one neat little package with lots of pictures will be something that we treasure, memories that we made to share.  As the line from Keats poem says so beautifully “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.”  So when life becomes busy, stress levels get high and escape is on the agenda, it is times like these that we can look to as a reminder of the beauty and joy that we experienced.  There is a scene in the movie Pan (played by Robin Williams) where Pan returns to Neverland all grown up and unable to fly.  As he struggles to fly Tinkerbell (played by Julia Roberts) says find your happy place.  When he goes to a happy place he is able to once again soar.  The memories we build are our happy places that help us soar, find peace, remember joy and just be in a happy place.  “A thing of beauty is a joy forever” and for both Edmund and I there are wonderful memories and joys of this trip.  

“So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!” 
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan: Fairy Tales

Where will You Pray?

Edmund’s Mom, Josephine, inquired last night, after talking to Edmund to wish him a happy birthday, where will you go to pray before you begin the journey home?  It was a sweet thought and question.  It was one that we had already considered and we had decided to return to the Abbey Notre Dame de Bon Secours. This place is close and it was one that I was most taken with.  Edmund told someone that I just loved the place.  He is right, there is such a serenity there that I am happy to return for the quiet and prayer before we begin our journey home.

The question that Josephine asked is an important one for all of us to consider, where will you go to pray?  This from a woman who prays absolutely everywhere felt that it was important that we return to one of the sanctuaries that we had been so fortunate to visit.  At the same time it is a deeply personal question that can only be answered by an individual for themselves.  There is no one place that speaks exactly the same to all of us.  There will be places that we will journey to because it is an important “shrine” or holds historical significance that will move us.  Then there are places that we need to see because of the significance to our religion.  But the place where we go to pray is significant to an individual, a safe place where the presence of God is felt.  Is it your community church?  A bench under a tree?  A park?  A monastery?  Each of us will answer in our own unique way recognizing that prayer is time when we build our relationship with God, handing over the concerns of the day, of life.

My book Practical Prayer is certainly a helpful tool in understanding how to make the most of the time that you have, how to set aside a safe space and how our mundane tasks can become deep moments of prayer and connection.  It does not undermine the importance of connecting with a worshiping community but certainly helps reduce the guilt factor if we have been away for a while.  It helps prevent the need to justify that indeed we are “spiritual but not necessarily religious”.  As spiritual people we enter into a relationship with the divine.  A relationship built on spending time together in quiet, solitude, community, work.  A relationship built not on guilt for what has not been done.  So as we go forward, struggling with the phenomena that people tell us in ever increasing numbers that we are “spiritual but not religious” perhaps we need to begin not with guilt but by entering into a relationship meeting the person where they are and understanding where they go to pray and be in their relationship with the divine.

Where will you go today to pray?

As we arrived "home" today these guys were waiting for dinner!  

As we Clue up

We are nearly finished our time here in France and as we prepare to pack up it is a good time to reflect on the memories that we have made, the spiritual insights gained and the impact that it will leave on us.  When we started our journey, we knew that spirituality was a key component but beyond that we had no idea of how it would all unfold.  We left Canada, nearly two weeks ago with an itinerary for to follow.  We did very few of the itinerary items.  Instead we made new discoveries, which took us from the highly publicized places, to more obscure locations. 

So I learned that :

• while planning is a very good thing is should be subject to change.  
• Local people are a fabulous source of information regarding the things to see (nothing new here).  
• Being outside and seeing what was on offer nearby was much better than hours in a car (although it looked closer on the map).  
• Even though the GPS plans very obscure routes sometimes, it does get you to your location.  
• I can drive like locals on the roads (a frightening concept and the roads are starting to look a lot wider!).  
• And most importantly, prayer happens everywhere, under a variety of circumstances and one's spirituality is not limited to a particular space or action.

The bonus of doing it this way is that we were able to appreciate the richness of the majesty of all that we saw and enjoyed.  The simplicity of the Cistercian Abbeys to the richness of St. Michael de Frigolet highlighted for us that the surroundings will add to being able to center the self and every forum has a unique gift to offer the seeker.  The people that we encountered in passing were visiting for various reasons and even if they were not particularly seeking perhaps they could sense the divine at work.  These places have stood the test of time, and while they may not draw the same numbers of congregant worshipers, they are a reminder of the devotion that people have to erect such magnificent structures that are still a refuge for many pilgrims.


In a few days we will return home, we did not succeed in visiting Lourdes, the grotto of Mary Magdalene or LaSallette but we are just as richly filled with the time spent in the places that we were able to explore.  We wandered far off the beaten track, bypassed the areas with the large attractions and instead discovered these gems.

“Adults follow paths. Children explore.  Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences.”  Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane