Two Biblical women celebrating a pregnancy inspire today’s Whirlow blog, which looks for good news, reasons to be joyful and connect at the start of 2022.
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Updates from Whirlow
To Make an End is to Make A Beginning - final Whirlow blog for 2021
2021 is drawing to a close. As it ends, many will give a sigh of relief. Others will sigh for sadness - even remorse - as a year can end with tinges of regret and of loss. Some will look upon the dawn of a new year optimistically, with a sense of anticipation or even excitement. Where do you find yourself?
Read MoreSpiritual 'knowledge' - or Christianity's power in vulnerability.
December is - among many other things! - spiritual literacy month. It invites us to read one book on spirituality, believing in something bigger than ourselves. Strangely, this can be empowering. Knowledge of a truly spiritual kind is not a way to gain power over a subject, but rather a way of radical empathy with the Other. A way that honours the vulnerability of creation. Today’s blog explores these ideas.
Read MoreWinter Solstice: A Meditation
Since the height of the summer season, we have been heading in one direction: to the deepest, darkest, coldest moments of winter. This week, we arrive. The summer sun has long since set and here we are at the Winter Solstice. Today, we invite you to ask what that brings up, for you.
Read MoreKeep Crying and Carry On - Psalm 34 in Advent
What are you crying out for? Are you able to express your depth of feeling or hear it expressed by others? This week, Psalm 34 provides a framework for sitting with our deepest longings and calling out to God, the Divine or the Universe to hear them - uninhibited, as we were unconcerned with saving face!
Read MoreSeason of sheep and shepherding - Christ's call to safe pasture this Advent.
In the deepening winter, shepherds would need to watch their flocks by night. This week, we consider a seasonal bible reading and books by a modern-day shepherd as we listen for the pastoral voice calling us and wonder where it leads.
Read MoreSafety Nets - Old Habits - New Opportunities: Jesus' invitation to the fishermen.
What associations come to mind when you hear the word net?
Fish? Safety? A trap? A great goal? Net worth? The world wide web? …
Today’s reflection is inspired by a reading that features fishing nets. We invite you to use them as a symbol; let them represent whatever best fits.
Read MoreI thirst; I long - using Psalm 42 and learning to be be human
Yearning is a universal human experience. We each try to walk a path that lies between our being engulfed in and denying this profound longing. Today we reflect on Psalm 42, which depicts longing - beautifully - as a thirst for pure water.
Read More"Only Connect!" - (holy) invitations to listen and attend this Remembrance Weekend
We ponder an invitation to connect with others and with deep truth today, as we engage with stories from the bible, face the emotional demands of Armistice weekend and continue to grapple with responsible social distancing.
Read MorePeople and Planet - reflecting on COP26
Leaders, authorities, experts, campaigners and advocates have this week descended upon Glasgow for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). As host nations, with a government talking about a need for global action, this reflection invites us to meditate on our impact on the planet.
Read MorePoetry for All Saints and Souls
Today, we offer a poem about St Francis of Assisi - whose feast day was last month - and another inspired by Psalm 131, a sacred song used at Whirlow this week.
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Please find here some resources for spending a structured quiet day in your own time. With thanks to Catherine Musgrave for producing these for October’s Simple Quiet Day.
A Simple Quiet Day in October →
Readiness is All - facing the winter, the future and eternity with Jesus
Certainty is an addiction for many of us. As British Summer Time wanes, we note the rhythmic cycle of the seasons that is not ours to control. (We try to manage it by adjusting our clocks!) There is tension between anticipated candle-lit cosiness and winter’s potentially chaotic offerings of weather and viruses. In today’s bible story, Jesus talks about being ready for the unexpected as it were a responsibility. What do his words have to offer you?
Read MoreEmbracing the Miraculous ... Accepting the Mundane. A Healing in Mark's Gospel
Some of us are instinctively suspicious of dramatic and emotionally-charged moments in religion (and in life); others are addicted to those times, relentlessly pursuing them and impatient with the mundane. Perhaps drama and routine are needed; perhaps they inform one another. In this reflection, we ask what wisdom we can find when we consider the place of miracles in Jesus’ ministry.
Read MoreMore on Home and Belonging - lessons from Jonah and Jesus.
Last week we considered what Home and Belonging mean to us. This is World Homelessness Week, so we offer more food for thought on that subject - reflecting on biblical texts in the light of ‘homecoming’ and possible human responses to these.
Read MoreWhat Does it Mean to Belong - Home, Heaven ... Heartache?
Home is an emotive word. There is a powerful drive in all of us to belong, to find places where we are welcome. Specific buildings or places often represent encounters with the Divine and feel like spiritual homes. But … Jesus often identified with those who had no home, and staying ‘Home’ can have negative connotations (particularly in lockdown!) Here are some thoughts for reflection.
Read MoreU-Turns Allowed! - rethinking conversion
Labels about belief can be divisive. If we think there there are only two answers to the ‘Are you religious?’ question - and that only one of those is correct - then ‘secular’ and ‘sacred’ are pitted against one another and conversion is a loaded word. In our culture, any change of heart might be scoffed at - politicans making ‘u-turns’ are usually derided. This reflection recommends a different perspective.
Read MoreBroken Bodies - the Cross of Christ and Suicide Prevention Day
Today (10 September) is World Suicide Prevention Day and on Tuesday the Christian church will celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Today’s post incorporates a personal reflection by writer Adrian Scott, as we try to bind these troubling stories together.
Read MoreSeasonal Shift: a mandate for change in Luke's gospel
As summer gives way to autumn and a new term begins for many, are you too thinking about change? Has the pandemic changed your attitudes? Is something changing in your life? This reflection contemplates a radical new vision of society set out by Jesus in a speech recorded in the Gospel according to Luke, that might inspire any changes we make.
Read MoreA Lesson in Facing Hostility - Jesus' assertiveness and boundary-setting
How easy do you find it to remain calm when others’ displeasure or hostility is aimed at you? For many of us, this requires energy and is difficult. (Finding it easy to face others’ animosity may not be a good thing!) Jesus has much to teach us in today’s story from the Gospel according to Luke.
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