Dear Scargillians

As ever, this comes with much love and prayers to you all, especially as the lockdown restrictions are gradually eased.

At Scargill we feel we in a transitional space as we prepare to warmly welcome back residential guests at the beginning of June. We are so excited! The online events will continue and here is what is coming up.

We would like to warmly welcome you to our Scargill Forum on Wednesday 12^th May (8-9:30pm) where Phil will be giving a short Biblical reflection as we begin to emerge into a new way of living. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, share thoughts and have fun!

Before that, on Tuesday 11^th May, Mike will be leading a singing morning – ‘Finding your Voice’.

On Friday 14^th and Saturday 15^th May Phil will be leading two separate Quiet Days (repeated material) reflecting on the wonder of the Ascension and looking forward to Pentecost.  

Our next Crafternoon is on Saturday 22^nd May 3-4pm (email hello@scargillmovement.org for the link).

From Tuesday 25^th to Thursday 27^th May – Di and Margi will be leading an Enneagram 3 course.

It is lovely to welcome Donna Worthington to be leading us on a Pentecost Retreat Fri 28^th to Sun 30^th May.

We would very much value your prayers for us as a Community on the week beginning Monday 17^th May, as we have a training week to ready ourselves for residential guests.

There is much to be thankful to God for – and we are very thankful to YOU for the love and support you have given us.

Here is Di’s reflection – enjoy!

Diane writes:

Wall, walls, walls, over the last two weeks I seem to have constantly been faced by walls, so I thought I should pass them onto you! 

It began with Chloe’s morning prayers from Ephesians 2. Chloe was struck by a recurring theme of walls.  From v14 Chloe read that ‘Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that divides us.’ More interestingly from v20 she read ‘You are like a building, with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone.…and you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live.’ Here was a metaphor of Christians, us, you and me, being the bricks that make up God’s household. Chloe, liked this idea, that we are the bricks that make up God’s dwelling place because ‘if you think about it, all bricks are important, if you take away one, you lose the integrity of the house. All the bricks are equal; there is no hierarchy, the bricks at the top are no more or less important than the bricks at the bottom, and they are all the same – no inequality, no prejudice, no exclusion: they are all just as important and just as valued’.  She finished with ‘That’s what the Church is supposed to be like anyway.’ Yes!

Then during the recent Enneagram course Margi and I led, we asked our participants to choose one of three paintings to reflect on in a meditative way. During the feedback Joce, having chosen ‘The Prodigal Son by Sieger Koder, decided to sketch it. As she sketched Joce noticed the wall jutting out towards us held her focus and attention. That the white wall formed a barrier between the elder son and his father, reinforcing the separation between the lives and characters of the sons. The elder son, jealous, serious, looks on from the outside! – He looks squeezed, thin, hands wringing together. Is this self-imposed isolation? In contrast 2/3 of the picture is of the rounded encircling figures of the younger son and his embracing father; intimate, hands and arms outstretched towards one another. Although the elder son is hidden by the wall that separates him from his father, we are drawn to his right arm resting slightly in front of the wall, perhaps hedging forwards, maybe a sign of hope or redemption – if he chooses!

I was also reading A Passion for Life written by Joan Chittister and in the Chapter ‘Rumi – Icon of wisdom’ I came across this short quote from Jeluddin Rumi, a Sufi Saint born in 1207.

‘The clear bead at the centre changes everything.
There are no edges to my loving now.                                                    
I’ve heard it said, there is a window
that opens from one mind to another.
But if there is no wall, there is no need
for fitting the window, or the latch’.

Joan Chittister went on to write ‘It’s fine to say we can open the windows to the world outside of ourselves, that we can, if we will, let the outside in, but what, Rumi asks, is the point of building walls between us to begin with?’ A good question, the poem is quite a challenge?

And finally from my Daily Gospel -Christian Art I was given this beautiful painting ‘Saint Joseph, Foster Father of Christ’ by François-Jean-Baptiste-Benjamin Constant (1845-1902) – Wow what a name!          

 Anyway, here we see Joseph as a middle aged man, with the carpenter’s saw at his feet simply sitting next to his Son, Jesus, in his early teens. They don’t look at each other, but… they are looking ahead together… they share the same horizon and they are sitting on a wall!

Perhaps we all need to think about which wall we are sitting on, knocking down, building up or edging around?

WIth much love and prayers from

Phil, Di and the Scargill Community