FROM THE REGISTERS

June 2001

Gardening has its own rewards. I garden, therefore, because it is there and the better it is the more pleasure it gives. Plans and ideas take shape with a bit of hard work, and the fruits of ones labours should add to the joy of taking ones ease - or become a background, or even a topic of conversation, when friends gather of a summer's evening to enjoy some food. Dark corners, when cleared of rubbish and weed, suddenly have a new dimension and new possibilites when the light gets in.

The month of May, when it is hot (as I write), is a lovely month - full of promise with the summer ahead, seeds beginning to sprout and the countryside turning a fresh green. It augers well for June to be a month to enjoy. Again, the toil of weeding in the hot sun anticipates joys to come. Rudyard Kipling, in The Glory of the Garden, takes up the theme: "Oh, Adam was a gardener and God who made him sees that half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees. So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray ............". Yes, it's an opportunity to think, to pray, to meditate, when you are on your knees: "Better men than we go out and start their working lives At grubbing weeds from gravel paths with broken dinner knives."

Often there is a job that anyone can do that will match their skills and abilities accordingly. Not everyone that calls needs to be forced into the garden though, even if only to seize a hoe or hold t'other end of string when preparing a row.

Of course, those who are familiar with church worship and Christian prayer life will know of the similarity between gardening - in the rites of dealing with weeds - and confessing one's sins. Rogationtide (last Sunday in May) may ring a few bells too, with the praying for the crops and all that grows. Whitsun is based on the feast of the first fruits when fresh food was celebrated and offered. Christianity identified Whitsun/Pentecost as the first fruits of the coming of the Holy Spirit when Peter suddenly found he had a blossoming church on his hands (see Acts 1-2 ff.)

We may find Trinity difficult to explain and so hard to understand but again turn to the garden for Mother Nature to help with an answer. Just as St.Patrick did, by contemplating the shamrock or the aeverage stem of clover: 3 petals but one plant. I could go on. I could also look back at Adam in Eden when all was fine - more food for thought, but I'll leave that to you!

In fact, do you not notice the similarity between working your garden and the practice and demands and expectations of our faith? Perhaps as gardens are squeezed ever tighter by modern building practice, or reduced to a patio, people only want a religion of convenience. Work your garden and you soon realise that religion lacks convenience but offers many rewards - and the opportunity of taking your ease with friends and others of like mind. As in the garden, we are subject to other forces  TH

Sorrel has initiated a discussion group with Liz for any youngsters in their GCSE year. We hope to continue the same in each forthcoming year for that age group in particular, by trying to fit evenings to your requirements - not only by content but also of time and duration. It could help with religious questions in exams. It does not mean you have to be confirmed to come, or even that you have to be confirmed afterwards. That is for you to work out when you’re ready!

Anyway, do come - please let us know (537277) if you are interested.

“Our” Universe and Us

5. Mankind
Genesis 1 v.26 - 31
Genesis 2 v.15 - 23
Psalm 139

Paul writes, in his letter to the Romans Ch.1.20: “For ever since the creation of the World, His invisible nature, namely His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.”

In the Genesis 2 passage it is the man who comes to life first, but it is not long before the poet has to record that this could not be the whole story - he is never self-sufficient and there is in v.24 the plain statement that in the purpose of God the sexual relationship is blessed.

The later account of creation that was placed at the opening of the scriptures when they took their present shape consist in a day by day stately narrative with a refrain. This makes one wonder whether it could have been designed originally for repetition by a congregation on a solemn day of celebration. You can hear the children joining in! And scientists give us masses of information about the When, and sometimes the How, of creation but do not claim to solve the Why?.

What about you and me? As we all do at some moments - and for longer periods at times of crisis too - we wonder who and what we are and why? Now that the psalms are not nearly so widely known and used as when Morning and Evening Prayer prevailed more frequently, this is a reason for suggesting that Psalm139 might have an important place in personal devotion. I have been trying to recall a prayer that expresses some of these thoughts. I may not have remembered it perfectly, but it expresses the “practice of the presence of God”. I do not know its author.

A Day of Scripture Reading and Prayer at Ampleforth Abbey

July 28th11.00 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.

Full details are available on Hillside Church notice-boards. There is a special programme for children. You are asked to bring your own lunch, but soft drinks will be provided.

Last day for Facilitators to book: Sunday 3rd June

Last day for main bookings: Saturday 14th July

Please contact Hospitality & Pastoral Office at Ampleforth Abbey:

(01439 766889)

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that the ‘accident of evolution’ had created. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” he said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look and saw a seven-foot tall grizzly bear charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could along the path. But, looking over his shoulder, he saw that the bear was gaining on him ...........

He ran even faster ....... He looked over his shoulder again and the bear was even closer ......... Then he tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with its left paw and raising its right paw to strike him.

At that instant the atheist cried out: “Oh, my God! ......”.

Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came from the sky: “You deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I don’t exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this difficulty? Am I to count on you as a believer?” The atheist looked directly into the light: “It would be hard to ask to be a Christian after all these years, but, perhaps, you could make the bear a Christian?”.

“Very well,” said the voice.

The light went out. Time restarted. The river ran again. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped its right paw, brought both paws together, bowed its head and spoke: “Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful.” From St Thomas-on-the Bourne Parish magazine.