Category Archives: Prayer

Fragments from the Battlefields 2018

Our most recent visit to the Battlefields of the Western Front WW1 is recalled here in a few fragments between 20th and 25th October 2018

As the sun went down at Ypres :

Trees like monuments,
Silhouettes against the sky,
Or reflections in still water.

Figures for memories,
Silhouettes sharing space
Silent alongside the living.

You who are there but not there,
Here but not here,
Gone but not forgotten.

Ode to a banana; at breakfast one morning my banana went missing

Woe to the memory
Of my lost banana,
Smiling crescent of the morning
Snatched from my plate
By one I called friend.

Wind at Thiepval:


When the wind blows the cradle will fall,
The sepulchre too.
When the bough breaks the leaves will fall,
The young men come tumbling after,
Down will come wreaths and memories
One by one by one by one.

Homage to mangelwurzels: mangelwurzels are always a feature of our Battlefields tours
Now bow your head
As mangelwurzels are moved
And we are too:
Heaped high, a harvest
Of huge roots
Of hidden sweetness.

Moon rise: a Hunter’s moon rose on the last evening of our tour

The mangelwurzel moon
Looks down with orange glow,
As home from the front we go.
Benevolent, gentle it’s blessing to bring,
As on the coach the students sing,
With joy in heart at end of day
And praise of moon and everything:
The moon emoji communicates it all.

Some Beatitudes

Blessed are the bagtakers
They will leave a smaller footprint on the earth

Blessed are the sandwich makers
They will share what they have with thousands.

Ploegestreet memorial: one of our Silcoatians is remembered here


Looking skywards
Into the blue,
Searching for you
Amongst the names

In our life and our believing
The love of God 

JAL 25.10.2018

Another bit of Evening prayer

Additional Evening Prayers for the Mobile Chapel of St Scholastica

Begin with a chant like
Be still And know that I am God,  or similar

Silent reflection on remembered Bible or an encounter from the day, or examen

A magnificat

The Spirit in me, makes God grow bigger and bigger:
I am happy that God is my life line and that God continues to remember me,
the least important of God’s servants.

From now on people will call me blessed
For the amazing things God has done in my presence, lifting up the poor, the marginalised, those considered outsiders,
And putting down the rich, the arrogant, those who show no remorse, who neglect justice: sending them away with nothing.
I remember my forbears and those faithful ones: God forever keeps faith forever.

I see the evening sun go down
I await the rising of the morning Son

Peace be on us and for all for whom we pray.

Janet Lees,  at Launde Abbey,  31.05.2018

Evening prayer

The proposed order of Evening Prayer for the Mobile Chapel of St Scholastica

Begin with a chant like
Kindle a flame, (and light one if you wish),
Or Jesus remember me, or similar.

Silent reflection on remembered Bible or an encounter from the day, or examen.

Nunc dimitiss
God let your servant go in peace,
According to your promise
For I have seen the life line you have provided for me in front of everyone,
To be a light to all outsiders,
And for your unending glory.

God grant us a quiet night

And a peaceful end

Janet Lees at Launde Abbey,  29.05.2018

At Bamburgh

Today’s prayers are from a visit to St Aidan’s church, Bamburgh, where Aidan is said to have died. There is a memorial there to him who came from Iona and founded the first monastic community at Lindisfarne. Bamburgh was also the place of birth and death of Grace Darling, hero.

Shrouded in mist and emerging from memory we remember the saints of the North, who in charity, fortitude and hope kept the faith in their own day that we may have it to pass on in ours.

For the example of Aidan, the faithful:
Lord have Mercy
For the example of Oswald, headless of his own safety:
Lord have Mercy
For the example of Grace, courageous and selfless:
Lord have Mercy

Whatever faith you have, use it like Aidan.
Whatever purpose you have pursue it like Oswald.
Whatever strength you have deploy it as courageously as Grace.
Whatever life you have live it fully to the Glory of God.

As the fog shrouds the coast in mist and gentle rain waters the land, remember, whether you can see them or not:
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shinning stars to you,
Deep peace of the Son of peace to you

(traditional blessing)

In our life and our believing 
The love of God 

Bamburgh 22.05.3018

St Issui’s

On the day for Ashes,
Memories of last night’s firelight
Bright behind our eyes,
We tentatively pushed open the old door
At St Issui’s.
It was a welcome haven
After several miles of twisting, muddy lanes,
The path bordered by nodding snowdrops.
The simple chapel, its wooden beams pegged safely together for several centuries
Was shelter enough for these pilgrims.
Inside, signs of worship for many generations,
The oldest font in Wales by the church door.
Now twice a month the feast is celebrated here
And rural folk give thanks for renewed blessings.
Our visit over, rested,
We stepped back through the lych gate,
Passed the well
And back into real time,
Ready to reset our lives in the next forty days.

In our life and our believing
The love of God

On the Solemnity of Saint Scholastica

On a day of listening,
Remember that Scholastica listened;

On a day of conversations,
Remember that Scholastica conversed;

On a day of humour,
Remember that Scholastica had a sense of humour;

Lord have Mercy
Christ have Mercy
Lord have Mercy

Where Scripture says ‘and a little child will lead them’
Believe it possible that child could have Downs Syndrome, or additional needs in some way.

Where Scripture says ‘You knew me in my mother’s womb’
Believe it possible that God knows every gene, every chromosome in every individual.

Where Scripture says we are each the temple of the Holy Spirit
Believe in the possibility of each unique temple.

Lord have Mercy
Christ have Mercy
Lord have Mercy

Glory to God, for the diversity of creation;
Glory to God in Christ for the diversity of human beings;
Glory to God, Creator, Son and Spirit, for living and celebrating diversity in the Godhead, now and forever.

In our life and our believing
The love of God

10th February is remembered for Saint Scholastica, sister of Saint Benedict


Quirinius, Governor of Syria

As mentioned at the beginning of chapter 2 of Luke’s gospel, and performed last night in Huddersfield

They blame me, I know they do. The Jews, the Romans, the Christians, my ex- wife: they all blame me. Yet I was no better or worse than the entire imperial family and the legions of Roman administrators who bigged them up. I’d had my moments, strutted my stuff if you like, got a tribute for my military efforts, kept the Pax Romana as best I could. And then it was Syria, keeping the borders, being a diplomat. Me, a diplomat? Orders from Rome to count them, take a census, find out how many there were. Easier said than done. Chaos of course. And in the middle of it one insignificant Jewish couple, her pregnant, him too old for her by far, getting caught up on the route between Galillee and Bethlehem, and I’m done for. My reputation shot to pieces. I was Governor of Syria and it was all down to me. No word about the rest of them, the petty functionaries in every town, taking bribes, cutting corners. The endless Queues, the inadequate planning, the overbooked accommodation and the inevitable communal violence in hot spots like Bethlehem, it was my fault. Ah, Bethlehem, it’s got a lot to answer for. Never been there myself. Avoid all that if I can. Quiet retirement in Rome. A good supply of wine and enough slaves to keep me comfortable.
After all that other trouble in Bethlehem anyone with any sense would give it a wide birth. What happened to them? Heaven knows. She had the baby I think. But born in obscurity, died in obscurity most likely I reckon. Won’t be hearing from them again. But me, different matter, one little census and they never leave you alone. Governor of Syria, well you do better then.

And finally, two thousand years later…..
We pray for Syria,
Squeezed land, fought over, burnt and damaged.
Cities destroyed, people scattered.
We pray for the people of Syria,
And particularly for the children,
Those still there and those who moved,
Voluntarily or under duress, refugees,
Stranded, identity gone, no security,
What future?
We pray for Syria,
Not the first place in the news,
Not the place nearest to our hearts,
Not glamorous or celebrated,
We pray for the people of Syria of all ages
Looking for hope,
Looking for an end to suffering,
Looking for peace.

In our coming and our going,  the peace of God. 

Born in the Elsie Inglis

The thirst for faith may take you far away
Or call you to serve the sick, the poor each day,
To make your mark and seeing all this say
You were born in the Elsie Inglis

Your heart of hope may open every door,
Open to every stranger and clothe more,
Ready to aid all others at you core:
You were born in the Elsie Inglis.

The way of love be ever in your sight,
As hand in hand we work in great delight
Ready to build the kindom of the light
We were born in the Elsie Inglis

JAL 25.11.2017

In memory of Elsie Inglis (1864-1917), doctor of medicine, Served in WW1, her 100th anniversary is this week. A maternity hospital is named after her in Edinburgh. Her memorial in St Giles cathedral includes the figures of Faith, Hope and Love.

We bring our anger

Nothing is unmentionable.
Silence can hide as well as reveal.
Anger can last a long, long time:
More than a table-turning moment.
It comes like a wave far out at sea
And by the time it arrives
It can swallow a city;
Like a whale emerging from the deep,
To engulf a thousand herrings.
It can begin like a quiet fart
In the heart of a sleeping volcano,
A rumble, a crack, a hiss
Which breaks the crust
Allowing a river to emerge and run
Red Hot and raging down the side,
Black at the edges sweeping away
Everything.
Maybe anger can build a house
For someone who is homeless:
Bright flower of justice emerging
From a flattened landscape.
Maybe anger can lead to safety:
New ideas and policies to keep safe
Creatures of all kinds teetering
On the edge, calling them back.
Maybe anger can forge a peace
From the devastation of war,
Provide the energy to bring together
The hopeless, maimed and fearful ones.
Maybe anger can be a new route to faith,
When the old worn way has become too broad
And the self interest of insiders too indifferent,
Maybe anger can rip the door off its hinges.

I am angry
Kylie eleison