Today's theme was Green Spirituality, but as it was also the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, we started with a poem from Jehanne she had composed after the event.
After September the 11th
( For the survivors everywhere )
We do not know
how it is for you
in the terrible beginnings
of rebirth
out of the mouth of loss;
but in the search for peace
your pain is sovereign.
There are no fances left to sit on;
the choice is clear:
do we walk the way of love
or the way of fear?
Jehanne Mehta
Then we followed Neesa in the body prayer "All of Creation";
All of Creation feeds my soul.
Every leaf and every tree feeds my soul.
The sun and the stars feed my soul.
All creatures of the land, tha air and the sea feed my soul.
Everyone I meet feeds my soul.
And I grow strong and wise.
Then we sang "Blessings on the Blossom";
Blessings on the blossom,
Blessings on the fruit,
Blessings on the leaf and stem,
Blessings on the root.
Peter read us his poem The Tree of Life;
The Tree of Life [Or Preaching The Green Gospel]
God is mysterious and beyond our knowing
And god is so present her beauty is showing:
God’s a far way thing we can only believe in,
And god is so near we can see and feel him.
God is creation and is still creating
All the potential that is ready and waiting:
We make god a problem not a solution:
God is working through our evolution.
God speaks in the bible and the Koran
And in the heart of every woman and man;
God came down from heaven to earth
And comes down still in every spring and birth.
We might see god from our towers of belief
And we might smell god in the soil underneath;
God is an experience we live inside,
Not something we have to believe with our minds.
God is alive in the biosphere
Birds are angels whose song we can hear;
And if our damage to nature goes on
We cut the branch of god we are hanging from.
We meditated on what is God / The Divine and shared our thoughts on connectedness, the indescribable nature of God and treating the Earth as sacred.
Neesa led us in a dance;
The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of Her.
The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of Her.
Hey yana ho yana hey yan yan.
Hey yana ho yana hey yan yan.
Her sacred ground we walk upon with every step we take.
Her sacred ground we walk upon with every step we take.
Hey yana ho yana hey yan yan.
Hey yana ho yana hey yan yan.
Then Rob and Jehanne sang two songs, "Emblem" and "People of the Earth". Finally we gathered around the candles in the centre and sang "This little heart of mine".
Announcements
Next month we will be in a different room, in the Museum of Science and Art opposite the library on Lansdown.
Spirit of Peace:
Monday 12th September 7pm, Friendship Cafe, Barton Street, Gloucester GL1 4HR
Manal Timraz, Palestinian restaurant owner and peace activist, will speak on how and why she still works for peace in the face of deep personal loss.
Admission is free, but please bring some food to share (without meat or alcohol).
Monday 10th October 7pm, Ribston High School, Stroud Road, Gloucester GL1 5LE
Space to Reflect - a "vigil" including times of silence, prayer, reflection and meditation along with the opportunity to share thoughts and readings. You are invited to bring an object, picture, poem or reading which has meaning and may serve as a focal point.
