1. Fine Weather Without & Within
I write from another bright and beautiful day here in Waterloo and London; and I’m reminded of how many such days there’ve been this Winter – how blessed we’ve been! On three of those recently, I was on the Winter Walking Weekend 2 at the Unitarian’s Nightingale Centre, Great Hucklow, Peak District, Derbyshire, with seven friends from Morley Ramblers. We had a truly lovely time. On one day like today, I managed to get to the top of Mam Tor above Castleton and, despite being a lot out of breath, felt very alive indeed as I absorbed the views of Hope Valley and Edale. On another, our last day, we left Great Hucklow with full rucksacks and took the spectacular and quiet high moorland road from Camphill to Hathersage via Abney, finishing-off with a very good Sunday lunch. The train from Sheffield was very busy and to that extent not very comfortable, but I wasn’t in the slightest put out. Thus I’m also reminded how much we truly do need to get out more!
2. Preparing for a New Month
We have done our best to savour fleeting January in our services, and our last Sunday in January ended with a spectacular piano concert featuring Steinway Pianist Yoon Sheok Shin in a beautifully sunlit Chapel. We all left full of beans. Our thanks not only to Yoon, but once again to our concert organisers, MD Jason and AMD Ricky. We are all now set for February.
(1) Rededication Communion on Sunday 04.02, 10:30am
We welcome February on Sunday with our monthly Rededication Communion. Our promises this month are taken from Spirituality and Practice’s ‘Spiritually Literate New Year’s Resolutions’:
‘I will live in the present moment. I will not obsess about past worry.’
‘I will cultivate the art of making connections. I will pay attention to how my life is intimately related to all life on the planet.’
‘I will be thankful for all blessings in my life. I will spell out all my days with a grammar of gratitude.’
Etc.
(2) Foodbank Donations on Sunday 04.02, 10:30am
And we will be acting on our faith and investing in our souls through our foodbank donations, including mindfully reflecting on what’s needed, doing our best to secure those things, being generous, and buying wisely so as to buy more.
What’s currently particularly in need: https://norwoodbrixton.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/
3. Preparing for Lent Now: Watching ‘The Monastery’
During Lent we will be drawing inspiration from Abbot Christopher Jamison’s ‘Finding Sanctuary’ (2010), both in services and in the Lent Book Group. Members will receive an e-mail shortly inviting them to join the Book Group. Anybody else interested in joining the group may do so by contacting me on: minister@brixtonunitarians.org. All materials will be supplied.
The book is based on a three-part TV series, ‘The Monastery’, which can be found on You Tube. The first part is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch0SY2pHkDg. The remaining parts can be found nearby.
4. Preparing for Lent on Sunday 11.02, 10:30am: ‘Finding Sanctuary’, Abbot Christopher Jamison
On this Sunday we will be introducing Abbot Christopher Jamison’s ‘Finding Sanctuary’ (2010)
5. Sorting Your Fast & Diary Long Before Ash Wednesday 14.02 (Valentine’s Day!)
In the meantime, start giving thought to what you are giving-up and, equally important, taking-up for Lent, remembering it begins on Ash Wednesday 14th January (Valentine’s Day). So enjoy your pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, whether you have them with lemon and sugar, maple syrup or treacle; and bring your Valentine’s Day meal date (for good friends as well as partners, remember!) forward. Fine dining is not for Lent and for those making much of Mother’s Day, as I will be doing, add a day or two to your fast.
6. Ensure You’ve Space & Tickets for Post Service Concert 25.02, 12:15pm
The spiritual importance of music has long been recognised at Brixton Unitarians, as reflected not least in Jason’s and Ricky’s highly successful monthly Concert Series which follows shortly after the Sunday service for the convenience of our members and friends at Chapel that morning. Again, all who attended our first concert of the year on 28.01, featuring Yoon Seok Shin on our grand piano, were reminded of the blessing these concerts are. Ensure they’re part of your essential chapel experience, along with our regular attendance and good giving to the Foodbank (where able) opportunities. The more you put in, the more you get out; indeed, it’s multiplied!
See you in Chapel
Julian