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Wild Goose Publications - Neil Paynter

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235 pages

English

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Description

Daily readings for four months from a wide range of contributors within the Iona Community. These prayers, liturgies, songs, poems and articles, which reflect the concerns of the Community, can be used for group or individual reflection and are intended t

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Christian liturgy

Informations

Publié par	Wild Goose Publications
Date de parution	16 juin 2002
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781849520287
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Readings © the individual contributors Compilation © 2003 Neil Paynter
First published 2002 by Wild Goose Publications, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH, UK, the publishing division of the Iona Community. Scottish Charity No. SCO03794. Limited Company Reg.No. SCO96243.
Reprinted 2006, 2008
ePub:ISBN 978-1-84952-028-7 Mobipocket:ISBN 978-1-84952-029-4 PDF:ISBN 978-1-84952-030-0
Cover design © 2002 Wild Goose Publications Cover photograph and internal photographs © Sandra Kramer, Wild Goose Publications
All rights reserved. Apart from the circumstances described below relating to non-commercial use, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including photocopying or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Non-commercial use: The material in this book may be used non-commercially for worship and group work without written permission from the publisher. Small sections of the book may be photocopied for orders of service, etc., and in such cases please make full acknowledgement of the source, i.e. cite title and author of extract, title and author of book, publisher, address and date of publication. Where a large number of copies are made (e.g. over 100) a donation may be made to the Iona Community via Wild Goose Publications, but this is not obligatory.
Neil Paynter has asserted his right in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this compilation and the individual contributors have asserted their right to be identified as authors of their contributions.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

C ONTENTS
Introduction
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4
Prayers for the days
Bible readings
Quotations from the Iona Community
Some recommended books and music
Sources and notes
The Iona Community

A mouse can do little but a nest of mice can work great havoc.

George MacLeod (Founder of the Iona Community)

I NTRODUCTION
Each day of the month Iona Community members pray for one another, for the wider work of the Church, and for their shared concerns. This book explores some of those concerns. These readings and meditations were collected throughout the four years I lived on the Isle of Iona – working as a member of the Iona Community’s Resident Group – where I was in very happy charge of buying and selling books, publications and music for the Iona Community’s Shop.
It was always exciting when a new book arrived in the shop, tugging open a box to find a new collection by Kathy Galloway or Peter Millar, or from the Wild Goose Resource Group. It was even more exciting to read through the books and to recommend them to people.
Some of the readings in this book are from titles we sold in the shop, while others are taken from the Iona Community’s bi-monthly magazine Coracle or from previously unpublished works. I have included some favourite readings and some readings used on Iona during the time I was there (for instance, ‘I never wanted to be born’ and ‘God and man and woman’, which were often read out on the weekly pilgrimage). There are also some pieces which were written on Iona, and readings which seem, to me, to be ‘canon’ of the Iona Community.
Also included are short prayers for each day, and a list of scripture readings which readers might like to work through as part of a daily discipline.
The Iona Community believe ‘that social and political action leading to justice for all people, and encouraged by prayer and discussion, is a vital work of the church at all levels’ (from the Rule of the Iona Community).
I hope that these readings and meditations will aid in prayer and reflection, and serve to encourage thoughtful, committed action in God’s world.
This Is the Day was edited on windy, late nights in Cul Dunsmeorach, Iona (once George MacLeod’s garage) and, later, in a flat on the mainland. The collection is dedicated to all who believe in the power of the Word (and of words), and to all those who are working to make their communities more just and peaceful places.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this book. I wish I could have included more voices but space did not allow it. Thank you also to everyone at Wild Goose Publications for their help and support.

LEADER:

THIS IS THE DAY THAT GOD HAS MADE;

ALL:

WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.
(from the ‘Morning Office’ of The Iona Community)

Neil Paynter
Month 1 Day 1
‘N EW W AYS TO T OUCH THE H EARTS OF A LL ’
With imagination and a sense of adventure
I think it is at least arguable that we now live in a post-Christian society and it is indisputable that institutional religion is in decline. I believe that there is a real danger of loss of nerve on the part of the churches. There is a great challenge and opportunity for discovering and experimenting with what the Iona Community describes as ‘new ways to touch the hearts of all’. A church-centred approach to mission is unlikely to usher in the kingdom or produce much more than temporary alleviation of present problems. But an approach that reaches out with imagination and a sense of adventure, seeking to reveal where God is already at work in the world, focusing on Jesus Christ and the promise of the kingdom, will lead on to the excitement and surprises that are inevitably part of the way of the spirit.
We must take account of the fact that, however formal religion may have declined, interest in religious and spiritual questions is as strong as ever, and many people still look to the church for leadership. This means that commitment to pursuing social justice through prophecy and service is an essential part of mission, especially in our secular society.
Norman Shanks

Month 1 Day 2
E CONOMIC W ITNESS
Something must be done about the money boys
Sowing the seeds of the next war?

Fifty years ago, George MacLeod, founder of the Iona Community, wrote these words:
Something must be done about the money boys who run our world. It is urgent that the whole issue of international monetary finance be reviewed.
Have you ever queried the bankers? I have. Try the lower echelon of bankers, and most of them will say, ‘These things are too high for us, we cannot attain unto them.’ But a small minority will whisper, ‘You’ve got something there, boy; isn’t it extraordinarily cold weather for so late in the month of May?’
Try the upper echelon of bankers. I have. I wrote to the top man of a London bank, a charming man, asking his comments on a similar document to the Haslemere Declaration [a declaration about world poverty]. He replied that the figures were inaccurate. I immediately asked which figures, but had no reply.
They are in training for the job of international bankers. They know what is good for us. Don’t consult us, the paltry crowd. But do they know what is good for us? Or are they sowing the seeds of the next war?
George MacLeod

Prayer
May it not be long, Lord.
May it not be long

before there are no more beggars at the door
waiting for the crumbs from the tables of the rich.
May it not be long

before the northern exploitation
of the southern economies
is a fact of history,
not a fact of life.
May it not be long

before poor economies
cease to be havens for sex tourism,
child labour and experimental genetic farming.
May it not be long

before those nations we once evangelised
show us the larger Christ
whom we, too often, have forgotten.
May it not be long Lord.
May it not be long

before the governments of our nations
legislate against commercial avarice
and over-consumption which hurts the poor
and indebts them.
May it not be long

before Christians in this land
examine their economic priorities
in the light of the Gospel,
rather than in its shadow.
May it not be long

before we respond out of love,
not out of guilt.
May it not be long

before we find wells of hope
deeper than the shallow pools of optimism
in which we sometimes paddle.
May it not be long

before we feel as liberated and addressed
by your word
as those first folk did
who heard you summon the oddest of people
to fulfil the oddest of callings.
May it not be long, Lord.
Amen
John L. Bell

Month 1 Day 3
Y OUTH C ONCERN
Timothy and Paul
A
Timothy …
B
Yes Paul?
A
I’ve got a job for you.
B
Uh-uh!
A
Is that any way to speak to an apostle? Or reply to an epistle, come to that?
B
Right. ‘Here am I, send me!’
A
That’s better. I’m glad you’ve read Isaiah.
B
So what is this job?
A
I want you to stay in Ephesus.
B
Oh no, they’re weird – they do nothing but talk, arguing over the meaning of words. Or telling ghost stories.
A
I want you to lead them, gently but firmly, into better ways.
B
Lead them! You wouldn’t believe the arguments they have about leadership: about bishops and deacons and what they should be allowed to do, and how many wives they should have … and women – what they can and can’t do in church.
A
They need a clear line. I’ve got some thoughts, and I’II put them down when I’ve a minute … But meanwhile I want you to stay there to help them.
B
They won’t listen to me. I’m too young.
A
You know what I wrote to the people in Corinth: ‘If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord just as I am; therefore let no one despise him.’
B
Yes Paul, that’s fine, but when you’re young, people in the churches have a funny way of treating you. They’re so keen for you to be there: ‘Look, we’ve got a real live young person!’ But they don’t know what to do with you … how to listen to what you’re really saying … your story … or how to use your gifts.
A
Don’t let anyone despise your youth.
B
That’s easy for you to say!
A
Just be yourself. Recognise that God’s made you a special person – with a visio