Journeying by Grace

Logo of Grace, Ealing

By God's grace we seem to be moving on with our journey. Perhaps one day I will cease to be surprised when this happens. I haven't really seen the process happen, but we are now engaged in a corporate act of blessing - we have started the process of making a blanket. The conversation wasn't: 'shall we make a blanket for someone?' it was: 'who shall we make a blanket for?' Much is veiled.

This acts as a reminder to me - Jesus asks us to follow him, not to understand everything, or to make life happen.We live by grace, and our actions are both the result of grace, and the means of grace. This group of women within which each of us are both being held, and holding others is, and is becoming, a place of grace.

It looks like the language of 'blessing' may be the way of describing this within the group's culture - and I am hopeful it will be valid language in the wider community of which the group is part. No doubt this will become clearer as time passes.

Blessing 2

We have just met at my home, rather than the church's prayer room. When the women heard I had finished the carpet rug they wanted to come and see it. They also co-incidentally saw the matching blanket.

The blanket generated a flood of inspiration and they want us to make one together and give it as a blessing to a younger woman we all know.

Together the colour scheme has been planned, and we are to have one thread of yarn each. I have to buy some new wool!

Knitting (and Dorcas)

Back from my holiday I said I had some ideas to share with the women, and they were up-for-it.

I took along a decorated sheet with some prayers on it, the extreme knitting scarf that a couple of the women had previously had a go at, and the story of Dorcas. My thoughts were that the prayers would offer normality, they would engage in the knitting, and the bible story would be challenging (not so much for its content, but because I would be asking them to share their thoughts on it).

It was one of those days when Community Transport messes things up so beginning was higgledy-piggledy although the opening prayer brought us together well and enabled focus.

As I expected the knitting was a hit... but I was still surprised that everyone completed some. It is only some scraps of wool, and the enthusiasm meant it ran out.

I introduced the story while we knitted. This is an important part of my ideas - that we share the bible, and any other stories, in the midst of our activity. I wanted the women to share, but they found it hard. I had made the mistake of focusing on the concepts rather than the people in the story. I could see the links so easily I forgot to give the women the space to make them.

I'm not sure if we reached any shared understanding through the story, I suspect we made it through the knitting as we produced a shared creative work. It is not something of any real use but as we untangled the wool we spoke of the strands coming together, and as we looked at the knitting we tried to identify each persons contribution.

Somehow we did get to the seed of a conversation about blessing, but only as the structure took over with a panic about what time the bus was returning to collect people!

Blessing

It was one of those moments when the Celtic approach of God being involved in everything wins out. I was sitting doing some extreme knitting - the knitting that precipitated our first gathering when the women wanted to see the giant needles and finger thickness wool - and wondering what to do when I finish my present rug. 

No - we're not planning to knit a bus - but I like the idea of thinking big!

It came to me to knit a rug for a local couple’s new conservatory, the knitting of it would be hallowed - a blessing to them. 

This is what we might be about - being a blessing to others in response to God’s abundant blessing of us. Perhaps we might even begin the process of viewing ourselves in this way by sharing in the knitting of the rug.

Already our jam and marmalade making has been a blessing for us and for others. Some of the women knit for charity. The group already has a longstanding commitment to support Briar House (the local residential home). And, only last week, they gave money towards the youngsters going away. 

I believe that BLESSING is the answer to what has long been bugging me..... I have known that the group is called to engage in mission to their own community, generation, and culture, but not HOW we were being called to do it.

Blessing is a way of being and doing mission that is natural to the women, and also flexible enough to give space for different degrees of health, mobility and confidence. It gives us a fresh understanding of our reason for being together - to welcome God’s blessing together and share God’s blessing with others. Through this our being and our action become worship to God.

I will use Dorcas as an example of a woman who modelled this blessing of others, and we can talk about women we have known. I suspect that the women will encourage and build each other up by sharing how each of them has blessed the other - just as the widows showed the garments Dorcas had made to Peter. 

Now I shall pray for a space to bring this word from God to the women.

Steadfast

This morning I was deep in despair and hopelessness. All around me I sensed barriers and traps preventing any progress and almost denying hope. It seemed that most ways forward were blocked, and fear was preventing me moving in any directions that remained.

This state of affairs has been going on for some time - probably months, and after todays event I am wondering if it has been unnecessarily sustained by a sense of isolation - perhaps common in pioneers - and destructive in the way it undermines. This morning the isolation lost, leading to action which has given fresh hope.

Concerned about how I would complete the study and assignment attached to this piece of pioneering I had the (rare) sense to speak with my tutor. 'How do I pioneer (to a timetable) in the midst of the barriers?', I asked. In the midst of his good counsel was the advice to keep walking with the older women I am working in partnership with. The word 'with' stuck out for me, and I went out this afternoon to find the women in their meeting at the local estate church.

What a blessing!

They were just settling down for a 'member's afternoon' and the 'elder stateswoman' opened in a prayer which amongst others included the isolated and lonely people of our community. The fervent desire to see these people know God's love appears to be shared by most of the group. I realise that what I have been seeing as MY agenda I am trying to get them to buy into is actually THEIR agenda that I can join. (Not surprising as it is God's mission!)

We continued with several items - songs, prayers, readings that focused on their own individual relationships with God... and I found myself feeling we were retreating into a safe space, until I suggested as my item 'Go tell it on the mountain'. There was a release of energy experienced as we sung this suggestive of an unrealised desire in many of those gathered to tell of their experience of Jesus.

Mention of a video testimony by my learning disabled daughter led to much laughter and some quiet reflection as members considered whether they could record such a film, (she has asked when others will do so). One woman gave testimony then and there, and another engaged with the possibility of making a video. Again I sensed the unrealised possibilities for engagement in God's mission.

Following on from the earlier prayer (central to which was the concept that knowing God was with them would be adequate company and contact for the lonely) I allowed a question about how local people who are lonely might come to know the love of God hanging in the air. It didn't seem appropriate to seek answers, instead the way may have been opened up for some one-to-one conversations. Talk moved on to the possibility of making marmalade after a comment about seville oranges being in season..... this may be an activity for next week.

Finally, tea was made (porcelain cups and saucers with metallic trim) and I was asked a question about a planned youth residential I am involved in leading. It was a pleasure to tell them of the 8 local young people who are going, and it transpired one of the women wanted to ask the others to support the event with a donation. Hearts of gold!