Journeying at the Edge: The Quiet Garden and Contemplative Fire

Having been open since 1999, The Wild Fortune Quiet Garden will be closed from May through to the autumn for renovation of the garage and the creation of a prayer loft above. Affiliated to The Quiet Garden Trust, this home and garden offers a simple ministry of quiet prayerful space and has welcomed people from all over Sussex and beyond, all of whom have brought the gift of themselves into our home. Being still and quiet in the company of others, along with the opportunity to walk or sit outdoors, is gently restorative to body, mind and spirit. It is a ministry in which we feel deeply privileged to be involved and we look forward to being open again once the work is complete. 

Meanwhile, there are other Quiet Gardens in Sussex at Watersfield, Petworth, Selsey, Wadhurst, Cowbeech, and also at Fishbourne Church, Worth Abbey and Penhurst Retreat Centre. Contact details are available from The Quiet Garden Trust, either online at www.quietgarden.org, or by phone from the Quiet Garden office, Tel: 01494 569057.

Alongside this ministry is the hidden praying presence of Contemplative Fire: a community of Christ at the edge. Monthly on a Saturday morning from 8-10am at St. Mary’s Church in Sullington, we offer Still Waters: a time to enter silence, still the mind and encounter the present moment in quiet. This is open to all, no booking or experience required; for current dates, please see the separate page on this blog. Also monthly on a Sunday at 8am at Sullington Church there is A Service of Silence and Beholding, an unhurried time in which to dwell at the heart of the Eucharist.

On Saturday June 7^th there will be a Contemplative Fire Rhythm of Life all day event at Sullington Church and Tithe Barn. Details and booking forms are available from us. If you would like to be added to our email list to receive regular updates please be in touch via this blog.   

Peace be with you.

Tessa & Mark Holland

Still Waters

a time to enter silence, still the mind 

and encounter the present moment in quiet

Saturday 5th April

St. Mary's Church Sullington, West Sussex RH20 4AE

8  - 10a.m.

St. Mary's Church is a lovely quiet sacred place at the foot of the South Downs, but as those of us who gather there regularly have found, noises from the surrounding farmyard and the sometimes wild weather can challenge the attention and become a distraction. This session will offer a few insights on 'distractions' - both the internal chatter of thoughts and and the outer distractions of noise during contemplative practice.

You are welcome to come for either 8am or 9am, or to stay for the whole 2 hours. Whilst the weather is a little warmer than it has been, please bring an extra layer for comfort and warmth. 

Peace be with you

Distractions

Housekeeping for a mouse!

A couple of weeks ago we noticed a smell coming from down beside our little freezer. I opened the window. It didn't go away.  Reluctantly I investigated, thinking it might be 'something dead' that the cats had brought in. As I wrestled the tumble dryer out of the way - no mean feat in a small space, the creature scurried away under the freezer - very much alive! There was quite a system in place - cat biscuit stored in a neat pile under the drier and a very comfy looking nest behind the freezer. Getting out the vacuum to remove the nest and biscuit, the mouse emerged looking very beautiful. It evaded capture  - easily - and disappeared. Goodness knows where! Needless to say the cats seem to think this is my problem.

Yes, it is still in residence - a new nest in the same place and each morning a pile of cat biscuit under the drier. Totally ignored the humane mouse trap with organic peanut butter and cat biscuit. I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do other than to live with the distraction and to clear up after it.... 

A favourite poet sums it up very well. 

Making the House Ready for the Lord

Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but

   still nothing is as shining as it should be

for you. Under the sink, for example, is an

   uproar of mice – it is the season of their

many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves

   and through the walls the squirrels

have gnawed their ragged entrances – but it is the season

   when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And

the racoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard

   while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow;

what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling

   in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly

up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will

   come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,

the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know

   that really I am speaking to you whenever I say,

as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.

Mary Oliver

Peace be with you.

A Service of Silence & Beholding

A time of unhurried silence

 in which to dwell at the heart of the Eucharist.

Sunday March 23rd

8 a.m.

St. Mary's Church, Sullington, West Sussex, RH20 4AE

We gather in silence, coming just as we are, to seek the face of God and to wait upon the Divine presence. In and through our attentiveness, gazing and listening, the silence deepens, so we also depart quietly, taking what we have received into the day.  There are no announcements; the spoken words are offered as stepping stones in the quiet, taking us deeper into silence. 

All is Eucharist.

Response to Silouan's words in Wisdom Songs

Turn

‘Metanoia’

Turn around

Face the Holy

Attend

Give yourself to this one thing

Again and again

See

‘Theoria’

Awaken

Be seen

Shed the mask

And untruth of yourself

Enter this place of nakedness

 before God

Be illumined

Be transfigured

by light and love

Be

‘Theosis’

Be in God

Walk in the way of the Beloved

At one with the Holy One

i am echoing I AM

No longer I

But Christ

Turn

See

Be

Turn

Tessa Holland

Peace be with you

Letting go of everything for this

I was going to say that I have been finding the following useful as a meditation for the beginning of Lent - but it is actually more that it turned up on the threshold of my consciousness like an old friend and seems to have decided to stay awhile ...  

I see the face

that was my home.

My loving says, I will let go

of everything for that.

My soul begins to keep rhythm

as if music is playing.

My reason says, What do you call

this cypress-energy that straightens

what was bent double?

All things change in this presence.

Armenians and Turks no longer know

which is which.

Soul keeps unfolding inward.

The body leaves the body.

A wealth you cannot imagine

flows through you.

Do not consider what strangers say.

Be secluded in your secret heart-house,

that bowl of silence.

Talking, no matter how humble-seeming,

is really a kind of bragging.

Let silence be the art

you practice.

Rumi (1207-1273)

Trans. Coleman Barks

And then this piece - from a book lent to me by a friend ...

"To know God as the wholeness of love is to enter into oneness at the heart of all life. That is why prayer and contemplation are essential for the next stage of evolution. Without the eye of the heart or the inner space to welcome the new ways love shows itself in others, we cannot love toward greater unity …"

  

Ilia Delio, The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution and the Power of Love, p.112-113.

Wherever and whoever you are, whatever your circumstances:

Peace be with you.

Still Waters

 a time to enter silence,

still the mind and encounter the present moment in quiet

Saturday 1st March

8 - 10am

St. Mary's Church, Sullington Lane, Sullington, 

West Sussex RH20 4AE

You are welcome to come at 8am or 9am or to stay for the whole time. 

Each session begins with a short introduction to lead us into

 the shared stillness and silence. 

If travelling from Horsham, Worthing or Brighton, please note:

The A283 between the A24 and Sullington Lane (which leads to the church) will be closed to through traffic this weekend 1st and 2nd March. We understand diversions will be in place. Our suggested route is to continue north on the A24 taking the first exit signposted to Thakeham. Follow the road for about a mile, crossing straight over the mini-roundabout outside Rydon School. At the next mini roundabout, take the first exit into Water Lane and continue to the end. Continue straight across into Sullington Lane. 

The detour takes about 10 minutes - please allow extra time for your journey. 

Peace be with you 

A Service of Silence & Beholding

A time of unhurried silence in which to dwell 

at the heart of the Eucharist

February 23rd

8 a.m.

 St. Mary's Church, Sullington, West Sussex, RH20 4AE

If travelling from Horsham, Worthing or Brighton, please note:

The A283 between the A24 and Sullington Lane (which leads to the church) is likely to be closed to through traffic this weekend 22nd and 23rd February. We understand diversions will be in place. A suggested route is to continue north on the A24 taking the first exit signposted to Thakeham. Follow the road for about a mile, crossing straight over the mini-roundabout outside Rydon School. At the next mini roundabout, take the first exit into Water Lane and continue to the end. Continue straight across into Sullington Lane. 

Please allow extra time for your journey.  

I am, you anxious one.

Don’t you sense me, ready to break

into being at your touch?

My murmurings surround you like shadowy wings.

Can’t you see me standing before you

cloaked in stillness?

Hasn’t my longing ripened in you

from the beginning

as fruit ripens on a branch?

I am the dream you are dreaming.

When you want to awaken, I am that wanting:

I grow strong in the beauty you behold.

And with the silence of stars I enfold

your cities made by time.

Rainer Maria Rilke    

                      

Peace be with you