The cathedral was organized with chairs in an oval around a central table laden with un-lit candles. Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, Catholics—all together today each with a symbol of their traditions also on the central table. A representative from each small church lit their own candle and placed their symbol next to their candle on the one table: 1662 Common Book of Prayer, KJV Bible, Wesleyan hymnal, an extra lit candle for the non-iconic Quakers (in case theirs went out!), & rosary beads. We all sang a hymn called “God Sets Us On a Journey” (tune: Hyfrydol; eg., Jesus what a Friend of Sinners, or, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus):
God who sets us on a journey
To discover, dream and grow,
Lead us as you led your people
In the desert long ago;
Journey inward, journey outward,
Stir the spirit, stretch the mind,
Love for God and self and neighbor
Marks the way that Christ defined.
Exploration brings new insights,
Changes, choices we must face;
Give us wisdom in deciding,
Mindful always of your grace;
Should we stumble, lose our bearings,
Find it hard to know what’s right;
We regain our true direction
Focused on the Jesus light.
End our longings for the old days,
Grant the vision that we lack—
Once we’ve started on this journey
There can be no turning back.
Let us travel light, discarding
Excess baggage from our past,
Cherish only what’s essential,
Choosing treasure that will last.
When we set up camp and settle
To avoid love’s risk and pain,
You disturb complacent comfort,
Pull the tent pegs up again;
Keep us travelling in the knowledge
You are always at our side;
Give us courage for the journey,
Christ our goal and Christ our guide.
----Joy Dine @ Joy Dine CCL License no 226319
The service, the song, both spoke to me in our transitional Sabbath place of rest. We look back with remembrance only to look forward with confidence. The sea of mainly white-hairs all in a circle singing “end our longings for the old days” had a certain poignancy to it. How many of them, how much of me, actually invites God to pull up our tent pegs and disrupt our long night with the TV? More often than not I’m like these sheep of the Langdales where I’ve been walking—cozy and connected with their own good earth, content in their shepherd’s watch-care. There is an elemental goodness in that, true; but pastures wear thin and the journey continues if we’re to live. I invite you to sing the song, feel whatever emerges, and journal your thoughts. I invite your comments in this way.
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