With the slow cold of winter starting to set in, and the
long darkness growing, death and passing are natural reflections at this time. For some in our little community these are
very real experiences right now, so this month we took readings and shared space
around the topic of "Grief - there is no 'ought' to feeling."
The service was opened with a prayer titled ‘Hunted’ by our
own Lucy Harris from the book Through the
Prism. It was especially poignant
lighting the chalice candle, as an act of drawing close as a community, in a
month when distance and commitments are keeping us apart.
Our readings were W H
Auden's 'Stop all the Clocks', and Don Jon's speech from Act 1 Scene 3 of ‘Much
Ado About Nothing’. Both run the gamut
of emotions at a time of loss. Some
gentle and edifying, some wild and raging; but all sincere, all honest, all
valid.
Between the readings we took a reflection on the ‘Beginning
of Winter’ from A Pagan Ritual Prayer
Book by Ceisiwr Serith. It ended
with the poignant line 'teach...who has only fought for what I love'.
