| Dear Friends,
The day was unusually warm for late September on Inishmore, in the Erin Islands off Galloway, the most westerly point in Europe. The island is renowned for its dark beauty, pristine beaches, rugged sea-scapes, plunging cliffs, megalithic forts, fairy rings, early Christian ruins and quite literally within the sixteen square miles that make up the island there are thousands of miles of stonewall fences. These stone barriers honey-comb the entire place and were built over thousands of years ago to protect little plots of land from soil erosion, to mark property lines as well as boundaries. In a day: you could stand upon the paving stone of what might me the smallest church in the world, measuring eleven feet by seven feet; crawl on your haunches into an 8th century beehive hut once inhabited by an austere Irish monk peer over a 300 foot cliff dropping into the North Atlantic, in the great high hillfort of Dunangus built a thousand years before the time of Christ, by the Celtic warriors or just sit on some sparse vegetation and take in the natural wonder of it all. The ancient Irish called places like Inishmore, “thin places”, where past, present and future meld together and swirl about you. These are spots where the veil between heaven and earth break through and embrace each other. While sitting there, taking a sip from my water bottle, I was amused and entertained by two little sheep who were frolicking within one of the stone paddocks. What really drew my attention was the fact that the front left leg of one lamb was securely tied to the front right leg of the second lamb by a piece of raw hide cord. They were comical to watch as one attempted to go one way and the other another, but neither could move because of that which bound them. Thin places are also about those ties that bind us. The Celtic spirituality has been rediscovered in recent years it has depth, insight and is deeply rooted in creation. The sacredness of life and the interconnectedness of life are pillars upon which this form of spirituality is shaped. This year throughout Lent, we will use through our worship, gallery and adult study, Celtic Spirituality as a vehicle for renewing and strengthening our understanding and relationship to and with God. Just as Inishmore is made up of: rugged and smooth places; high and low places; exposed and sheltered places, we will explore our inner most terrain of our hearts and our souls, the “thin places”, during these six weeks and discover the cord, like that of the lambs, which ties us to creation, God and one another. Please mark your calendars for the Adult Study. Tuesday evenings from 7:30 - 9:00 pm in the Dr. Best Room.
Tuesday ‘March 2nd Theme 1 Presence of
God in the ordinary
This Lenten discipline is based upon a study developed by Joyce Rupp,
who is a Spiritual guide, writer and poet. Please call the
office to confirm your
In Christ, Shaun E. Fryday |