|
|
|
Reflections
6
A Thought
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied:
‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.’
from God Knows by Louise Haskins
A
Hymn
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let it die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let it go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Alfred Tennyson, 1809-92
|
|
To
hear a musical setting of this hymn,
just click here.
[If
the Media Player window gets in your way, minimize it by clicking
the dash in the top right hand corner of your screen] |
A Prayer
Courage is what we need:
not to flinch in the face of ignorance and prejudice
not to quail when power throws its weight about
not to moan if we don’t get our own way
not to slip if others are depending on us.
Humour is what we need:
to keep us flexible in an argument
to keep us humble when we can’t be sure
to keep us clear-headed if we’re losing our way
to bring us down to earth and off our high horse.
Love is what we need:
love for the planet and all her creatures
love for our dear, dear friends and families
love for beauty, truth and goodness
love for God, the ground of all being.
Give us, O God, in your infinite wisdom,
the courage, the humour and the love
To live our lives to the full and share our zest in living
with all whom we meet. AMEN
Peter Sampson
|
