" O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart . . ." - Psalm 15:1-2
Dear Friends in Christ -
Today is the Feast Day of the Saint Nicholas Ferrar, the founder of the British spiritual Little Gidding. The peace and power of the chapel at Little Gidding was immortalized in T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Four Quartets."
In February, 2001, I went to Little Gidding to do research for my final project at the Institute of Sacred Music. The little chapel, built by Nicholas Ferrar as the cornerstone of his little Anglican community, is a mystical place.
What makes the chapel at Little Gidding special is not its beauty (though it is remarkably lovely), not its quiet (though it sits in isolation in the English countryside), and not its longevity, (it is one of many little chapels that dot the landscape_. What makes the Little Gidding chapel special is that it's clearly a prayed-in space. From the founding of the chapel, Ferrar and his community focused not on the "thou shalt nots" of their faith, but on simply doing the things they knew to be right, the things they could do, one day at a time. The simple, good acts of Ferrar and the gathered community added up to righteousness that echoed out in their community and echoes still, down through time, to those who spend time at Little Gidding.
(To take a peek at this place of deep blessing, visit http://www.littlegiddingchurch.org.uk/)
May this be a season in which we pause to take stock and ask, "How are the little things I'm doing day to day adding up?" And may we be investing ourselves in daily goodnesses that echo out into our community and down through time . . . to eternity!
Faithfully yours,
Janet+
No comments:
Post a Comment