REFLECTIONS FROM SANDY’S
MILL, NOVEMBER 2014, PETER MILLAR
petermillarreflects.blogspot.co.uk
Return of
the Monthly Reflection
Thank you
for all your messages these last few months. Much appreciated. I have been
doing these Monthly Reflections for several years, and seem to have had a
sabbatical for the last few months! I hope things are going well with you
wherever you are in the world.
Sandy’s
Mill, near Edinburgh. Together with a friend, Pat Bryden, who also
lives in Edinburgh, we have bought an old restored cottage very close to
Edinburgh in the beautiful countryside of East Lothian – an area of Scotland I
have loved since childhood. It is a small cottage by the River Tyne and was
formerly part of a mill there. “Sandy” may have been a miller there many
generations ago. We hope that this cottage will be a place of welcome for many.
You could perhaps call it a small retreat house. Already we have had many
visitors. We shall be giving out more information about Sandy’s Mill soon.
Thank you to all those who have already visited this place of hope and peace. ( I continue to live in Edinburgh.)
Remembrance
November in the UK and in many other countries is a time of
remembering those who have died in war. Some years ago, the Worship Group in
Carnwadric Parish Church in Glasgow, under the guidance of John Bell and others
of the Iona Community, wrote a beautiful hymn relating to remembrance of wars
and those who have perished on battle-fields. This hymn is number 712 in the
Church of Scotland Hymnary. Here are some of the words from that hymn.
What shall we pray for those who died,
Those on whose death our lives relied?
Silenced by war but not denied,
God give them peace.
I love that
line “silenced by war but not denied” for without remembrance all our lives are
spiritually impoverished – whatever we may think of war itself. Without this
ability to remember and to reflect on the past, however war-torn it may have
been, I believe our souls remain only half-healed within the purposes of God.
To be human means that our “past” – personally and corporately matters greatly
in the wider scheme of things, so long as it does not imprison the present. And
our shared history which is often marked by terrible conflicts, matters to God.
The God who has wept over war, and still weeps. Most people are not “for war”
in any shape or form, but surely that must not mean that we cease to remember
the millions who have died throughout human history because of it.
And as we
remember all those who as they say “fell in war” we think of all those who are
falling today in places of unimaginable violence and pain. It sounds such a
bland thing to write, but for them we also weep. And if this weeping makes us
feel inwardly uncomfortable – or disturbs our embedded way of looking at the
world – then we are grateful to God that the deepest places within us actually
“feel” human sorrow. That is for me both the mystery and the hope of human
connection. So “at the going down of the sun” let us not forget all those who
have died in wars, lest we spiritually diminish ourselves and our communities.
In a world of many incredibly bland options, remembrance, however much we may
hate war, remains precious. For in our remembering we walk on holy ground.
Gerry Hughes
Father Gerry Hughes, a well-known Scottish born Jesuit priest
who has died at the age of 90 was a good friend to many of us. He was a
compassionate, wise prophet for these times and his best–selling book GOD OF
SURPRISES has helped thousands of people who were on the brink of leaving the
church to remain in it. But Gerry’s words of deep encouragement also spoke to huge
numbers of people who would never be seen inside a church building, for his
books always took seriously both the reality of God and the vulnerability of
our human lives. Gerry never preached at us, but rather, as in all of his
writing and retreat work, walked alongside us – wonderfully aware of our
frailty, his frailty and God’s understanding of both. A truly good person on
earth who quite often made his superiors uncomfortable - not least dogmatic
bishops - Gerry will also be remembered
for his tireless work for global justice, his campaigning to abolish nuclear
weapons and his tender companionship of
countless folk living on the margins. In his own prayerful and creative
life he was one of God’s surprises – enabling many others to see the surprising
spirit of God in daily living.
A Prayer
from Amnesty International
**** We pray for all whose basic needs for
food, shelter, clothing and healing are not met. Stir up the consciences of
peoples and governments, to re-arrange the world’s unjust systems; teach us all
to live more simply that others may simply live. ****
Remembering
Many
**** Lord,
you who knew suffering, we hold before you all who today in many parts of our
world are being silenced, violated, abused, driven from home, exploited, held hostage, tortured, or
betrayed for they are our sisters and brothers known and loved by you.****
END NOTE Please feel
free to share any of the material in this Reflection. Many of you have my
e-mail address if you wish to be in touch concerning Sandy’s Mill cottage. I would also like to say how much I have
valued many recent visitors, not least a close friend Noelene Martin from Sydney who sadly died
shortly after staying with her husband John at my home in Edinburgh. Noelene
was a prophetic voice for global justice and for Fair Trade in Australia.
