- by heather bradbury. used with permission. living...

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Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version. Photographs courtesy of Eva Ady, Julie Brackenreg, Judy Creffield, Caro Field, Heather Maclean, Jennie Nicholson, (unless otherwise attributed). Original artwork by Heather Bradbury reproduced with kind permission. www.heatherbradbury.com

Booklet compiled and presented by Rev Caro Field.

May God’s blessing be yours, and well may it befall you.

Carmina Gadelica, 111, 205.

Receive - by Heather Bradbury. Used with permission.

Thanks

Thanks also to the committee for making it possible for the pilgrimage to happen.

Bright to Beechworth

Celtic Pilgrimage 2016

Living Water, the source of all life

Trust Me - by Heather Bradbury. Used with permission.

“As water takes whatever shape it is in, So free may you be about who you become”

- John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

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Celtic cross or ring cross. Bridge to the other worlds and to higher energy and knowledge Vertical axis (celestial world) and horizontal axis (earthly world). Also symbols of the sources of light and energy.

Triquetra, (Latin for three-cornered). This sign is a symbol for the Holy Trinity in Christian symbolism. Since one of the

symbols for Jesus is a , one may also interpret this triquetra as a Jesus symbol, composed by three conventionalised, plaited fish.

The spiral was found on many Dolmans and gravesites. Its true meaning is not known for sure, but it is believed to represent the travel from the inner life to the outer soul or higher spirit forms; the concept of growth, expansion, and cosmic energy, depending on the culture in which it is used. To the ancient inhabitants of Ireland, the spiral was used to represent their sun.

Triskele symbolises the cycles of life within the 3 spheres of influence in the material world. The 3 spheres (Land, Sea and Sky) represent the 3 aspects of the material world that are contained in every object. Each aspect ever flowing outward and always returning to the point from which it started.

Celtic Motifs

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May the road rise up to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warmly upon your face, and the rain fall softly upon your tracks…

And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hands.

CLOSING:

Prayer: God of your pilgrim people, we give thanks: for the pilgrim journey we have just undertaken; for the strength and heart to also journey inwards into our lives; for the things we have discovered about ourselves and the way we live our lives; for those who have blessed our journey with their friendship, and their stories;

And especially we are thankful for the rest and peace at the end of this time. May the things we have learned about the world around us remain with us, challenge and bless us, and echo with the meaning of this journey.

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Notes and Reflections Something to think about as you walk: * What areas of my life are turbulent... or tranquil? * Are turbulent times always a bad thing? * What must I do to prepare to leave the tranquillity of this Pilgrimage, to return to the turbulence of ‘normal life’?

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SUNDAY - Living Water: the Source of All Life

How do I travel through life– as a racer, a tourist or a pilgrim? Before we start this style of journey we need to understand ourselves. - How well do you know yourself? - What are your core beliefs and basic life values? Thinking of our theme of ‘living water’... Water can be still and tranquil; it can drip slowly, or flow gently; it can also rage turbulently. How will your ‘water journey’ go this week?

Thou, my soul’s healer, Keep me at even, keep me at morning, Keep me at noon, on rough course faring, Help and safeguard my means this night. I am tired, astray, and stumbling, Shield Thou me from snare and sin. Celtic Christian Spirituality, Oliver Davies & Fiona Bowie. SPCK, London, 1995, p. 131.

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WORSHIP:

We celebrate the beginning of a new journey, as we gather together, as we travel together day by day. We celebrate the gifts we have to share, as we tell our stories, and as we listen and participate in others’ stories. We celebrate the gift of life itself as we remember those who have gone before us those who journey through life with us and those who will follow after us.

Reading: Genesis 1:2, 6, 9, 20

Talk:

Sing: In water we grow (TIS 494)

Blessing: Bless to us, O God, the roads and waters that lie before us, Go with us as we go, and welcome us home. Pattern of our Days, K Mcllhagga, p 165 (adapted)

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FRIDAY: Water- tranquillity and turmoil

Mark 4:35-41 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Flood - by Heather Bradbury. Used with permission.

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WORSHIP:

Blessing for a new day: May the blessed sunlight shine upon you, and warm your heart till it glows like a great peat fire,

And may the blessing of the rain be on you. May it fall upon your spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up. B. O’Malley, Celtic Blessings and Prayers, Twenty-third Publications, CT, 1998, p.105

Reading: Mark 4:35-41

Prayer: Christ, draw near to us, little people, trembling and most wretched, rowing through the infinite storm of this age; and bring us safely to the most beautiful haven of life. Amen Based on words attributed to St Columba. Iona Abbey Worship Book, p 188.

Talk:

Sing:

Sending Out: As it was, As it is, As it shall be Evermore, O Thou Triune Of grace! With the ebb, With the flow O Thou Triune Of grace! With the ebb, With the flow. Carmina Gadelica, II, 217


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Genesis 1:2, 6, 9, 20 ... the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters ... And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ ... And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so... And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’

Spring Rain - by Heather Bradbury. Used with permission.

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Notes and Reflections Something to ponder before we set out: * What are your hopes and expectations of this pilgrimage?

Each day we have the gift of time: to enjoy a multitude of physical blessings as we walk; to enjoy our companions on the journey - their company, their stories, and their questions; and time for ourselves- to ponder the big questions in our own lives.

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Human presence is a creative and turbulent sacrament, a visible sign of invisible grace. John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Turbulent waters can break the banks of rivers and creeks. When water goes where it shouldn’t, it can cause damage and chaos. Myrtleford floods, 2010.

Like life, water can be

tranquil and peaceful or turbulent and chaotic

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Notes and Reflections Something to think about as you walk: * Imagine yourself as an island, surrounded by the water of life. How rugged is your coastline?

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MONDAY: Water and life

Nature and creation are major themes in Celtic spirituality. Nature is appreciated in its own right, in and of itself; its significance and value does not lie merely in serving humanity.

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it. Psalm 24:1

We All Treasure Earth’s Resources

* 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water * Oceans hold ~ 96% of all earth’s water * Fresh water makes up only ~2.5% of the earth’s total water

‘Although the salt-water oceans cover a majority of the planet, sacredness is generally ascribed to fresh water, and sites including wells, lakes, springs, rivers and waterfalls have drawn pilgrims throughout history.’ - C. M. Cusack and D. B. Wilson, Scotland’s Sacred Waters: Holy Wells and Healing Springs.

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WORSHIP:

Prayer at Rising Bless to us, O God, each thing our eyes see; Bless to us, O God, each sound our ears hear; Bless to us, O God, each odour that goes to our nostrils; Bless to us, O God, each taste that goes to our lips; each note that goes to our song, each ray that guides our way. lona Abbey Worship Book p 166

Sing: Morning has broken (TIS 156)

Reading: Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:10-11, 13-14

Prayer: God, your fertile earth is slowly being stripped of its riches, Open our eyes to see. God, your living waters are slowly being choked with chemicals, Open our eyes to see. God, your clear air is slowly being filled with pollutants, Open our eyes to see. God, your creatures are slowly dying and your people are suffering, Open our eyes to see. Creating God, move us by the wonder of creation as we journey this day and every day, May we repent and care more deeply. Move us to grieve the loss of life, May we learn to cherish and protect your world. Iona Community Worship Book, p 40

Talk:

Blessing: God has no favourite places. There are no special things. All are God’s, and all is sacred. I tread each day in light or dark In the fellowship of my God. Pattern of our Days, K. Mcllhagga, p 133.

This we know, the earth does not

belong to us. We belong

to the Earth. lona Community Worship Book,

p 41

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Psalm 139:1-15 (NIV) You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

THURSDAY: Coastlines, islands, sea journeys

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WORSHIP:

Notices

Opening: When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things.

Sing: All Creatures of our God and King, vs 1-4 (TIS 100)

Reading: Psalm 139:1-15 (NIV)

Talk:

Music, passing of the Iona stone and water:

Journey Blessing: May our journey ahead Be blessed With God’s Laughter, Silences, Risks, Challenges, Healings, Questions, Promises, Protests, Answers, Tears, Solidarity,

Leave Quietly...

Often uncomfortable peace, And Compassion-filled surprises, Perhaps All In One Day. Peter Millar

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Jeremiah 2:13 ...for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

John 4:10-11, 13-14 Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ ... The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’

Restoration - by Heather Bradbury. Used with permission.

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Notes and Reflections

Mantra: Choose a mantra for the journey. Write it here:

Something to think about as you walk: Repeating a mantra as you walk, as a kind of embodied prayer, will help maintain the rhythm of your pilgrimage.

God bless the pathway on which I go, God bless the earth that is beneath my sole. Carmina Gadelica III, 178-9

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Brendan * ‘The Voyager’, ‘The Navigator’ * Born 484 Church Hill Tralee Bay. * Brendan belonged to the Second Order of Irish saints, also known as the 12 Apostles of Ireland. * Sent at age 1 into fosterage to St Íta the mystic. Became life-long friends. * Indefatigable traveller, in his 80s when he set out in the Navigatio on the great voyage that was to last seven years. * Some say perhaps it was just a tale that they went to find the Promised Land of the Saints. * Story begins with an account of an abbot on an island monastery in Donegal Bay who often paid visits to this Promised Land by sailing apparently out into the Atlantic. * Brendan picked 14 monks, set off to Brandon Creek and constructed a light, wooden-framed and ribbed boat. Covered it with skins, and sailed off into the west... * Brendan died in Galway in 577, aged 93.

Many of the Celtic lands are islands, surrounded by water. Journeys across the sea feature in many Celtic legends. The most famous of these is the story of Brendan the Navigator; and slightly less famous, but of great significance to us, is St Columba’s arrival on the island of Iona.

Not all journeys by sea are for pleasure, or end well.

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Notes and Reflections Something to think about as you walk: * We’ve passed the halfway mark - how are you travelling? * As you walk, take your time, let your imagination take you wherever it will

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Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of water: through the waters of the Red Sea you led your people Israel out of slavery into the freedom of the land you promised; in the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptised and anointed by the Spirit.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, bless this water, and this child, who is baptised in it, that she may be born anew, live in your light all her days, and come to share your likeness; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. - From Uniting in Worship 2- Service of Baptism

In the river of Life we have been purified. Every day we are cleansed by his love there. Let us grow in this love and continue to share All the gifts that flow out from the river. Let us give them again to all men. Walter de Jong, The River of Life

We use water to wash our hair, our body, our clothes...

Lake Guthridge, in Sale, Vic, has a water spout that keeps the lake clean, preventing growth of anaerobic bacteria by oxygenating the water of the lake.

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TUESDAY: Water- agent of cleansing, sacredness

WORSHIP:

Prayer: Bless to us, O God, this day fresh made. In the chorus of birds, bless us. In the scent of blossom, bless us. In the wet grass and the spring flowers, bless us. Bless us and heal us - for we come to you in love and trust. We come to you in expectant hope. Silence

O God, give us a well of tears - to wash away the hurts of our lives. O God, give us a well of tears - to cleanse the wounds, - to bathe the battered face of our world. Silence

Heal us and your grieving world of all that harms us. By the power of your Resurrection, restore us to new life, set us on new paths, bring us from darkness to light. Help US to choose hope. Pattern of our Days, K. Mcllhagga, p 121

Reading: Exodus 30:18-21; John 13:5-6, 8; Acts 22:16

Talk:

Sing: Take my life and let it be (TIS 599)

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WEDNESDAY: Water as a place of death

Genesis 6:17-18 For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

Exodus 14:21-23, 26-27 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers... Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.

Matthew 3:16-17 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

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WORSHIP:

Prayer: Come among us God, You, who cast planets into space and cradle the sparrow in her nest. Come God and meet us here. Come among us God, You, who bless the poor and the broken and stand by the sand and the strong. Come God and meet us here. Come among us God, You, who dance in the silence and shine in the darkness. Come God and meet us here. Patterns of our Days, Iona Community, Ed. Kathy Galloway, p.24.

Reading: Genesis 6:17-18; Exodus 14:21-23, 26-27; Matthew 3:16-17

Talk:

Prayer: God of life, do not darken your light to us, O God of life, do not close your joy to us, O God of life, do not shut your door to us, O God of life, do not refuse your mercy to us, and, O God of life, crown us with your gladness. Iona Abbey Worship Book, p 187.

Sing: Abide with me (TIS 586)

Blessing: May the Father take you In His fragrant clasp of love, When you go across the flooding streams And the black river of death. Carmina Gaedelica III, 203


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Exodus 30:18-21 You shall make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it; with the water Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to make an offering by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die: it shall be a perpetual ordinance for them, for him and for his descendants throughout their generations.

TUESDAY: Water- agent of cleansing, sacredness

Forgiven- by Heather Bradbury. Used with permission.

John 13:5-6, 8 Then [Jesus] poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’... Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’

Acts 22:16 “...And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.” (Ananias, to Saul of Tarsus)

Blessing: May the blessing of light be on us, light without and light within. May the blessed sun shine on us and warm each heart till it glows like a great fire, so that strangers and friends may come in and warm themselves. And may the light shine out from our eyes, like a candle set in the windows of a house.

And may the Lord bless us, and bless us kindly. A Wee Worship Book (4th ed.), p 38.

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Notes and Reflections Something to think about as you walk: * Is there anything in your life that needs to be cleansed? * Think about your own baptism; what does it mean to you?

O Search me, God, and know my heart. O test me and know my thoughts. Psalm 139:23

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The ritual of baptism also helps us to identify with Christ’s death and resurrection. Water is a place of death- if you stay there, you will die. In baptism by full immersion, the candidate enters the waters of death, and then emerges, just as Christ emerged from death to life in resurrection.

Blessings - by Heather Bradbury. Used with permission.

I would love to live Like a river flows Carried by the surprise Of its own unfolding - John O’Donohue, Four Elements: Reflections on Nature

May the rivers of our aching know their force and mend their rending. - Pádraig Ó Tuama

- by heather bradbury. used with permission. living...

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