Eye - 19 January 2024
From A poem for an autumn day to Well-loved phrases
A poem for an autumn day
Eye thanks Veronica Grant, of Llanidloes Meeting, for sending in some delightful sunshine to share with Friends. She writes: ‘In response to your invitation to lighten our darkness with a smile, I’m attaching a poem composed during Meeting for Worship on a windy day.’
Does it make you want to laugh,
The wind?
Naughtily opening doors and disturbing the stillness.
Does it make you want to throw your laughter to the air
with the leaves and the tossing crows?
Does it make you want to join
with others
And laugh and laugh
at the breathless beauty of the world?
It does me.
The quest
Beth Allen, from Bromley Meeting, bopped Eye a tongue-in-cheek fable.
‘A rich businessman had a new top of the range sports car; he housed it in his fully equipped garage but he also wanted it to have every possible spiritual protection.
‘So, he drove to the local church and asked: “I’ve just bought a Maserati – will you please give it a blessing?”
‘The vicar replied “What is a Maserati?” and he poured a cup full of water on its bonnet.
‘Next the businessman drove to the local synagogue and asked: “I’ve just bought a Maserati – will you please give it a blessing?”
‘The rabbi replied: “What is a Maserati?” and he sawed half an inch off the exhaust pipe.
‘Last of all the businessman drove to the local Quaker Meeting house with his request, and the warden replied “What is a blessing?”’
A surprising spot
John Hall, from Clacton Meeting, spied an unexpected mention of Friends in a broadsheet.
He writes: ‘I thought you might be interested in this, the opening sentence of the article [“Effective altruism was the favoured creed of Sam Bankman-Fried. Can it survive his fall?”] by Martin Sandbu in the “Life and Arts” section of the Financial Times Weekend 30/31 December 2023 edition: “Ever since the decline of the Quakers, it has been rare to see important companies governed by a spiritual or philosophical outlook.”
‘I’ll leave you to add your caption…’
Well-loved phrases
In 2023 Eye offered Friends an opportunity to contemplate the testimonies in an unusual way, by colouring in the words and some associated imagery. Eye hopes you found this nourishing Friends, before you’ll see this invitation expand to a monthly opportunity. This year it will feature the words of well-loved phrases from Quaker texts. The full Quaker faith & practice quote reference will be included with each one, so that those who want to sit with the full text can do so. Colour, doodle, whatever moves you Friends! Let’s begin with Quaker faith & practice 27.13.
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