Meeting for Worship 13.02.11

Today's Reading:
Li-Young Lee is a contemporary American poet, born in Indonesia to Chinese parents. It can be viewed at the following link:
http://www.panhala.net/Archive/The_Hammock.html

Today's collection was on behalf of the charity 'ALONE' which works with vulnerable older people, providing long term housing, a befriending service and support in the community.

One of their volunteers, Yves, described some of the important tasks which he and his 20 fellow volunteers are currently undertaking for their 180 clients:
Befriending the elderly and isolated
Helping them to live life in the way that they want to
Providing 300 hampers over the Christmas period
Visiting and providing Christmas dinners
Raising awareness in schools and among Gardai
Promoting fairness in the treatment of the elderly
It was sad to note that calls to ALONE jumped by 50% in the six months between July and December 2010.

They processed over 1,000 calls and received over 400 e-mails requesting assistance and advice during November and December.

For more information on the charity, click here.
Two videos, one about their work and another about the life and vision of their founder Willie Bermingham can be viewed here.


Next week's reading:
John Greenleaf Whittier is a nineteenth century American Quaker poet. This well-known hymn is taken from a longer poem, The Brewing of Soma. In the poem, he discusses other forms of religious experience, including intoxication and ecstasy in the attempt to reach the divine. He reminds us of the power of the Quaker way: using the silence and quiet to hear the still small voice within.


Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.


In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.


O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love!


With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.


Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!