‘Shared silence’
Good morning,
A reflection today from Kitty Macintyre, Honorary Pagan Chaplain.
Sharing silence
For some of us, there is a great deal more silence in our lives at present than in other times. For others of us, there will be a great deal less.
All of us may spend some time in silence at some point in our day.
Shared silence is part of most religious, and some philosophical, paths.
At this time when many of us are feeling more alone – perhaps missing practices of shared silence with our spiritual communities – it may be comforting to think that, in any moment of your silence, somewhere in this world, there is someone else who has entered silence as well – deliberately – in prayer, or contemplation or meditation. Even in silence, we are not alone.
To accompany this reflection by Kitty, here is a photo of St Andrews taken recently by Tracy Niven, Senior Chaplaincy Secretary, of a silent Church Street:
And a few quotations on silence which have struck me over the years:
I have found that people are curiously insensitive to the nuisances they inflict on other people. The air is full of noises; sound is thought to be a natural and acceptable background in the twentieth century. Silence is the thing to be dreaded. But silence has always been precious to me. (George Mackay Brown, For the Islands I Sing)
Does not everything depend on our interpretation of the silence around us? (Lawrence Durrell, Justine)
God’s language is silence; how do we translate it? (Kathleen Norris, quoting her brother, The Cloister Walk)
Tomorrow, Thursday, we will hold our weekly service of Compline which will finish with three minutes of silence. Following the change of time for Compline to 9 pm in Holy Week, we have now changed Compline on Thursday nights to 9 pm. We have also decided to continue services of Compline beyond the usual end of the teaching term (which would be next week) until the end of the semester (roughly the end of May). Tomorrow’s invitation is below. I have also attached the order of service for any who would wish to have it in advance, but I will share it on your screen during the service.
Donald MacEwan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Compline Online
Time: Apr 16, 2020 09:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94544574003?pwd=QThLRE5JMWV3WmlnWFduLzM0cEtYQT09
Meeting ID: 945 4457 4003
Password: 9MvS2c
And advance notice that at the zoomed chapel service this Sunday at 11 am, the preacher will be Revd Prof Ian Bradley, Honorary Church of Scotland Chaplain. His sermon title is Blessed are the doubters. Zoom invitation to follow another day.
Take care,
Donald.