Sunday, December 25, 2016

In the Face of Christmas Let us ask God for a good Christmas: that no powerful nation should tax the poor oppress the poor or uproot them





In the Face of Christmas

Let us ask God for a good Christmas:
that no powerful nation
should tax the poor
oppress the poor
or uproot them;

that no unmarried mother
should be put away in disgrace;

that no door will be shut
on those that need to find it open;

that shepherds and sheep and all of nature
need not be afraid;

that walls, barbed wire and angry soldiers
may not be found in Bethlehem;

that we will stop building walls
to keep people in and people out

that wise men and wise women 
might appear in Wales in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Syria, 
in Scotland, in Ireland, in England,
and in our street & in the whole WORLD

that children may be preserved
from those who would abuse them;

that children can be safe in schools & football clubs around the world
that guns and weapons of war may not be seen as toys

that this Christmas,
that your home a stable
and the rumour become a reality
that The Divine has come among us.


16-17



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Saturday, December 24, 2016

I was born to be with you/in this space and time ...................







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I just like the SNOW falling all over my computer .....

The Witness for the Prosecution
Prepare yourself for this perfect film noir of 1920's London. A man is accused of killing his glamorous and rich lover (Kim Cattrall) in order to inherit her wealth. Tasked with representing him is his solicitor John Mayhew (Toby Jones). Definitely not your typical cosy Agatha Christie adaptation, it is dark, strange, unsettling and yet genuinely compelling.
 
Watch the trailer
Your Christmas TV Guide
 

The stirring of the soul now/Christmas has triggered me to connect with memories of my Mother






CHRISTMAS
I have been busy with things 

and I wonder -
funny time of year for you? 

I see faces in the streets and the shops. 
Strained faces. 
Tense faces. 
Frowning faces. 
Few smiling faces. 

I worked for many years in hostels.
Out of the 10 homes we have had,
including the one I was born in, 
six have been in a residential/community context,
on the job including with people who were
offenders, homeless and rootless.
They are uncertain if there maybe a chance of 
being somewhere else on Christmas day. 
That uncertainty is worse 
than the certainty of even 'no hope’. 
The ones remaining in the Hostel on Christmas day 
will be the ones without any another option 

I have always struggled with
how to do something in a group-work context
which is a sensitive helpful life-sustaing challenge. 
The context is restless humans. 
The context is lack of concentration. 
They don’t want to be there
- be anywhere
but there is better than being alone …..
I prepare as best I can & then deliver  …… 
but still have to 'busk it' like crazy. 
Calmly of course! 

You can read some of my Christmas Group-Work
described in a step by step method,
by searching my www.pipwilson.com 

The stirring of the soul now/Christmas
has triggered me to connect with memories of my Mother 
who went through some tough times and yet 
was wondrous and beautiful to the end. 
All four sons were around the bed when she died. 
I have good feelings about her death. 

The other feelings  .............. 
I will say they were about 'emotional deprivation'. 
Mine of course but also the people I recall. 
I have more connections in my soul 
which makes me feel Christmas more deeply. 
They are a bit below the surface but the next few days 
I could dig them out. 





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Through acts of sharing we know - and we are known.







Through acts of sharing
we know
and we are known.


Communication
Level Five Communication
Sharing
Listening
Questions
Reflecting
Opening ..............

It is like sharing Christmas gifts.
Sharing self is the greatest gift to share
I feel it is a privilege when someone shares L5 with me.

What if you receive a Christmas present
beautifully packaged
bright coloured paper
tagged
"To you - from ......."
What if it remains unopened?


If someone shares self with us
Level Five
real
open
risk
vulnerable
a precious offering
and we don't feel it
and we don't open it 
- open to it ........

Communication fails
the breath of life
the oxygen of life
falters

Relationships cannot exist without communication
exchanging gifts
otherwise become a
human loner
and a
human loner
does not exist.

The smallest presents are the best.
The first Christmas present -
an example.

What if that present
is
unopened?
undiscovered?




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