The Ubuntu Reredos

"Before time began, the invisible world rested in the eternal. With the creation of our world, time and space began. Every stone, bush, raindrop, star, mountain, and flower has its origin in the invisible world. That is where the first sighting of each of us occurred. We emerged from the folds of time, each an intense mixture of visible and invisible." John O'Donohue, in To Bless the Space Between Us.

The altar space at General Convention in Anaheim is transformed daily by the work and spirit of ECVA President Mel Ahlborn, Producer of The Ubuntu Reredos (a digital altarpiece created for this 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church). This reredos is a symphony of images that offers a co-mingling of visual bread and wine—where the gift evolved is always more than the bread and wine.

Seen above: Convention Eucharist on Sunday July 12, 2009, The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori presiding.

Asking The Blessing Of Light

In the glare of neon times,
Let our eyes not be worn
By surfaces that shine
With hunger made attractive.

That our thoughts may be true light,
Finding their way into words
Whhich have the weight of shadow
To hold the layers of truth.

That we never place our trust
In minds claimed by empty light,
Where one-sided certainties
Are driven by false desire.

Words from "For Light" by John O'Donohue,
in To Bless the Space Between Us.

Image by The Rev. Scott Fisher

Seeing As Blessing

"May you recognize in your life the
presence, power, and light of your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,
that your soul in its brightness and
belonging connects you intimately
with the rhythm of
the universe."

Words by John O'Donohue, in Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Image: Photograph by Helen Belencan

Miracles

"Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles
that seek no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry
of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift
woven around the heart of wonder."

Words: John O'Donohue in "To Bless the Space Between Us"

Image: Photograph by The Rev. Scott Fisher

Inheritance

"To be born is to be chosen. No one is here by accident. Each one of us was sent here for a special destiny...

This selectivity intimates a sheltering providence that dreamed you, created you, and always minds you."

Words by John O'Donohue in "Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom."

Image: "Inheritance" by Roger Hutchison

New Horizon

"What is the new horizon in you that wants to be seen?"
by John O'Donohue in "To Bless the Space
Between Us: A Book of Blessings"

Seen above: Photography by Diane Walker

Toward A Happy New Year

A Morning Offering

I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcomes the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn;
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Waves of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

Amen.

By John O'Donohue in "To Bless the Space Between Us"

Seen above: 11:00 a.m. and -50 degrees New Year's Eve by The Rev. Scott Fisher, St. Matthew's, Fairbanks.

Landscapes

“Our intentionality constructs the landscapes of our inner world. Maybe it is time now for a phenomenology of soul. The soul creates, shapes, and peoples our inner life. The gateway to our deepest identity is not through mechanical analysis. We need to listen to the soul and articulate its wisdom in a poetic and mystical form.” John O’Donohue in Anam Cara, A Book of Celtic Wisdom.

Image: Photography by A. R. Pinkus, composition by C. Robin Janning.

Blessing

"The beauty of blessing is that it recognizes no barriers—and no distances. All the given frontiers of blockage that separate us can be penetrated by the loving subtlety of blessing."

Photograph by The Rev. Scott Fisher, St. Mattews, Fairbanks
Text by John O'Donohue in "To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings"

Our Secret Gardens

"Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path."

by John O'Donohue in "To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings"

Seen above "Secret Garden" by Diane Walker

Nature's Child

"Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies."

Words by John O'Donohue in
To Bless the Space Between Us:
A Book of Blessings

Image: Nature's Child by Barbara Desrosiers

Air

"... home of memory where
Our vanished days secretly gather,
Receiving every glance, word, and act
That fall from presence,
Taking all our unfolding in,
So that nothing is lost or forgotten."

Words by John O'Donohue,in
To Bless the Space Between Us:
A Book of Blessings

Photograph by The Rev. Scott Fisher,
St. Matthew's, Fairbanks, Alaska