My dear Friends
On Friday afternoon I jumped on a train and went up to Derby. My destination was a village 16 miles away called Hopton, where we were goiong to have a day's programme with members of the Orthodox Church. I travelled up with Fr Max Lavriotes, an Orthodox priest and good friend.
Our hostess, Vaila, met us at the station and drove us to her wonderful cottage in the Derbyshire countryside. Everywhere was in blossom and it was lovely to see the sheep in the fields. Vaila had another friend staying with her and around 9pm we all had a congenial dinner with wine. Her cottage is large and rambling and pretty old, full of Vaila's lovely things, with an old fashioned kitchen with an Aga cooker, on which she cooked some delicious vegetables to accompany our meal. I had an early night and woke to birdsong in the morning.
I took a walk along the reservoir and caught some of the lovely Derbyshire countryside. Around 11 the rest of the guests turned up for a talk by Fr Max on the unity of the church. He made the point about our common meeting point being our humanity rather than as individuals and members of different Churches, pointing out the part in the Creed where it says that Christ came 'for us men and our salvation.'
A lovely lunch followed and there were some really nice people there, some who had come from as far away as Scunthorpe. Soup, bread quiche and salad, wine if you wanted and great discussions. After lunch we returned to the lovely little drawing room where a gentleman gave a talk about St Catherine's monastery on Mount Sinai. Apparently some good roads have now been built up to it and the result is hordes of tourists with their buses, all attempting to climb Mount Sinai! The speaker discussed the icons in the monastery and showed us an example of one of Christ which was particularly beautiful.
After tea I relaxed and Vaila drove me to the train around 6pm-it had been a very interesting and enjoyable time.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Monday 26 April 2010
Wednesday 21 April 2010
Beauty spots
My dear Friends
What with Spring upon us, I thought I would describe some of the beauty spots in Cambridge. If you want an indoor one, there is the magnificent Kings College Chapel, with its high vaulted ceiling, highly decorated and started in the reign of Henry VIII. (to only be finished some 400 years or so later).
Diagonally across from Kings is Clare College, with its beautiful walkway to the river, through the old university courtyards.The river really opens out at this point, and on the other side of the bridge is a walk through a daffodil-studded path until you eventually get to the University library.
If you want something a little more secluded, try the garden of Little St Mary's Church in Little St Mary's Lane, on the other side of the river, near the Graduate Centre. Old trees shelter you and you are quite secluded from busy Cambridge.
The backs of the Colleges on Queens Road are quite magnificent; especially Kings Chapel seen from the back-an elderly friend of mine said it is more beautiful than the front and another friend burst into tears at the sight of it, she said it was so beautiful.
These are just a few of the delights of Cambridge, more later.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
What with Spring upon us, I thought I would describe some of the beauty spots in Cambridge. If you want an indoor one, there is the magnificent Kings College Chapel, with its high vaulted ceiling, highly decorated and started in the reign of Henry VIII. (to only be finished some 400 years or so later).
Diagonally across from Kings is Clare College, with its beautiful walkway to the river, through the old university courtyards.The river really opens out at this point, and on the other side of the bridge is a walk through a daffodil-studded path until you eventually get to the University library.
If you want something a little more secluded, try the garden of Little St Mary's Church in Little St Mary's Lane, on the other side of the river, near the Graduate Centre. Old trees shelter you and you are quite secluded from busy Cambridge.
The backs of the Colleges on Queens Road are quite magnificent; especially Kings Chapel seen from the back-an elderly friend of mine said it is more beautiful than the front and another friend burst into tears at the sight of it, she said it was so beautiful.
These are just a few of the delights of Cambridge, more later.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Thursday 15 April 2010
New beginnings
My dear Friends
What with Spring here at last and everything beginning to bud, we can surely say it is a time of new beginnings. New beginnings can happen at any time of year, but its particularly appropriate at this time. So wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I wish you well.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
What with Spring here at last and everything beginning to bud, we can surely say it is a time of new beginnings. New beginnings can happen at any time of year, but its particularly appropriate at this time. So wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I wish you well.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Wednesday 14 April 2010
Lag baomer
My dear Friends
On the second night of Passover, Jews begin 'counting the Omer,' the calendar which lasts from Passover to the Feast of Shavuot, the Jewish Pentecost. The calendar lasts for 49 days. The 33rd day is called Lag Baomer, lag having the numerical Hebrew value of 33. It is a highly significant day in the calendar as up till then it has been a penitential time and it is only on Lag Baomr that weddings and other celebrations are allowed.
High up in the Galilee, on Mount Meron, a bonfire is lit and from here bonfires are lit all over Israel to celebrate the Feast Day.Mount Meron, near Safed, is the traditional home of the Chasidim, and the seat of Jewish mysticism for over 1,000 years. I visited Safed in 1989 and was deeply struck by a special something in the air and the ancient Synagogues where people were searching for the deeper meaning of life.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai, one of the famous Rabbis, apparently died on Lag Baomer and he said he wanted his death to be a celebration, not a case for sadness.
So towards this holy Feast
Shalom from
Sister Gila
On the second night of Passover, Jews begin 'counting the Omer,' the calendar which lasts from Passover to the Feast of Shavuot, the Jewish Pentecost. The calendar lasts for 49 days. The 33rd day is called Lag Baomer, lag having the numerical Hebrew value of 33. It is a highly significant day in the calendar as up till then it has been a penitential time and it is only on Lag Baomr that weddings and other celebrations are allowed.
High up in the Galilee, on Mount Meron, a bonfire is lit and from here bonfires are lit all over Israel to celebrate the Feast Day.Mount Meron, near Safed, is the traditional home of the Chasidim, and the seat of Jewish mysticism for over 1,000 years. I visited Safed in 1989 and was deeply struck by a special something in the air and the ancient Synagogues where people were searching for the deeper meaning of life.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai, one of the famous Rabbis, apparently died on Lag Baomer and he said he wanted his death to be a celebration, not a case for sadness.
So towards this holy Feast
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Tuesday 6 April 2010
Eastertide
My dear friends
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! I hope you had a good Easter, leading into Eastertide. The next 40 days are the time Jesus appeared to his disciples in Galilee, which is beautiful in the Spring. This time corresponds to the 40 days between the Jewish passover and the Feast of shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, when the Torah was given on Mount Sinai. So we closely parallel the Jewish tradition, in our lead up to Pentecost.
The coming of the Holy spirit at Pentecost is the culmination of the Resurrection and the Ascension and brings to an end this very Holy season which started with Lent.The disciples are enjoined to spread the Gospel to all nations and to the ends of the earth. We are able to walk the full road with Jesus in all the signposts of his life. I wish you a good journey!
Shalom from
Sister gila
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! I hope you had a good Easter, leading into Eastertide. The next 40 days are the time Jesus appeared to his disciples in Galilee, which is beautiful in the Spring. This time corresponds to the 40 days between the Jewish passover and the Feast of shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, when the Torah was given on Mount Sinai. So we closely parallel the Jewish tradition, in our lead up to Pentecost.
The coming of the Holy spirit at Pentecost is the culmination of the Resurrection and the Ascension and brings to an end this very Holy season which started with Lent.The disciples are enjoined to spread the Gospel to all nations and to the ends of the earth. We are able to walk the full road with Jesus in all the signposts of his life. I wish you a good journey!
Shalom from
Sister gila
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