My dear Friends
I thought I would write a little about Jonah today. Jonah had a mission to convert the people of Nineveh, but he was a reluctant prophet who ran away from his mission. He embarked on a long sea voyage in which there was a storm and the people thought they were dying. Jonah took this to mean that the wrath of God was against him and volunteered to jump into the sea to alleviate the storm. Once in the sea God arranged for him to be swallowed by a whale to preserve him.
Jonah was inside the whale for 3 days and 3 nights. He prayed fervently to God for all that time, a truly sublime prayer of repentance which God heard and saved him by having the fish spew Jonah out onto dry land. Jonah then decided to take up his mission and to preach to the people of Nineveh.
Can we ever escape from the hand of God? And if we truly have a mission can we ever turn our back on it? We would do well to heed Jonah's story. For it is in running away that we truly find ourselves, when God leads us gently back.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Thursday 24 June 2010
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Benigna
My dear Friends
Last weekend I went to visit Benigna. Benigna is a sweet white haired 91 year old lady in whose house I lived for sixteen years. And what a beautiful house it is. 5 bedrooms and 3 reception rooms-a telly room, a dining room and an elegant drawing room complete with Blutner grand piano. Benigna still plays and has several pupils, and I remember all the music-making we used to do together, while she played and I sang.
Benigna is also very hospitable to all visitors, inviting the poor and the lonely into her lovely home. The house has an extended garden and at the bottom of the garden is a wooden hut which served as a chapel for The Little Sisters of Joy for a time. Indeed it was in Benigna's house that The Little Sisters of Joy officially began, on the 7th March 1999 in the upper room. Maryvonne le Goanvic and I got together and founded it and it has really grown, as youo know.
Sometimes now Benigna's memory is not what it once was and she needs reminding of people and places, but then she comes alive when the memories come back. Hundreds of people have passed through her house and been touched by it and there is a nice Indian family living there today-they look after Beninga and care for her.
So-happpy memories for me!
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Last weekend I went to visit Benigna. Benigna is a sweet white haired 91 year old lady in whose house I lived for sixteen years. And what a beautiful house it is. 5 bedrooms and 3 reception rooms-a telly room, a dining room and an elegant drawing room complete with Blutner grand piano. Benigna still plays and has several pupils, and I remember all the music-making we used to do together, while she played and I sang.
Benigna is also very hospitable to all visitors, inviting the poor and the lonely into her lovely home. The house has an extended garden and at the bottom of the garden is a wooden hut which served as a chapel for The Little Sisters of Joy for a time. Indeed it was in Benigna's house that The Little Sisters of Joy officially began, on the 7th March 1999 in the upper room. Maryvonne le Goanvic and I got together and founded it and it has really grown, as youo know.
Sometimes now Benigna's memory is not what it once was and she needs reminding of people and places, but then she comes alive when the memories come back. Hundreds of people have passed through her house and been touched by it and there is a nice Indian family living there today-they look after Beninga and care for her.
So-happpy memories for me!
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Wednesday 9 June 2010
Newsletter no 13
'The harvest of righteousness shall be sown in peace by those who make peace.' (St James)
FRIENDS OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF JOY
An ecumenical foundation of prayer, peace and reconciliation
My dear Friends
Finally the long cold winter is over and everything has yielded to spring, with leaves and trees budding. The last 6 months has been a mixed time for me, after my return from that radiant trip to Ireland; my health has not been good and I have been suffering from nervous tension.
On the bright side though, there have been a few key events in the life of The Little Sisters of Joy. In January on Tu Bishvat, the Jewish New year for Trees, we held our annual celebration, this time to commemorate the 11th anniversary of The Little Sisters of Joy. It was held in the beautiful home of Kitty Stidworthy, one of our Associates and about 10 people were present. We all brought food and drink to share.After a little while, I gave an overview of the Foundation and its progress to date and then we all chatted happily. At the end, Kitty read out her translations from the Rusian poems of Tarkovsky, son of the filmaker and this was reallly moving. Kitty is a fine poet in her own right.
February/March saw the move into Lent, culminating in Holy Week. On the Monday of that week I co-hosted a Passover Seder at Sawston Parish Church, singing the Hebrew music of my childhood. About 45 people were ther from different churches, including the Anglicans and the people from the Free Church. Fr Dick Healy, from the large Catholic Church in Cambridge, was the co-celebrant and the 'Father' for the evening. while I was the 'Mother.' The ritual foods looked lovely on the table and the kosher wine was delicious.
The Seder dish with places for the Bitter Herbs, the shankbone of the lamb, the roasted egg, the haroseth and the green vegetables.
Last week I made a trip to Ware in Hertfordshire to see the Carmelite Sisters. Where is Ware? I can hear you say. Ware is halfway between Cambridge and London on the A10. The Carmel foundation dates back to Elijah the prophet and Mount Carmel in Israel. a A grouup of hermits gathered round the mountain and many years later the Carmelite Order was founded, being reformed later by St Teresa of Avila.
The monastery is on a hill, which is very Gospel based. I attended a lovely Mass, with a good priest, preaching a fine sermon about our vocation in life. This took place in the beautiful little chapel adjacent to the monastery. Afterwards I chatted at lenght with one of the Sisters who is my special friend and who entered in 1951, the year of my birth. We covered all aspects of my current life and then I had a lovely lunch, provided by the Sisters. A short walk followed, along the road which leads to a farm, before I returned to chat to my friend. Then I left to go back to Cambridge.
This week I was due to give a talk on my religious journey to a group of Anglicans, but adverse circumstances made it not possible to do so. Here are the first few lines of the talk:
'I was born in London in 1951 into an Orthodox Jewish family. My father took me to the Synagogue at a very early age and I loved it. I also loved the Sabbath and the Festivals. I went to a Jewish primary school until age 11 we moved to Glasgow.'
I have had a long and interesting journey and am now taking a bit of a Sabbatical. I hope to go to Provence in the summer and I wish you all happy journeys.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Thursday 3 June 2010
Clare Priory
My dear Friends
I have just had a visit to Clare Priory, which is in Suffolk. This 750 year old monastic foundation is in the heart of the Suffolk countryside, near the villages of Cavendish and Long Melford, which boast very fine churches.
Clare Priory is a little comunity of four priests and 2 lay women living and praying together. They welcome guests of all denominations and you are free to 'do your own thing' without any set programme. I went to rest and to pray, and was given a lovely room in the guest house overlooking the garden.
The grounds are not extensive but are very pleasant, and there is a little rose garden which is particularly beautiful. I spent quite a lot of time sitting outside as the weather was mainly very sunny.
Prayers, if you want to participate in them, are three times a day before meals (which are delicious!) with Mass every day as well. This takes place in the Oratory in the main building which is finely decorated inside. In the grounds stands the Parish Church, a dark and contemplative place which is open all day.
The Priory is adjacent to the river and there are some lovely walks, although the family of swans seems to have disappeared for the moment. apparently there is an extensive family of ducklings which I unfortunately did not see, although I did the last time I visited. Apart from being by the river I wandered into the village of Clare close by and had a drink or two in the Bell Inn-the guiness was delicious!
Ivisited the majestic Parish Anglican Church, huge and quite bare inside. It spans both side of the road in the very centre of the village and is well worth a visit.
Last night a young woman from Northern Ireland arrived at the Priory and we had a long walk in the surrounding countryside;altogether a lovely peaceful time!
Shalom from
Sister Gila
I have just had a visit to Clare Priory, which is in Suffolk. This 750 year old monastic foundation is in the heart of the Suffolk countryside, near the villages of Cavendish and Long Melford, which boast very fine churches.
Clare Priory is a little comunity of four priests and 2 lay women living and praying together. They welcome guests of all denominations and you are free to 'do your own thing' without any set programme. I went to rest and to pray, and was given a lovely room in the guest house overlooking the garden.
The grounds are not extensive but are very pleasant, and there is a little rose garden which is particularly beautiful. I spent quite a lot of time sitting outside as the weather was mainly very sunny.
Prayers, if you want to participate in them, are three times a day before meals (which are delicious!) with Mass every day as well. This takes place in the Oratory in the main building which is finely decorated inside. In the grounds stands the Parish Church, a dark and contemplative place which is open all day.
The Priory is adjacent to the river and there are some lovely walks, although the family of swans seems to have disappeared for the moment. apparently there is an extensive family of ducklings which I unfortunately did not see, although I did the last time I visited. Apart from being by the river I wandered into the village of Clare close by and had a drink or two in the Bell Inn-the guiness was delicious!
Ivisited the majestic Parish Anglican Church, huge and quite bare inside. It spans both side of the road in the very centre of the village and is well worth a visit.
Last night a young woman from Northern Ireland arrived at the Priory and we had a long walk in the surrounding countryside;altogether a lovely peaceful time!
Shalom from
Sister Gila
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