CONCERT FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

My dear Friends

This time next week I will be gearing up for my Concert for Peace and Reconciliation. It will take place on Wednesday 6th November 2013 at 7pm. The venue is Robinson College Chapel, Grange Road, Cambridge which is a very beautiful space.Highlight of the chapel is the stained glass window by John Piper, a feast of yellow and greens, with the shape of the sun in one corner. It will be dark outside when my friend and I start playing, but you can still much of the beauty of the window at that time of night from inside.

I sang in the chapel once before-in December 2006 to a small but enthusiastic audience.It was out of term and i had asked the college if the bar could be open in the interval. Everyone went into the bar and afterwards they told me that, mysteriously, smoked salmon sandwiches had appeared from nowhere, to their delight! And I sang well, even waiting for the audience to come in for the second half.

This time I am very pleased and privileged to have someone singing with me. Her name is Sue Gilmurray and she is very active in the Anglican Pacifist Movement and the Movement for the Abolition of War.(MAW). Best of all she composes her own songs on the theme of Peace and will perform a number of them on the night, accompanying herself on the piano. I will sing my usual mix of Jewish songs and songs of the 60's, including the famous and quintessential song about peace - Blowing in the wind by Bob Dylan.

I am beginning to feel excited and hope very much that the audience, who will have some of the words, will join in, as they have in the past and that our communal voices will effect a tiny healing of the world.

Will let you know how it goes
Shalom for now
Your sister Gila

Life at The Haven

My dear Friends

On September 8th I celebrated ten years of living at The Haven.What has this meant to me? For a start I called it a Haven, because i wanted to offer up my little flat as a place for hospitality and prayer. It has been the scene for many gatherings, including the Jewish new year recently and lunch with a friend with some music afterwards, both of us playing Blowing in the wind on our guitars-I will sing this in my concert on November 6th.

My flat has one bedroom and the living room faces a wood of trees, probably planted over thirty years ago when the estate was new, but quite mature now. In different seasons the trees blossom with red berries and they look quite beautiful. I am blessed with a neighbour Tim, who is a gardener at Corpus Christi College - his own garden always looks lovely with several different colourful plants in his garden and in pots.

I did have a silver birch tree but we decided that it was growing too big for its location-as the tree surgeon felled it into the ground I felt a sense of JOY and Resurrection as if the spirit of the tree was intact.

People from the neighbourhood come to my little flat for tea and a chat and I have settled in well in the last ten years. Apart from shops being nearby and a local library. my local church is about 20 minutes walk away; this is the catholic Church of St Laurence, where there are 36 different nationalities worshipping there. This morning I admired the lady beside me in the pew - she was Nigerian with a gorgeous African dress on and two little children in her arms.

September 8th is the Birthday of Mary and the start of the orthodox liturgical year, so a very auspicious date.

While I have an eye for the local scene, I have an eye on the distant scene too-Canada.That is my real spiritual home. I will keep you posted as to news home and abroad.

Have a good week
Shalom from Gila