At Easter this year we were a house full of all ages. Leading our thoughts and celebrations was Mark Townsend - priest, author and mind-boggling magician. The Deep Magic of Easter was his theme - with an echo of the Narnia stories. (That magic being more about the innate blessedness of our lives and the power of self-giving love, than the idea - still widely held - that Jesus was sacrificed to 'buy off' an angry God.)
Mark has a rare gift and we hope he'll be back with us next year. He holds the attention of, and communicates with, a community of all ages. His integrity and passion have a lot to do with that, and the arresting images he creates. But I must admit the mind-reading exercises and beautiful sleight-of-hand magic tricks help a lot too! Pick a card, any card...
The following weekend came another man bearing cards, also illuminating spiritual paths but with a different approach. Simon Small is author of the powerful short book "From the Bottom of the Pond". It's an exploration of contemplation (which some would call meditation). This, he affirms, is not something weird from the East or the New Age (though Simon has learnt deeply from both) but a bedrock of Christian experience too.
Again, we were a full house. One retreatant commented: "A weekend to remember. Words are not enough to do it justice. Great in every way." Simon hands out cards during the retreat, not playing cards but images and texts for us to reflect on during silent periods. Here's one example (drawn from his book):
Something extraordinary happens when we become aware of being alive. It is in opening to the awareness of the astonishing fact of our existence that true peace is found. Our relationship with everything and everyone is transformed.
This happens because when we become aware of being alive, it becomes self-evident that we are just a unique expression of something so great that it is beyond imagination. When we become truly aware of being alive, we stop taking life too personally.
