Worship

Worship is one of four elements of community life which Othona seeks to combine. (The others are work, study and play, as expressed by our founder Norman Motley.) Our frame of reference for worship is as wide as humanity's experience of wonder and struggle.

      Since human history began
      we have shared our experience of life
            celebrating its goodness
            crying out at pain and injustice
            looking for stillness of soul
      We have struggled
            to honour the individual
            and to build community
      We have ventured
            to fathom the mystery of life
            and to give it a name
            gently breathing "God"

Of course, spiritual practice is not all about going to church. Contemplation and celebration arise naturally around the log fire or at the dinner table, outdoors or in the privacy of your own room. But the sense of worship is concentrated in special places such as our beautiful chapel.

      In this chapel our guiding light
            is the example of Jesus
      He offered a welcome to all
            regardless of status or preference
            of sex race or religion
      We seek to honour all faiths
            as responses to the divine
            as paths to liberation
      We look for the Christian tradition
            to evolve with new understandings
            and to join hands with all
            who hunger for justice and peace

We meet in chapel once or twice a day. Songs, readings and prayers can be drawn from many sources, ancient and contemporary, some Christian, some not. Once a month local friends join us for One World Worship with a consciously global perspective. And one of Othona's great strengths is the way each individual can help shape our worship times.

      What you bring to this sacred place
            nobody else can bring
      What you draw from it
            only you will know
      Here together we find space
            to grow in awareness
            to glimpse the inner lives of others
            to learn patience when all is arid
      to connect with the Divine
      If love is our only offering
            and Thank You our only prayer
            these are riches indeed
      Wherever you are on your journey
            you are welcome here
            to take part as you may
            in spirit and in truth

So without being compulsory, worship is a key part of Othona life. There is no set format in chapel and we encourage anybody staying with us to devise and lead a 'service. If it's meaningful to you and could be to others, we welcome it. The result can be anything from a deeply personal reflection to a selection of published stories and prayers. Or it can be from a feast of music and poetry to ten minutes sitting together in companionable silence around a single candle.