A Quiet Day

Judy Taylor writes about an initiative she took in setting up a Quiet Day with reflective areas in her church to which all in the local village were invited. She was encouraged by the number who came to visit.

I had a power point screen showing a series of pictures of our beautiful world, sea, flowers, sunsets, fields, some with a biblical text but not all. I also had music playing quietly all the time so trying to create a place of peace and stillness.

I arranged four tables in the church which represented the four seasons, the theme being giving thanks for creation. Each table had a relevant display, spring had bulbs, branches with catkins (which I found in October)! And a small Easter display with an Easter tree. Summer had shells laying in sand with votive candles here and there and some summer flowers. Autumn was easier, lots of lovely leaves, berries and nuts. Winter was holly, a large candle and my nativity set made from olive wood which I bought in the Holy land when I visited 12 years ago. I also had a lantern with a candle in it. As people entered the church they given a leaflet to help them reflect upon the theme, some of the text I have included here and invited to take a leaf on to which I had tied a cotton loop and use it to reflect on many things, the shape, the colour and it's uniqueness, "- like you, a part of God's creation. Reflect on the seasons and of the seasons of your life and the stages of rebirth and hope, that are part of a cycle which applies to each and every one of us.

Throughout each season the roots, the part of the tree we cannot see continue to grow and are nourished and even in Winter when the leaves are gone ad the branches bare, the tree is still alive and waiting for Spring to come again. When you are ready to leave you may like to hang your leaf on the tree or take it with you. It can be a reminder that in all things, there is a purpose and we never need to feel alone in whatever season of our life we are in at the moment.

The roots of our faith are like the tree, sometimes our life is fruitful and joyful, at other times it may not be able to grow and flourish. Always remember, like the unseen roots, Gods love remains as surely as Spring follows Winter. Unlike the tree which has a finite life, we can be strengthened in the knowledge that God has promised us eternal life through Jesus."

I had arranged some bare branches in a pot so that the leaves could be hung there. It looked lovely as people added their leaves, they looked as if they were suspended because the thin cotton didn't really show up. We kept the 'tree' on a windowsill in the church right up until Christmas, it was a lovely reminder of the day. I was moved to notice how long people stayed, some for 2 hours or more and the feedback was very encouraging. This is the second Quiet Day I have done and hope to do another later this year.