a penny in the foundations

  ‘He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever’  (Revelation 21:4)  My favourite musicians ‘The Proclaimers’ are about to release a new album titled ‘The world that was’. The lyrics of the opening track have just been revealed and one line has really caught my attention: ‘worship of a past that never was is totally demented’ . Craig and Charlie have never minced their words, and here I think they have again got it spot on! (watch video above) A special moment of my sabbatical was spending time at Ampleforth Abbey in North Yorkshire. This community of prayerful Benedictine monks has provided me with sanctuary and inspiration many times. The theme for the formal part of my retreat this time was ‘The Transformative Journey’.   Based on the writings of Franciscan, Richard Rohr, a small group of us were led through a series of reflections on the ups and downs of life. Our ...

It had to be done. A trip in search of the house in the foundations of which I placed the penny which has given the title to these ruminations. So here it is: The visit of course was a bit of an anti-climax, I was hardly going to ask the current occupants if I could pull up their kitchen floor! But, it was a necessary act of pilgrimage. The house we eventually lived in (several years later!) can just be seen in the background - there is more about that in a previous post. The house with the penny was built in 1973 and as a family we finally moved to Cramlington in 1977 calling it home for four years. Though I have visited the town frequently over the years it was interesting to take this moment to think about the way it has developed and continues to grow. Built round a number of existing communities, even in early 70s it felt like a well established place, with a sense of coherence. Perhaps those who had lived in the old villages felt less sure about the new estates which were filling...