Liminal, Healing And Energised Visitors
1. A lady from a London group told me how her father, who had dementia, died a beautiful death. She sat with him for five hours while he smiled, at peace. She wanted to celebrate this liminal time by visiting a liminal place. ‘Can we take a parish group to Lindisfarne?’ she asked her parish priest. And so they came.
2. Two friends from Germany visit Britain twice a year to attend a conference of the Society for Pyschical Research. Before returning they spend a day on the island and sometimes knock on my door. Although we have different beliefs (as a Christian I only heed guides who accept Jesus' authority), they told me last month about some research on Saint Cuthbert and healing which they thought would be of mutual interest. The ‘research’ was Part Nine of Submissions by Richard Rowley on Cases of Spirit and Distant Healing. All his information comes from the monk historian Bede. It tells how certain people were healed when Cuthbert was not present through a medium such as consecrated water, bread, or (after Cuthbert’s death) his bones. You can read this on http://www.thespiritguides.co.uk/Article_Cases_of_Spirit_and_Distant_Healing_Part_9___St__Cuthbert_(conclusion)_6687.aspx
3. The Scots Referendum has stirred many people deeply, not least in our Border town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed. Several Scottish voters, including one of our community members, came to the island for quiet days. In one animated group at The Manor a husband and wife strongly disagreed with each other. Having listened to friends on both sides I realised that many who wanted union would have been torn apart if they had been rejected from the UK family, yet they, like those who voted for independence, had caught a vision of ‘a new way of being a country’– one empowered community in which all benefit from the common wealth. I sent Churches Together in Britain and Ireland a YouTube talk about how faith groups can help to channel these new energies into practical steps that build God’s kingdom in our streets. You can access this on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-6pl3LgUAs&list=UU9P5ezfSLyWDB3OpYt17laQ Britain’s Future after Scots Vote. Ray
