Regular readers will have been following with interest the establishment of the Abbey on Raymond Island. In keeping with the vision of the Abbey as a centre for pilgrimage and reflection the Anam Cara Community facilitated the first day Retreat at The Abbey on October 17.
Abbot Laurie welcomed 19 pilgrims from as far away as Korumburra and Dinner Plains. They all boarded the ferry and crossed the narrow strip of water to the island. This crossing is indeed a symbolic way to begin a day of reflection as the busyness and care of the day, of life, can be left behind as pilgrims intentionally take time out to listen to God and open their eyes to his presence all around them in the trees, the water, the birds, the silence.
All gathered in the Church of St Barnabas where Abbot Laurie shared some thoughts about our ‘Inner Lives’ as he led pilgrims through the verses of Psalm 62. He shared two poems that he had written, the first, ‘The Shedding Tree’ just recently whilst attending clergy retreat at Pallotti College in Warburton. Many related to his words describing the majestic tree, strong alive with new growth and yet standing in a mess of bark, twigs and untidiness. His poem concluded,
“But as I looked, I saw again,
The beauty of this massive tree
Its leaves so fresh and green
Its vigour and new growth
They all depend upon its shedding of dead wood!
The way to inner health, I thought,
Is, constantly remove
The part of us that dies.”
Two hours of silence followed where pilgrims walked on the lake edge, sat with the wind in their faces and sought refuge in sunny corners. Laurie encouraged each to listen to God in the silence and to write.
Following lunch there was a time of sharing where many expressed the blessings found in their time of silence. Heather Blackman shared just a snippet of her writing,
“Here you can hear God’s breath hover over the water.
Here you can see the joining line
From when in creation
God separated the waters from the land
How well it fits in this thin place.”
The day concluded with a shared Eucharist after which Jane thanked Abbot Laurie for leading the day and presented him with a book and a membership of The Anam Cara Community for 2010.