With the season of Autumn deepening, the weather held up beautifully for the Anam Cara Community ‘May Quiet Day’ recently hosted by the Community’s West Gippsland Meeting Place and held in the Yarragon Hills in a beautiful Autumn garden setting on the property of Jan and Bob Mathieson. The Rev’d Sue Jacka led the day that gave participants an opportunity to reflect and pray about the changing states of their inner life and to learn the meditative art of painting prayer candles.

In her Autumn reflection Sue Jacka talked about the playful side of Autumn and the fun that fallen leaves provide for children. Then, there is the wrestle and the surrender side of Autumn as one attempts to tidy up the carpet of leaves that the wind takes delight in spreading. Sue said: “Autumn also encourages us to see our branches that will need pruning and to realise that this cutting back will leave us in a more healthy state. There is a blessing in decluttering our lives. It’s about the ‘sacrament of absence’ the holy space we create when we invite God into our inner autumn”. With pruning comes unexpected fruit as God transforms life and draws us to reflect on the more life giving patterns”.

After lunch, the backdrop of the Mathieson’s Autumn garden provided the environment for the 14 participants to share in Holy Communion and paint their meditation candles whilst reflecting on how God has connected with their life through the seed of growth, the blossoming, fruiting, surrendering, pruning and nourishing of their inner autumns.

Thanks go to the Rev’d Sue Jacka, and Jan and Bob Mathieson and to all who participated in the Quiet day.

God gave us the many colours of autumn so we can experience a “moment of splendour” in our life. Just as the changing beauty of the trees is only for a moment in time ….. and then …. in the next moment of time it changes ….. often still beautiful….. but different.

(Report and article contributed by Marion White)