|
 |
|
|
Home >
A Way of Life > Pilgrims Place
| |
Click Picture for a News Update |
Pilgrim's Place is the home of Rod and Judy Kennedy at 23 Simmons St Caboolture, Call us on 07 5495 3228. We are members of The Quiet Garden Movement which provides space for people to set aside time to rest and to pray.
. Quiet Garden Mov't UK
|
On the first Friday of each month from April to November from 7:00am till sunset we will open our downstairs lounge and garden to provide visitors with opportunities for stillness and meditation. We trust that this will be an oasis, a place of withdrawal and meeting, of spiritual refreshment and support. Click Pilgrims Place Picture to move to Photos. To Email us
Move Quickly Round Pilgrims Place to: |
 |
2011 Calender of Open Garden Days With Their Herb of the Month Meditatiion Topics |
|
Quiet Day / Retreat Day Themes Available for Bookings |
 |
Quiet Day / Retreat Day Booking Form Printer Friendly (PDF)
|
|
Quiet Day / Retreat Day Booking - Form Fill it out on Computer and Return by Email.
|
|
Leaflet - Conversations With God in a Suburban Garden.
|
|
Contemplative Prayer Walk Lagoon Creek 20_02_2008.pdf |
|
Monthly meditations from Pilgrim's Place.
This has gradually moved from being a diary to being meditations that are available each month for the open garden day. Email your comments. To Email us |
| 2012 |
Meditations for 2012 January, February, March |
|
Meditations for 2012 April, May, June |
| |
Meditations for 2012 July, August, September |
| |
Meditations for 2012 October, November, December |
| 2011 |
Meditations for 2011 January, February, March |
| |
Meditations for 2011 April, May, June |
| |
Meditations for 2011 July, August, September |
| |
Meditations for 2011 October, November, December |
| 2010 |
Meditations for 2010 May, June, July |
| |
Meditations for 2010 August, September, October |
| |
Meditations for 2010 November, December |
| 2009 |
For September and October Only |
|
Prayers From the Celtic Prayer Writing Workshop, written by participants. |
|
A Participants Impressions of a Celtic Prayer Writing Workshop
|
|
|
|
Our garden is not a show garden, it is bright and colourful, with lots of perfume and a happy little waterfall. Just a 300 metre walk away is a great little nature reserve with graded walking tracks. You may have your own plans for a meditation; alternately we have leaflets with meditation ideas both for our garden and for the lagoon creek walks. |
 |
 |
The bush orchids have the kind of beauty that you search for among the grass and sticks. The fungi can surprise with a sinister delicate beauty.
Join in morning, midday, and evening prayer if you wish. Spiritual direction available on request. |
We hope that you like the pictures from the small bush reserve so near our home.
|
O God, I commend to you this time
And ask you to bless and strengthen me
In my heartfelt search
For that silence and stillness
In which I pray I shall find you
And you will find me. Esther de Waal
Herb of the Month
Join in a herbal morning tea at 10am followed by a workshop and meditation on the herb in focus.
April—Thyme (The herb of Courage)
May— Scented Geraniums (The herb of Preference)
June— Marjoram (The herb of Joy).
July - Rosemary (The herb of Faithfulness),
August– Clove Pinks ( The herb of Divinity)
September– Roses (The herb of Love).
October– Elder Flower (Herb of Compassion)
November—Basil (The King of Herbs)
Please phone as limited spaces 54953228
Entry by donation.
2011 Calender of Open Garden Days With Their Meditatiion Topics - Printer Friendly copy has Full Details (2 per A4 Page)
2011 Calender Printer Friendly
 Top of Page
|
About Guided Retreats or Quiet Days.
Do you long to grow in your intimacy with God? This too has been the desire of my heart. As I have journeyed along my spiritual path I have learnt many ways of drawing close to the heart of God. Leading a Quiet Day or Retreat is an opportunity to pass on what God is teaching me. I offer myself to any group desiring to deepen their relationship with God.
Outlined below are a number of Quiet Days I have led with comments from participants. Every Quiet Day is individual to the particular group so I have included a request form that would help in discerning if I am the right person to lead your Quiet Day.
A whole day may seem a long time to just be doing nothing but listening. A guided Quiet Day enables you have some different activities that connect with your mind, body and spirit-the total you.
Although our home and garden is open for Quiet Days it is still just a home in suburbia but hopefully can help you find God in the midst of life.
|
|
Alternately you may prefer to find a place that is more distant from the normal noise of suburbia. I am happy to come to you wherever you may wish to arrange your Quiet Day. God will come to meet you if that is the desire of your heart.
Quiet Day Topics Available.
When deciding to have a Quiet Day for a group try to understand what your participants hope to gain from coming to a Quiet Day. Some folk prefer days of long periods of silence whereas others may not be used to silence and a more introductory approach is needed. Be clear about your goals. If fellowship is important then some group discussion time may be included. The Quiet Days will be adapted to the needs of your group.
1. Exploring Our Fragrance in Christ, through the symbolism of Herbs: Six herbs are discussed to awaken our awareness of God dwelling in us and spreading His fragrance through our joy, wisdom, compassion faithfulness and love. Participants create their own mandala of their own fragrance which is a delight and surprise to each person. There are handouts on each herb, guided meditation and personal quiet time for reflection.
This Quiet Day can easily be adapted to take a different slant Exploring the attributes of God using the symbolism of Herbs .
|
A little about me.
Judy Kennedy is a mother of 5 and grandmother of 9. After training as a nurse, I married Rod and we joined Wycliffe Bible Translators working as translators for 18 years. We translated parts of the Bible into Kala Lagaw Ya, the language of the Western Torres Strait.
Later I completed a Batchelor of Social Science majoring in Pastoral Counselling and have certificates in Expressive Therapies. Since graduating I work as a counsellor for women and children in a non government organization..
I am currently a member of St Laurence's Anglican Church, Caboolture where Rod and I are Lay Assistants and help run a service in an aged care home. We have a Home Group in our home every Wednesday evening.
During my training in Expressive Therapies I discovered processes that spoke deeply to my spirit. There is a total involvement of mind, soul and body. I have been drawn to the Contemplative Tradition that invites me, as Richard Foster puts it, 'to the adventure of exploring in “normal Christian life” a loving attention to God and a growing union with God.' A further influence has been Celtic Spirituality with its emphasis on The Trinity and involving prayer into all the daily round of activities. We are currently Explorers with the International Community of Aiden and Hilda which seeks to live a life in a rhythm of prayer, work and re creation.
|
|
Comments by participants: “I could do this topic again and encourage others to come” ”It was very special to share in a day prepared by you and God, Judy, and be in the loving embrace of your house and garden”. “A wonderful insightful day”.
Suggested time frame: 9am – 2.30pm. Could easily be longer and taken over 2 days.
2. From Prison To Praise: Explores the healing of the demonic in Mark 5: 1-20 through guided meditation, scribbling, body movement and quiet reflection time and discovery of their “New Name”.
Comments by participants: “Scribbles were fun” ”Each activity fed into the next so each equally helpful”. “Physical exercises very helpful”. ”Body movement with Psalm most helpful” .”The process of writing out our prisons”. “I liked your use of senses learning” “The imagination of the retelling of the gospel story”.
Suggested time frame: 9am – 3pm
|
 |
From Prison to Praise |
3. Seasons of the Soul: Using the story of Joseph from Genesis 37: 12-24 discover how the seasons of Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer reflect the pattern of Life Death Life that Jesus demonstrated. Quiet reflection time after each session with process activities.
Suggested time frame: 9am – 5pm but 2 days would be better.
4. Celtic Prayer Writing Workshop: Learn the basic elements of Celtic prayers with guided practice sessions then try your hand at writing your own prayer for a typical daily activity. The second session looks at the key elements of liturgical prayers with an opportunity to write your own. A further session would look at writing your own guided meditation for a local beauty spot or in your own garden or home. It is about discovering how God can speak to you through nature and everyday activities.
Comments by participants: Participants were surprised to discover they could write beautiful Celtic prayers. “This 'activity' based prayer can be life changing – I would like to practice it more”. “I enjoyed the new concepts of prayers being relevant and making poetry to God”. “I enjoyed the personal prayer sharing – delight in beauty and breadth of everyone's prayers”.
|
(Comments Continued) “I enjoyed this 'exercise' of writing prayers myself but found when I read it out loud it was more than just an 'exercise'”.
Suggested time frame: Depends on how many sessions. Each session takes a half day.
5. How Does God Speak to Me? Learning to tune in to the world around us using the garden as a starting point. Being attentive to what is attracting us. Developing the use of our five senses to meditate on a leaf.
Suggested time frame: A shorter Quiet Time that could fit into a morning or start with morning tea then have this session. Men and women have found this helpful.
6. Conversations with God in a Suburban Garden: A power point presentation suitable for group gatherings such as breakfasts, coffee evenings etc. Introduces the idea of Quiet Gardens. The photos illustrate how we can converse with God in our gardens and listen to God through noticing what is happening in the garden.
Suggested time frame – 1 Hour.
This year I hope to add In The Steps Of Mary. A Quiet Day tracing Mary’s journey as the mother of Christ and finding similarities in our own lives. A day to prepare our hearts for Advent.
|
| PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION |
A Participants Impressions of a Celtic Prayer Writing Workshop |
Top of Page |
 |
We celebrated the opening of our Quiet Garden in August with an invitation to “Conversations with God in a Suburban Garden”- a self guided walk. Talking with God in the garden wasn't just limited to those days in August. I am aware that every day, every month God continues to talk with me in and through our garden. I have felt led to share these continued conversations on the web in the hope you too will converse with God in your daily round of activities. |
We have had Some Prayer Writing Workshops - Some Impressions
CELTIC PRAYER WRITING WORKSHOP – 20th September, 2008 Olive George
We gathered, eight of us, on a beautiful Spring morning at Rod & Judy’s home. A Celtic Prayer Writing Workshop was a new experience for all of us and we wondered what lay ahead! Our reservations were soon dispelled as we began with the beautiful ‘Morning Prayer for Spring’. We then went through these prayers discovering and uncovering some of the basic Celtic elements of those prayers. (Ray Simpson had given us eleven starting with the letter ‘P’.) This was entered into with great enthusiasm – talk about a treasure hunt!!
To the beat of the drum (and after a few practice runs!) we entered into the Affirmations of our belief that God is the Eternal Father of all. At the end we were able to speak out our own special Affirmation.
We then divided into three groups each group directed to write down words which reflect the work of (1) God the Father (2) God the Son and (3) God the Holy Spirit. As we shared together what we had written, it was interesting but not surprising, to see how many words in each of the three lists were the same or similar.
After a short break for morning tea (pumpkin scones with jam and cream!) we returned to thinking-mode. A few examples of simple prayers about the common things of life were read and thought about and then we were invited to find a quiet place and write a prayer ourselves, which would speak about our everyday life.
We thought we might find it rather difficult to write a prayer ‘on demand’ as it were, but as we each shared our prayer with the group we were all quite touched and amazed at the depth of feelings they evoked. Each prayer was special, each one different, reflecting our different personalities and daily experience.
Our next task was to learn about and write a Liturgical prayer. Judy had prepared some information on this type of prayer for us to consider which was a great help and then it was over to us to try our hand at it too. Some found this a bit hard to do whilst others found it easier than writing the first prayer. But nevertheless we all produced a Liturgical or Collective Prayer which we then shared with our very small but appreciative ‘congregation’.
|
Top of Page
Prayers Composed by Olive
(Personal Prayer -- In the Celtic Tradition of Sharing our Daily Routine With our Lord)
My Father
I thank You! I awake to this new day with You
And thank You for refreshing sleep.
The sunlight streaming through the slats
Reminds me of the Light of Christ….
I breathe in that Light and Love
So that I might reflect Jesus to everyone
I meet this day.
As I dress, I put on also the Armour of God –
My protection from all evil.
I open the door…….
And the colourful marigolds and petunias greet me!
They are still wet with dew and refreshed
As I am by Your Holy Spirit.
The tall gum trees in the park
Reach up to praise You for this new day.
I praise and thank You Lord as I walk,
For legs that are still working well;
For eyes to see the beauty of the blue sky and clouds….
I praise You for ears to hear the many bird calls,
For arms and hands to lift up in praise to You.
Thank You for the energy to accomplish this day….
All that is in Your plan for me,
My Daily Bread.
Thank You for this day’s journey in my life.
Help me to enjoy every part of it,
Taking whatever comes as your gift to me.
You are my Father…I am Your child
And I love You – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
*******************************
ADORATION AT CHRISTMAS
(May be used for Public Prayer - Response lines in bold type)
Jesus, You came as one of us – a baby - helpless, dependent
Lord we are helpless, we depend on You.
Jesus, in great humility You relied on your earthly parents
Lord we are helpless, we depend on You.
Jesus, no room at the inn, and your cradle was straw
Lord there is room in our hearts, and we depend on You.
Jesus, the Wise Men came to worship You – a Baby yet a King
Lord You are our King, we depend on You.
Jesus, we worship You – with Mary and Joseph,
With the shepherds and the Wise Men.
We give You honour praise and glory….but
Lord we are helpless, we depend on You.
|
 |
 |
Prayers Composed by Heather (Public and Private)
Prayer of preparation
God our father, our mother, our lover We come into your presence We open our hearts to your love We open our ears to your words We open our minds to your thoughts We open our mouths to sing your praise
We gaze on your beauty we smell your fragrance we taste your words which are as sweet as honey
We open our hands to let go of the things that slow us on our journey to you and to receive the gift of intimacy with you. Please be in our worship.
Morning prayer
Come creator God Come Jesus my redeemer Come sustaining Spirit
Thankyou for my chooks and their generous egg production
Thankyou for their undiscriminating enthusiasm for any food they get
Thankyou for their cheerful community their busy bustle their diligent scratching, their
homely beauty.
Creator help my life to produce eggs which will sustain someone else.
Jesus help me, like you and the chooks to live simply and with gratitude and without
anxiety in the present moment.
Holy Spirit please feed and water the chooks in my life. Gather and use their eggs for your purpose.
|
Top of Page
|
