Down to Earth

Iain Paynter Neil & Campbell

Description

A book about searching for, and finding, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit in down-to-earth places. 'Neil writes about a world where hearts matter and in which vulnerable folk can teach us much.' - Peter Millar, from the Foreword

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Wild Goose Publications
• Date de parution: 30 mai 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781905010912
• Langue: English

Extrait

Previous books by Neil Paynter include:
Lent Easter Readings from Iona
This Is the Day
Gathered and Scattered
Blessed Be Our Table
Holy Ground, with Helen Boothroyd
Growing Hope
Iona Dawn
Iona: Images and Reflections, with David Coleman
Going Home Another Way (Wild Goose Publications)
Iain Campbell has illustrated a number of books, including:
Will You Follow Me?
The Widening Road
Breaking Down Walls
Gaun Yersel Moses
Parable Patter (St Andrew Press)
Down to Earth
Stories and sketches
Neil Paynter
Illustrations by Iain Campbell
Text 2009 Neil Paynter Illustrations 2009 Iain Campbell
First published 2009 by Wild Goose Publications, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH, the publishing division of the Iona Community. Scottish Charity No. SC003794. Limited Company Reg. No. SC096243.
ePub:ISBN 978-1-905010-91-2 Mobipocket:ISBN 978-1-905010-92-9 PDF:ISBN 978-1-905010-93-6
The publishers gratefully acknowledge the support of the Drummond Trust, 3 Pitt Terrace, Stirling FK8 2EY in producing this book.
All rights reserved. Apart from reasonable personal use on the purchaser s own system and related devices, no part of this document or file(s) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Non-commercial use: The material in this book may be used noncommercially for worship and group work without written permission from the publisher. Please make full acknowledgement of the source, e.g. Neil Paynter from Down To Earth, published by Wild Goose Publications, 4th Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH, UK. Where a large number of copies are made, a donation may be made to the Iona Community via Wild Goose Publications, but this is not obligatory. For any commercial use of the contents of this book, permission must be obtained in writing from the publisher in advance.
Neil Paynter has asserted his right in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
NURSE S NOTES
Introduction
Grace
Amazing grace
Kate
Elma
Paul
Emily
He still remembers that day
Margaret
Suddenly a joke about chickens
Oh boy
Home
Mr Hicks
Watching TV with Mr Wilson
Tillie
A 93-year-old woman talking about apples
VETERANS: THE ROUNDS
Introduction
A room
George
Eddie
Paddy s visit
Andrew and Jessie
THE RAINBOW MAN
Introduction
The Rainbow Man
Donald Duck
Gary
The Rainbow Man 2
The busker
Hush puppies
Homelessness is
SITTING
Introduction
Sitting with Mr Fenton
Esme and Peter
LEONARD AND MARK: DANCING INFINITY
Introduction
Leonard: a Christmas story
Mark: an Easter story
BINGO IN THE BASEMENT
Introduction
Muriel
Kenny
Maggie
Sarah s deep handbag
Peter s journal
Elizabeth
Lester
The professor
Doreen
The prayer wheel
Snack time
Meeting Sybil one day outside of Starbucks
Mable and Ha
Maggie and Walter
From Resurrection to Apocalypse
Outside (Into the night)
FUNNY THESE THINGS COME TO YOU
Introduction
Eating a kiwi fruit noisily
Wendell s first farm
A Spring Tooth Arrow
Persimmons
Katherine s plants
James the Second
Birds and trees and a long, long road
Three breeds are smart
I ve got news for you
Looking at the moon with Wendell
A good joke
Vera s second husband
Treasure chest
Wendell s last dog
The good, not the bad
All these years
A skein
A flower in the kitchen
Wendell s other neighbour
A tea party
The birdman
Train to Winnipeg
She knows
Womb of darkness
WORKING THE DOOR
Introduction
Working the door 1
The man with his heart on the wrong side
Working the door 2
Abbot and Costello Meet The Mummy
Working the door 3
Sweeping up
IT SMELLS LIKE LONELINESS
Introduction
Mikehead
Gerry
Helping Gordon with his Christmas decorations
I know a cat whose name is
The lonely caribou
Tree says
Everybody knows that cats like to rumba
A psalm
An invitation
Everything around me was half asleep, every sound was muffled. Things moved reluctantly, just out of sheer necessity and not from any passionate love of movement and life. And I dearly wanted to give that earth a hard kick - and myself as well - so that everything, myself included, would start spinning round in one joyful whirlwind, in a festive dance where people were in love with each other, in love with a life which was beautiful, bold and honest. And I thought: I must do something, or I ll be finished
Maxim Gorky, My Apprenticeship
Why on earth are we here?
Surely not to live in pain and fear .
John Lennon, Instant Karma
And the Word became flesh and lived among us
John 1:14
In the true life of prayer we are forever on the knife-edge. We move in the light and shadow of Him who is born Son of God and Son of Man. Manifestly there is a new prayer life demanded: not stationary times with God, but living, flowing times when, by His Spirit, we are exercised in unravelling the mystery of that apex of majesty which is His humanity .
George MacLeod, Only One Way Left
To beautiful Helen (Lambie)
Thank you so much to (in no particular order):
Bill and Lisa, Simon and Shonna
Rick, Bethany
Jeff, Jonathan
Mike K, Yoshiki
Nicole
Yvonne
Karen Massey
Peter and Dorothy Millar, Brian and Sheila Woodcock, Anna, Scott Blythe, Jane Bentley, Helen Boothroyd, Ruth Burgess, Ian Fraser, Kathy Galloway, Kath O Neil, Jan Sutch Pickard and many other people I met on Iona
Iain Campbell
Sandra Kramer
And, of course, thanks to my family: my mom, dad, grandmother and brother, Matthew
Thanks to all the amazing people I met in nursing homes, rest homes, night shelters and on street corners
Thanks to friends at Wild Goose Publications: Alex O Neill, Jane Riley, Lorna Rae Sutton
FOREWORD
After I read some of Neil s stories in this profound but wonderfully readable book, I had some hesitations about writing a foreword. What could I say in the face of such wisdom, truth and vitality being revealed through the lives of women and men who have experienced great human suffering? Folk who live on the margins of our societies and who are often forgotten, even by those of us who are concerned about other people.
But, as I thought about it, I suddenly knew what I wanted to say! This book is here to remind us, powerfully but with tenderness, poetry and laughter, that people matter more than status and possessions - and that they matter not just to us but to God. The God whose image is in us all. In a world of easy compromises and much false posturing in which the rich, the often corrupt, and the people with power keep telling us how to live and what to strive for, Neil writes about a world where hearts matter and in which vulnerable folk can teach us much.
These pages carry a basic truth - that, ultimately and when it really matters, the unbelievable richness of our lives is to be measured by our stories. And the stories here are about people who live on the knife-edge. These are strong stories at a time when so many of us seek only to be comfortable. And that s why they are both important and prophetic. And extraordinarily beautiful. Through the telling of these stories, Neil invites us to see our world differently: to realign our perceptions. He does this brilliantly as we enter into the lives of many he has met on his own journey working alongside those who are homeless and those who have experienced the dark night of the soul.
As I thought about this book, I understood that there are at least two ways of reading it. We can read it as observers of the human condition, or we can read it recognising in its pages something of our own vulnerabilities and uncertainties, and our own need for healing. The women and men who people these pages are not out there - for much of their struggle is in every human heart. We all long for love, acceptance and affirmation - even those who have achieved all the glittering prizes.
If we think about what is happening in our world at this present time, this book s publication is timely. It allows us to look again at our true humanity, and to reflect on those qualities of the spirit which enable human beings to survive against all the odds. And not only to survive, but to live with the ability to dance in the storm.
Neil s friends whose stories have made this book possible have often been through many dyings. They have known overwhelming darkness as well as powerful light. We can so often pass them by on the other side, but when we stop and listen to their heartbeats, as Neil has done over many years, our souls are refreshed and our ability to care deeply is enlarged.
I hope these great contemporary stories, told with love, will bring new strength, understanding and wisdom for your own journey. They certainly have done that for me.
Thank you, Neil.
Peter Millar
INTRODUCTION
When I left university I had no idea what to do with my life. I d only gone to university because there was nothing else to do, or so it seemed. It was the early 1980s and the beginning of post-industrialism. There weren t a lot of jobs around and I had no bankable skills.
I left university with an English degree - and still no bankable skills. I loved words and music. I was also very interested in people, and in myself.
I started doing nurse s aide work. For about fifteen years I worked as nurse s aide, as a companion aide, as a counsellor in post-psychiatric rest homes, and as a worker in shelters for homeless men.
I think I chose to be around people who were broken because I felt broken myself; I still feel broken, though I m gentler with myself now, and have a little more understanding. I somehow felt a sense of solidarity with these people; I felt a part of their tribe. I felt on the outside and on the edge, and wanted to be with people who were outside and on t