Over 1,500 prayers have been selected from more than twenty of Ray Simpson's published titles and many have been freshly written for this book. These prayers reconnect us with the seasons and the streets, the scriptures and the saints, the struggles and the silence; all created life is included. The exhaustive index will enable all who lead worship to find a prayer for every occasion.
This collection of over 200 photographs and items of memorabilia traces the course of one of English football’s most famous clubs, from its birth in 1882 to the watershed period of the late 1960s. As a founder member of the Football League in 1888, the club from Turf Moor played its part in the development and expansion of the professional game and, although the early years seemed a continuous struggle, honours were eventually to arrive. The two outstanding sides that evolved either side of the First World War and secured the FA Cup in 1914 and the League Championship in 1920/21 (with a record of 30 consecutive games undefeated) are covered in detail. Other areas of particular interest include the relegation of 1930, promotion back to the top flight in 1947, the club’s first ever trip to Wembley and the glory days of the 1960s - with the memorable European Cup campaign, another League Championship and a very near miss in the quest for the ‘double’. This superb selection of images from Burnley’s past is supported with expert captions from Ray Simpson, the club’s official historian and statistician, who has already published several books on the club. This pictorial history is a splendid archive of a big club from a small Lancashire town and will delight all Clarets fans - whether as a reminder of happy times in the past or as a fascinating glimpse into the way things used to be.
Surveying the life and times of Aidan of Lindisfarne, this book draws insights into missional approaches to inspire both outreach and discipleship for today’s Church. As in his previous BRF book, Hilda of Whitby, Ray Simpson shows that such figures from past centuries can provide models for Christian life and witness today. An author and speaker on Celtic spirituality with a worldwide reputation, he combines historical fact with spiritual lessons in a highly accessible style.
False ways litter the world. Even the great religions have become prisoners of colonial frameworks or of a selfishness that betrays their essence. As a result, our planet faces climate catastrophes, nuclear holocausts, and internet surveillance that makes us prisoners of unseen predators. There is a Way, however, whose time has come. It is ingrained in the psyche of humanity. It resonates with Perennial Wisdom, with Chinese who understand it as Tao, with the Buddhist Eightfold Path, the Five Pillars of Islam, indigenous peoples whose insights have been summarised as The Harmony Way, and above all with Jesus who declared 'I AM the Way' (John 14:6) and whose first disciples were known as 'followers of The Way', based on Jesus' Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7). Whereas traditional monasticism restricted its vows to celibates cut off from the world, new Monasticism makes vows rooted in the Beatitudes accessible to everyone. One reason Benedictinism survived through the second millennium is because its founder wrote a detailed commentary on its rule. Here the founding guardian of a new monastic community writes a commentary on its Way of Life which he has reflected on daily for over a generation - and which promises to flourish through the third millennium.
False ways litter the world. Even the great religions have become prisoners of colonial frameworks or of a selfishness that betrays their essence. As a result, our planet faces climate catastrophes, nuclear holocausts, and internet surveillance that makes us prisoners of unseen predators. There is a Way, however, whose time has come. It is ingrained in the psyche of humanity. It resonates with Perennial Wisdom, with Chinese who understand it as Tao, with the Buddhist Eightfold Path, the Five Pillars of Islam, indigenous peoples whose insights have been summarised as The Harmony Way, and above all with Jesus who declared 'I AM the Way' (John 14:6) and whose first disciples were known as 'followers of The Way', based on Jesus' Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7). Whereas traditional monasticism restricted its vows to celibates cut off from the world, new Monasticism makes vows rooted in the Beatitudes accessible to everyone. One reason Benedictinism survived through the second millennium is because its founder wrote a detailed commentary on its rule. Here the founding guardian of a new monastic community writes a commentary on its Way of Life which he has reflected on daily for over a generation - and which promises to flourish through the third millennium.
Ray Simpson's liturgical prayers for Christian festivals provide worship for individuals, new monastic groups and churches. They reconnect the modern world with the seasons and the soil, the saints and the streets, the struggles, senses and silence, as well as the Spirit and the Scriptures. These inclusive patterns of worship are drawn from early and contemporary Celtic devotion, Anglican, Orthodox, Reformed and Roman Catholic sources.
Most fitness programmes concentrate on physical fitness--they start from the outside and stop there. To achieve total fitness of the mind, body and soul we need to start on the inside and work outwards. Beginning with a spiritual health test.
'I am the way, the truth and the life.' Jesus did not call people to join an organisation, but to follow a way of life. Under the guidance of Ray Simpson, renowned for his expertise in Celtic spirituality, this daily prayer book is structured according to the way of life adopted by the Community of Aidan and Hilda. Along with a short Bible reading and reflection, each day includes a step to enable readers to move away from what is destructive toward what is life-giving. There is also a unique spiritual breathing exercise following the rhythm with which our bodies breathe, allowing us to pray with our very core, wherever we are.
Ray Simpson has given his life, both professionally and personally, to Celtic Christianity, and now he helps us to celebrate a Celtic outlook on the season of Christmas. With their eloquent yet simple words, his prayers welcome the Holy One who comes to us in small, ordinary ways, who is present in the helpless and the vulnerable. As we join Ray in prayer, we stand on the threshold to paradox and mystery-and we "prepare the way" for God to enter our world anew.
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything. . . . He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.-Colossians 1:15-17Like a vast, ever-growing Tree of Life, Christ-the expression of Divine love-expands endlessly throughout the universe. This is the perspective of ancient Celtic spirituality, and it is this concept that Ray Simpson reveals in his poem-prayers. Inspired by the traditional Celtic style of prayer, he gives words to our individual relationships with God. He speaks of the wonder, beauty, and love revealed through the Universal Christ, the Tree of Life that includes all that is. Each and everything in creation is sacred, for everything is a word of God-and we too are called to be God's words to our world.
Celtic Spirituality for the Modern WorldThe world of the long-ago Celts appeals to many of us in the twenty-first century. Whether we are looking to find our cultural heritage or are seeking an alternative to worn and restrictive religious forms, the earth-centered, woman-friendly, inclusive faith of the Christian Celts offers us a deep-rooted alternative approach to traditional Christianity. The Celts experienced "thin places," where they sensed the supernatural world; they honored their poets, singers, and artists; and they passionately followed the Christ of the Gospels. Theirs was a church without walls, which lived naturally and comfortably within the community. Ray Simpson has spent most of his life walking in the footsteps of the Christian Celts, and now he allows us to experience for ourselves their dynamic spirituality.
The ancient Celts found God's presence in each ordinary moment of the day. Everything they encountered revealed to them the presence of the sacred; each day was deep with meaning. Now you too can practice the Celts' faith, as you take a few moments to immerse yourself in their wisdom. These small daily moments of reflection and insight will open your heart to each day and all it holds.This day I call to meGod's strength to direct me, God's power to sustain me, God's wisdom to guide me. . . .God's sheild to protect me.(Saint Patrick)Celtic spirituality is luminous with poetry and prayer, stories and sagas, canticles and contemplation. In this splendid book of daily readings, Ray Simpson draws from scripture, liturgy, folklore, his knowledge of history, and the power of his own experience to weave a richly textured tapestry of insight, invocation, and invitation. Spend some time each morning with these spiritual readings, and the blessing of Celtic wisdom will be yours. -Carl McColman, author of Befriending Silence: Discovering the Gifts of Cistercian Spirituality, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, and Answering the Contemplative Call: First Steps on the Mystical PathThis book's spiritual insights coupled with stories and prayers from the Celtic tradition have shaped my daily life for several years now. It would be hard to imagine so much wisdom packaged between two covers-and yet Ray Simpson has skillfully distilled it into day-size portions that bless and enrich the meaning of ordinary daily life. -Kenneth McIntosh, author of Water from an Ancient Well: Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life and Magic Reversed
"Soul friendship joins friends togetherin a common dwelling that neither time nor spacenor death itself can separate."-Edward SellnerThe special friend who accompanies a person through life's journey is more precious than gold. The early Christian Celts had a heartwarming name for this person: the Anamchara. (Anam is the Gaelic word for soul; chara is the word for friend-"friend of the soul.") This special friend was someone with whom a person could talk through practical matters, reveal hidden intimacies, and break through the barriers of convention and egotism to an eternal unity of soul.Ray Simpson brings this ancient concept into the twenty-first century, drawing practical applications from the long history of soul friendship. He describes a spiritual bond that lasts beyond this life into eternity, for it flows directly from God, who is the pattern of all friendship, the center and source of all human relationships.
Join Ray Simpson in prayer as you follow the hidden way to spiritual life.Ray Simpson has spent his life following the mystic's path that lies hidden in the midst of everyday life. This path is also the heart of Celtic Christianity: simply following in Christ's footsteps in the ordinariness of life. From this perspective, everything becomes an act of spiritual meaning-getting up in the morning and going to bed at night, going to work and playing with children, suffering pain and rejoicing in pleasure, working together in friendships and families and communities.Ultimately, the hidden path is the way of love-love of God, love of other human beings, and love of all Creation, including our own selves. Love weaves through all Reality, expressed in souls and cells and societies. Love empowers us to walk confidently, even when the way ahead is obscured, for this is also the Path of Promise. As it leads us through the humdrum details of each day, our earthly lives participate in eternity. As John Chrysostom wrote in the fourth century, "Love brings us heaven."Knowing One of the hidden path, Infinite One of the wise heart, may I learn from night, may I learn from day.Show me your hidden path.
Holy Spirit, breathe upon the cosmos.May it share in Christ's resurrectionand grow with the birth pangs of his kingdom.May we, even in the middleof its groanings and agony, be instruments of its healingand breathe peace upon it this day.In the prayers collected in this book, Ray Simpson asks us to "hear the cry of the earth and work together to 'choose life'" (Deuteronomy 30:19). He reminds us that Divine life courses through Earth's rivers, breathes through her winds, and sings in each life form she nourishes, and he invites us to celebrate Earth's beauty as we learn from her deep wisdom. At the same time, with a prophet's clear voice, he calls to us to repent of our selfishness and ignorance, and commit ourselves to the Earth's healing and restoration. "Come " he says. "Celebrate Learn Repent Take hands and work together Join in Creation's dance with all your strength and soul "May every soul join with the song Nature sings.May the birds sing, may the trees clap, and may we humans taste and dance.
Energize us with Your compassion, Giver of Life, to help the dispossessed, to listen to those without voices, and to reach out in friendship to all.Empower us with Your love; encourage us with Your Spirit;make us strong to bring Your justiceto individuals, communities, nations, and the entire globe.Our society often assumes that "justice" has to do with punishment. We think it means we make criminals pay for their crimes. The biblical meaning of the word "justice," however, means "to make right." This concept of justice has to do with healthy relationships based on equity and kindness; it refers to a society based on life-giving relationships between God, human beings, and the natural world. This is the world Ray Simpson seeks to build, and he offers these prayers as openings into the Divine power that constantly seeks to heal and restore.Remind us, God of Love, that when we eagerly desire the best for one another, the differences between us no longer seem as important.Knowing that we share the same origin, the same essence, and the same journey together away from fragmentation, may we work with You toward the completion of all thingsand all people, so that in Christ, we might be reunitedin love.
Although we often think the definition of shalom is "peace," the Hebrew word encompasses far wider meanings, including completeness, well-being, safety, prosperity, contentment, health, friendliness, and rest. Shalom implies the divinely ordained state of well-being, of justice, equity, and fulfilment, which God wants for each of us as individuals and for all of us as communities. It's a state of harmony, an interwoven connection that supports and nourishes both the parts and the whole.God yearns to heal all that is wounded or diseased, restore all that is lost, and mend all that is broken. This is the work of Christ, reconciling all Creation with Divinity, so that we all enter and participate in shalom. We need shalom in our bodies, our minds, and our spirits-and we need it in our relationships and in our communities. In these prayers, Ray Simpson invites us to offer up all that is broken or unhealthy, so that we can experience the full meaning of shalom.May the Divine Creator make us instruments of healing.May the Complete Christ take from us all that frustrates healing.May the Holy Spirit give us power for healing.
