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Glory to the highest on earth,
Glory to the highest in me!
This quotation (from an unnamed source) comes from The Brothers Karamazov,which I brought to Penzance in my carry-on. I needed a big fat book to read during all those hours waiting in airports. How does a novel about Russia in the 1870s--with its emotional breakdowns, confusion, social commentary, and patricide--relate to my first two and a half weeks working with the Penlee Cluster? On the whole, it doesn't. But that phrase, "Glory to the highest on earth, Glory to the highest in me!" has stuck with me. Partly because it's an expression of praise and exultation. It's full of energy. It helps me to get up in the morning, excited about the possibilities of a new day. My usual morning prayer: "Oh God help," doesn't really do that. There's also something Celtic about praising "the highest on earth," and delighting in the natural world. Tack the words, "Glory to the highest in heaven" onto the front, and you have a tidy three-in-one prayer (God in heaven, Christ on earth, Holy Spirit in me). But lately, the words "glory to the highest in me" have been very compelling.
Everyday, I see the undeniable glory of Cornwall: the tiny daffodils and glossy-leaved camellias, the seagulls riding on the wind like kites, the changelessly-changing ocean waves. Everyday, I am thankful for the highest in the Penlee Cluster: the Playzone where kids can have fun and parents can catch their breath, the people offering me a lift or a book or a meal or a kind word or a cup of tea. (Everywhere, but everywhere, one is offered a cup of tea. Resistance is futile.) While I'm trying to absorb the newness of everything, while I'm humbled by the generosity of the Cluster, it gives me courage to know that there is a "highest" in me. There is something in each of us that is good and worthy. There is something that I have to offer, even to this glorious place. Glory to the highest in me.
What's Happening
(Visit the Penlee Cluster website to learn about the Heritage Project.) The Church of St. Pol de Leon is undergoing some serious renovation, particularly to the window at the front of the sanctuary. When the project is complete, there will be information set up in the church about its various historical artifacts. I get to research St Paul Aurelian, after whom the church and village are named, and who features in one of the church's stained-glass windows. Of course, I do not yet have a photo of the window. I'm gonna get better about taking photos.
The 13th was Shrove Tuesday and Holiday Club. Adults from the Cluster and the Community, and kids from St Mary's and Mousehole schools spent the day learning about Lent, and thinking about going plastic-free in our communities. We made designs for stained glass windows, images out of hammer beads, and Celtic crosses on stones. A good time was had by all. As were pancakes. So. Many. Pancakes.
It's The Little Things.
all the green and growing things: holly, palm trees, daisies, crocuses, and all the Spring flowers I'm used to, but 2 months early
all the houses with names: Hanover House, Godolphin House, Briar Rose Cottage, The Firs, to name just a few.
Fact: If it contains cheese, it isn't a true, orthodox pasty. How I love the taste of unorthodoxy.
