Dear Friend🌹 🎶 October News 🎶 🌹“I will cut adrift—I will sit on pavements and drink coffee—I will dream; I will take my mind out of its iron cage and let it swim—this fine October.”- Virginia WoolfSending you much love and hoping you are able to find moments of peace to drift, dream, reflect and connect in these challenging times.
In my reflections and questions about what I can do in my corner in response to local and global tragedy, I felt to offer a simple space of singing and stillness for those who feel it would be supportive and warmly invite you to join me for:
🌹 🎶
An Hour of Peace - a Space for Singing and StillnessFriday 27th Oct 6.30 - 7.30pm in the Church Hall, St Johns SE19 2RX
Also coming up:
🌹 🎶
Macmillian Day and Opening Ceremony at Mindful Dentist27th October 11am-6pm, including a moment of song at 2.30pm
🌹 🎶
Across the Lines - a new short performance with vocal artist
Randolph Matthews as part of
Croydonites Festival on 11th November
🌹 🎶
Winter Sparkle -
tickets now available for our splendid sparkly concert
Sunday 10th December 2pm for 2.30pm @ St Johns SE19 2RX
More details follow below - or
drop me a line
🌹 🎶 Moments of Peace 🎶 🌹"I sing for the lessons the world hasn't learnedI sing for my soul as she watches it burn"Reason to Love - a beautiful song by Malinda & Jerusalem Youth Chorus Trigger warning: this section includes mention of knife crime and war -
please skip if needed to take care of yourself.
In the last few weeks, my local and global community have been rocked by tragedy. Words are utterly inadequate and my heart goes out to all facing unimaginable horrors and the losses of their loved ones. Like so many of us, I have felt shocked, sad and devastated as the shockwaves rip through our world. I have also felt deeply touched by powerful, precious moments of human connectivity.
After the horrific murder of a young woman in Croydon, I stood with hundreds of people holding candles and phone lights, calling
We Love You Elianna. Whilst, this one moment cannot take away the horror nor address the complex issues impacting our young people, it was incredibly moving to be part of this peaceful collective stand for love in the face of violence. A space of solace and solidarity, the vigil helped us reflect and grieve together.
Away from the noisy blare of sensationalist divisive media, peace is often quiet and found in simple shared everyday moments - breaking bread or having tea together, standing alongside each other in the post office queue, exchanging smiles, jokes or recipes or holding out a helping hand.
In times of great crisis, when we can feel so powerless, simple moments of shared peace can help us stay grounded and connected.
Jewish Doctor
Tamara Rettino's much-shared beautiful post about her
warm relationship with her Muslim Neighbour entreats us:
"Stop making change theoretical and abstract. It is knocking on neighbor’s doors and sharing coffee and sweets. It is telling each other stories. It is heart to heart, neighbor to neighbor. We are all human. We all want a place to call home and for our babies and grandmothers to be safe. Peace begins with me."Peace begins with and within us. When maintaining a sense of inner peace feels incredibly challenging, it's simple moments that help me re-centre - a morning run or stretch, a deep breath, a hug, a good cry, a heartfelt sing.
We are relational, social beings and our first relationship is with ourselves, so filling our cup with the simple nourishing joys of life boosts our resilience in times of crisis. Moments of peace also give us space to reflect on what action we each feel called to take in our families and communities. When the world is hurting, we are all hurting and whilst we may have widely differing views, beliefs and backgrounds, simple moments of peace help us reconnect with ourselves and each other and remember our shared humanity - do check in and draw close to friends and family.
Wishing you powerful, precious peaceLook forward to seeing and singing with you soon Be well, breathe deep and keep singing loudly!
Drop me a line or sing me a song:katie@therosewindow.orgwww.therosewindow.org@katierosewindow on the Socials
