run brierley, run brierley, run run run

Just after uni, I took a gap year with Oasis Trust and worked at Church.co.uk Waterloo - with some amazing people working towards amazing things. One of those people was Pete Brierley, probably one of the best youth workers ever ever.

The youth work at Church.co.uk has gone from strength to strength, and now it has it's own building - the hubhouse - great from the outside, not so great from the inside. Pete is running the London Marathon to raise money to rennovate the hubhouse, and he has a long way to go to reach his financial target. PLEASE, if you have any spare pennies and pounds, sponsor Pete and support work that will benefit young people in Lambeth. Go to http://www.hubhouse.co.uk to find out more and support Pete.

Amy
x

a poem

A friend sent this poem to me, and it's very beautiful, in a sad way. Here it is, and it's by Maya Angelou:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Welcome to 2007

Hello, and happy new year. I know I'm a bit late - but better late than never.

I'm a little out of sync timewise in general at the moment. Thanks to the dodgy postal service in Muswell Hill I am still receiving Christmas presents posted weeks ago! So, yesterday I received my secret santa present (thanks Est!) - the beautiful new Christmas album Snow Angels by Over The Rhine. Over The Rhine is a special band/group in my opinion - rarely do I come across musicians who can involve you in their story through their art in as clear a way as they do. If you haven't discovered them yet, seek them out. Snow Angels is very lovely, and I'm listening to it despite it not being Christmas anymore. In the notes, Linford Detweiler writes the following about his new house, which is so lovely that I'm going to share it...

'It was a dream to land in a place like this, plant our feet on a piece of earth surrounded by a few tall trees, trees that have been alive a lot longer than we have. Apart from good music, the sound of the wind moving through the pines next to the back porch may be as close as we've come to the sound of the Holy Spirit moving...'

Happy 2007,

Amy
xx