A wooden bench; the weight of eldership
That I have borne upon my seat and back,
The simple sermons, in the Spirit’s grip,
That I have nurtured, would make Abbeys crack;
And yet, when all simplicity is done
And when the minister again sits down,
I feel the gentle presence of the Son
In plainest homespun, not a golden crown.
Each message spoken brings a kind release,
All listeners have touched the holy hem,
Have felt the drawing of the Prince of Peace,
Have knelt, beside the road to Bethlehem.
More grace is here than on the hills of Rome,
Where Christ is come, to call His children home.
Author notes
The picture, and the poem, depicts an 18th or 19th century Quaker Meeting. The facing benches were the few rows of pews where sat the members of the meeting who were recognised to have received gifts of eldership or ministry. In these meetings there was no hired or ordained preacher or minister - a minister was someone, male or female, upon whom the Holy Spirit descended and gave a message for the people who sat in worship.
The painting is "The Message" by J Walter West
In a list
A contest entry
- ~~ TALKING CHURCH PEWS~~ by Melodies.
600 points, ended February 19, 2007, 15 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 24 of 24
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This is absolutly lovely. A perfectly composed sonnet with a powerful vivid image and wonferful flow. I can see why it won gold. Impressive!
Love,
Amera ♥
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Wonderful :)
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Congratulations
I am so very very pleased to see a gold trophy on this piece. So well written and deserving of this award and so much more. My heartfelt congratulations. It was a pleasure to be able to read this. ~Pam
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Thank you, Pam. I think I am getting more praise than I can handle.
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lovely Poem
Congratulations on winning the Gold. Your poem and picture were quite lovely. Blessings to you. Take care, Sandy
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Many thanks, Sandy
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Oh, I love the couplet, a beautiful poem!
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Thanks, March.
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Oh My
An exceptional entry and a history lesson to boot. I loved this. Very well written and full of wonderful lines.
I loved: "in plainest homespun, not a golden crown"
Truths are often this simple. Loved this piece. ~Pam
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Often simple, hardly ever easy, Pam. Thank you for your visit and kind comments.
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What else but words of wisdom and a message therein ?? from your pen I expect nothing less and am never disappointed. Some wonderful work here and it is plesing to see your slant on this comp too.
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Thanks for dropping in, Bazza. Oh the contest just tickled me, so I sat down and wrote the poem. It turned out a wee bit more serious than I had intended, but never mind.
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Outstanding poem
Your words were Spiritually beautiful. Your words were woven with grace and style. I adore this write. But would never expect any less from you. (Lisa)
"Each message spoken brings a kind release,
All listeners have touched the holy hem,
Have felt the drawing of the Prince of Peace,
Have knelt, beside the road to Bethlehem."
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Lisa, it's getting so I no longer know how to reply to superlatives - never sure I actually deserve them. Thank you for these kind comments.
Marie
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Mairi, for many many months I have worshiped at
your alter, after reading this I must now bend
on knee to your bench. For no bench of holy order
has spoken better.
lapoe.
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No altar here, Poe, just a humble wordsmith hammering out rough-hewn poems. I have appreciated your every visit to my workshop.
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I knew thee when first I began to read...
This poem is so dear and I love it so much!
An elegant poem with such love and truth... and displays your warm heart and kind, spiritual mind. 
I am delighted that you came to our talking pew contest, for you have spent much time in church, no doubt, and are personally acquainted with many fine pews! PLUS, you have educated me this day, for which I send thee this gift: 
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{smiles} It was a contest that simply called out to me, as few have.
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Well written one.a valuable piece.
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Many thanks for that assessment.
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the facing bench -- how crisp and beautiful! I can well imagine some friend with a lisp, though dutiful (calling it the faithing bench.)
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What a lovely idea, ea...
(There's an echo in here... ea... ea...)
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Beautiful spiritual nuggets in your lovely sonnet! This is absolutely a most humble homage to your theme and in recognition of this era. Beautiful job!
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Thank you, Belle.
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