Our prayer diary, published three times a year, is available below or in a printable format at the bottom of this page.

Our Senior Chaplain writes:

Burrswood is known for God’s peace which permeates the whole place. In the middle of this, it is also a very busy place, with teams of highly skilled people from very different disciplines needing to work together and understand one another effectively.

Communication is a constant necessity, which usually works and sometimes doesn’t, as in every organisation. Each morning members of the teams who care for our patients meet to pray for each patient and to discuss how to enable each person to receive the best possible care. There is much to discuss at these meetings and come to agreement about. Something that impresses me at these meetings is how deeply and courteously each person listens to every other person. We try never to talk over one another but to take each contribution seriously and respectfully even when we disagree. We are no angels, but that discipline of listening is the key to highly productive and good humoured meetings that begin each day in the best possible way.

Many years ago, Michel Quoist wrote a book of prayer that was quite revolutionary in its time, with profound truth spoken in punchy, modern language as it was then. One short prayer was called the telephone:

I have just hung up; why did he telephone?
I don’t know….Oh! I get it…
I talked a lot and listened very little.

Forgive me, Lord, it was a monologue and not a dialogue.
I explained my idea and did not get his.
Since I didn’t listen, I learned nothing.
Since I didn’t listen, I didn’t help.
Since I didn’t listen, we didn’t communicate.

Forgive me, Lord, for we were connected,
and now we are cut off.

That skill of deep listening, I believe, is vital to our relationship with God too. Sometimes we can feel that we have to say a lot to God and that more is better, but how good it is to spend time relaxing in his presence, just being with him, allowing our souls to listen to his silent word spoken into our being, which may change our day – or our whole life.

Christine Garrard
Senior Chaplain

Prayer needs for March and April 2010

MARCH

APRIL

Burrswood Daily Prayer Cycle

Sunday

• Patients and guests

• Chaplaincy Team

• Worship – 11 am Eucharist

• Reception and Gift Shop – Receptionists in St.Michael’s

Monday

• Executive Group & Administration: Dr Gareth Tuckwell and Heads of Departments Team, Accounts, Personnel, Admissions & Secretaries

• Holy Communion - 5.00 pm

Tuesday

• Trustees of the Dorothy Kerin Trust

• Holy Communion - 12.00 noon

• The Friends of Burrswood

• Burrswood Charity Shop and the commercial ventures run by Burrswood Ltd

• Applications to Trusts and Foundations – may they be looked on with favour

• Tuesday Management Team meetings

Wednesday

• Hospitality and Catering Teams

• Evening Worship - 5.00 pm

• The Book, Gift & Charity Shops

• All visiting children - that they may be touched by the love of God

Thursday

• 9.00 am Community Communion

• Physiotherapy Team

• Volunteers in all departments

• The Healing Service - 11.30 am

• All members of the Events Committee & the Fundraising and Marketing Team

Friday

• Estate & Gardening Teams

• Counselling Team

• St. Peter’s Pool and Outpatient Department

• Bocky’s Kitchen (Tea Room) – blessing through the food, service and beautiful location

• Holy Communion - 11 am

Saturday

• Doctors – Dr Paul and Dr Alasdair

• Suzanne Owen, Clinical Services Director and the Nursing Team

• St. David’s Conference Centre - for visiting groups

• Healing Ministry - 3.30 p.m.