Perspectives Magazine Substack Podcast

Perspectives Magazine

Perspectives is the international journal of The Christian Community in the English speaking world. We publish weekly contemplations on the gospels, currently as poems perspectivesmagazine.substack.com

  1. The still voice

    hace 6 días

    The still voice

    Multitudes of voices in the worldwide wilderness, the marketplace of certainties – ‘Get your freedom here! This way, salvation!’ – while in the desert of uncertainty, the underworld within, seductive voices, alluring lights – which is Lucifer and which is He? which is Satan, which is me? Who am I to choose a way? to know the truth? to carry life? In the evening, I make my offering, not pigeons, lambs or bulls – only fluttering doubt, bleating weakness, blundering loss of direction. Night: I am taken up to the ocean where all ways lead, where there are no voices, only Word and all lights pale in the sun, the Son. In the morning: here it is, inside me, enchanted into human form, my companion in the desert, our companion in the world, a still voice, singing: My joy, my love, my darling, thou my sister, brother, companion, thou my neighbour, friend and stranger, thou the heart of love – to you I bow. -Peter Howe The first line of the final stanza is borrowed from The Christ Child's Lullaby, a Hebridean song found in Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael. Peter Howe lives in Glasgow, is retired and writes poetry. He is a freelance editor and proofreader, and an editor of Perspectives. See: www.peterhowepoetry.co.uk You can hear Tom Ravetz’ poem, Generation, that he wrote for his congregation this week here. Forthcoming events Feeling the DivineSummer School on the Trinity Epistle with presentations, contemplative exercises and conversation. On 26 July, 9 and 23 August at 7pm BST The first session isConscious of our humanity – The experience of the Father-God The link for the live stream is here. The links for the following sessions will be sent out nearer the time. We will take as our starting point the words spoken with the three crosses in the Act of Consecration and deepen them by looking at the Trinity Epistle and Creed. These events will be held as webinars on Substack and are open to all. A donation is requested. An appeal to all our readers As seems to happen with many Substacks, we have reached a plateau of around 250 readers. We are overjoyed that the poems reach so many already; we also wonder whether more people might enjoy reading them. This is the appeal: if everyone who reads this poem forwarded it to one person, our outreach would be increased. You can also share a link to the whole Substack, which has an archive of the poems. And if you’ve received this poem from a friend and you’d like to get one every week, please subscribe Let us know if you have comments about the poems or suggestions about how to spread them further. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perspectivesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  2. Scandal

    6 jun

    Scandal

    I started this Substack in November 2024, growing out of a contemplation series we had already been sending to around 300 people on the Forest Row mailing list. A conversation with a young friend – who told me she and her friends no longer read much, preferring audio – made me wonder how these reflections might reach a wider circle. This led me to Substack, and the podcast option. Before I had even decided whether to offer a paid option, a few people found their way to a paid subscription. Their generosity has given me the time to care for this growing community. In May 2025, I found myself wondering whether a prose contemplation might work better as a poem. I have written some song lyrics and read poetry all my life, but this was new territory. Those of you who have been here a while have watched it evolve. I have been deeply grateful for the encouragement of Peter Howe, deputy editor of Perspectives and a poet himself. Peter and I have now invited some of the poets who write for Perspectives to contribute here – roughly one guest poet each month from May onwards. I am fortunate to have been living with the weekly gospel readings for many years, so the motif usually finds me quickly; the real labour is always in finding the right form. I also learned early that writing a poem on Monday for Sunday publication makes for stress and thin poetry, so I now work several months ahead. We now have 240 subscribers. Publications like this grow through personal recommendation: if a poem speaks to you, please pass it on. A paid subscription gives you full access to the archive, occasional anthologies with notes and references, and a quarterly PDF of Perspectives. Tom Ravetz perspectives-magazine.co.uk This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perspectivesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  3. Pars pro toto*

    30 may

    Pars pro toto*

    I started this Substack in November 2024, growing out of a contemplation series we had already been sending to around 300 people on the Forest Row mailing list. A conversation with a young friend – who told me she and her friends no longer read much, preferring audio – made me wonder how these reflections might reach a wider circle. This led me to Substack, and the podcast option. Before I had even decided whether to offer a paid option, a few people found their way to a paid subscription. Their generosity has given me the time to care for this growing community. In May 2025, I found myself wondering whether a prose contemplation might work better as a poem. I have written some song lyrics and read poetry all my life, but this was new territory. Those of you who have been here a while have watched it evolve. I have been deeply grateful for the encouragement of Peter Howe, deputy editor of Perspectives and a poet himself. Peter and I have now invited some of the poets who write for Perspectives to contribute here – roughly one guest poet each month from May onwards. I am fortunate to have been living with the weekly gospel readings for many years, so the motif usually finds me quickly; the real labour is always in finding the right form. I also learned early that writing a poem on Monday for Sunday publication makes for stress and thin poetry, so I now work several months ahead. We now have 250 subscribers. Publications like this grow through personal recommendation: if a poem speaks to you, please pass it on. A paid subscription gives you full access to the archive, occasional anthologies with notes and references, and a quarterly PDF of Perspectives. Tom Ravetz perspectives-magazine.co.uk This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perspectivesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  4. Ascension

    15 may

    Ascension

    I started this Substack in November 2024, growing out of a contemplation series we had already been sending to around 300 people on the Forest Row mailing list. A conversation with a young friend – who told me she and her friends no longer read much, preferring audio – made me wonder how these reflections might reach a wider circle. This led me to Substack, and the podcast option. Before I had even decided whether to offer a paid option, a few people found their way to a paid subscription. Their generosity has given me the time to care for this growing community. In May 2025, I found myself wondering whether a prose contemplation might work better as a poem. I have written some song lyrics and read poetry all my life, but this was new territory. Those of you who have been here a while have watched it evolve. I have been deeply grateful for the encouragement of Peter Howe, deputy editor of Perspectives and a poet himself. Peter and I have now invited some of the poets who write for Perspectives to contribute here – roughly one guest poet each month from May onwards. I am fortunate to have been living with the weekly gospel readings for many years, so the motif usually finds me quickly; the real labour is always in finding the right form. I also learned early that writing a poem on Monday for Sunday publication makes for stress and thin poetry, so I now work several months ahead. We now have 240 subscribers. Publications like this grow through personal recommendation: if a poem speaks to you, please pass it on. A paid subscription gives you full access to the archive, occasional anthologies with notes and references, and a quarterly PDF of Perspectives. Tom Ravetz perspectives-magazine.co.uk This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perspectivesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  5. Grounded

    9 may

    Grounded

    I started this Substack in November 2024, growing out of a contemplation series we had already been sending to around 300 people on the Forest Row mailing list. A conversation with a young friend – who told me she and her friends no longer read much, preferring audio – made me wonder how these reflections might reach a wider circle. This led me to Substack, and the podcast option. Before I had even decided whether to offer a paid option, a few people found their way to a paid subscription. Their generosity has given me the time to care for this growing community. In May 2025, I found myself wondering whether a prose contemplation might work better as a poem. I have written some song lyrics and read poetry all my life, but this was new territory. Those of you who have been here a while have watched it evolve. I have been deeply grateful for the encouragement of Peter Howe, deputy editor of Perspectives and a poet himself. Peter and I have now invited some of the poets who write for Perspectives to contribute here – roughly one guest poet each month from May onwards. I am fortunate to have been living with the weekly gospel readings for many years, so the motif usually finds me quickly; the real labour is always in finding the right form. I also learned early that writing a poem on Monday for Sunday publication makes for stress and thin poetry, so I now work several months ahead. We now have 240 subscribers. Publications like this grow through personal recommendation: if a poem speaks to you, please pass it on. A paid subscription gives you full access to the archive, occasional anthologies with notes and references, and a quarterly PDF of Perspectives. Tom Ravetz perspectives-magazine.co.uk This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perspectivesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  6. Going away

    1 may

    Going away

    I started this Substack in November 2024, growing out of a contemplation series we had already been sending to around 300 people on the Forest Row mailing list. A conversation with a young friend – who told me she and her friends no longer read much, preferring audio – made me wonder how these reflections might reach a wider circle. This led me to Substack, and the podcast option. Before I had even decided whether to offer a paid option, a few people found their way to a paid subscription. Their generosity has given me the time to care for this growing community. In May 2025, I found myself wondering whether a prose contemplation might work better as a poem. I have written some song lyrics and read poetry all my life, but this was new territory. Those of you who have been here a while have watched it evolve. I have been deeply grateful for the encouragement of Peter Howe, deputy editor of Perspectives and a poet himself. Peter and I have now invited some of the poets who write for Perspectives to contribute here – roughly one guest poet each month from May onwards. I am fortunate to have been living with the weekly gospel readings for many years, so the motif usually finds me quickly; the real labour is always in finding the right form. I also learned early that writing a poem on Monday for Sunday publication makes for stress and thin poetry, so I now work several months ahead. We now have 240 subscribers. Publications like this grow through personal recommendation: if a poem speaks to you, please pass it on. A paid subscription gives you full access to the archive, occasional anthologies with notes and references, and a quarterly PDF of Perspectives. Tom Ravetz perspectives-magazine.co.uk This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perspectivesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  7. Grafted on

    24 abr

    Grafted on

    I started this Substack in November 2024, growing out of a contemplation series we had already been sending to around 300 people on the Forest Row mailing list. A conversation with a young friend – who told me she and her friends no longer read much, preferring audio – made me wonder how these reflections might reach a wider circle. This led me to Substack, and the podcast option. Before I had even decided whether to offer a paid option, a few people found their way to a paid subscription. Their generosity has given me the time to care for this growing community. In May 2025, I found myself wondering whether a prose contemplation might work better as a poem. I have written some song lyrics and read poetry all my life, but this was new territory. Those of you who have been here a while have watched it evolve. I have been deeply grateful for the encouragement of Peter Howe, deputy editor of Perspectives and a poet himself. Peter and I have now invited some of the poets who write for Perspectives to contribute here – roughly one guest poet each month from May onwards. I am fortunate to have been living with the weekly gospel readings for many years, so the motif usually finds me quickly; the real labour is always in finding the right form. I also learned early that writing a poem on Monday for Sunday publication makes for stress and thin poetry, so I now work several months ahead. We now have 240 subscribers. Publications like this grow through personal recommendation: if a poem speaks to you, please pass it on. A paid subscription gives you full access to the archive, occasional anthologies with notes and references, and a quarterly PDF of Perspectives. Tom Ravetz perspectives-magazine.co.uk This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perspectivesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min

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Perspectives is the international journal of The Christian Community in the English speaking world. We publish weekly contemplations on the gospels, currently as poems perspectivesmagazine.substack.com