Here is the second part of our conversation with Philip Roderick, the founder and a patron of the Quiet Garden Movement, of Contemplative Fire  and of Hidden Houses of Prayer. He delights in the radical presence of God in community, in nature – on hillside and by seashore; he rejoices in chant and harmony, syncopation and stillness. He is an author and a musician.

He has worked in Bangor University as Chaplain and Lecturer in Theology then in the Oxford Diocese as Principal of the Buckinghamshire Christian Training Scheme and as a parish priest in Amersham on the Hill. In 2015 he retired from being Bishop’s Adviser in Spirituality and Chaplain to Whirlow Grange in the Diocese of Sheffield.

Philip’s writings include the book Beloved: Henri Nouwen in Conversation, and articles that appear in the following books, all part of the “Ancient Faith, Future Mission” series published by Canterbury Press: New Monasticism as Fresh Expressions of Church,  Fresh Expressions in the Sacramental Tradition, and Doorways to the Sacred: Developing Sacramentality in Fresh Expressions of Church.
I believe there is a continuum in all of us — well, I feel it in my own being — between the hermit and the engaged one. — Philip Roderick
Other resources featuring Philip include Sacred Posture, a teaching DVD on body prayer, and Sheer Sound, a music album featuring  a musical instrument called “the Hang.”

Philip joined us via Skype from his home in England near the South Downs to discuss his various efforts, all of which unite creativity and/or community building to help foster contemplation and silence in people’s lives.
Contemplative intercession can be profoundly engaged spirituality, because it is a holding of the wounds of the world; it's doing deep work, doing deep work on behalf of the universe. — Philip Roderick
Some of the resources and authors we mention in this episode:

Philip Roderick, Beloved: Henri Nouwen in Conversation
Philip Roderick, Sacred Posture (DVD)
Philip Roderick, Sheer Sound (available as CD or MP3)
Teilhard de Chardin, Essential Writings
Simone Weil, Waiting for God
William Blake, Complete Poetry and Prose
Martin Israel, Doubt: The Way of Growth
Thomas Keating, Reflections on the Unknowable
R. S. Thomas, "The Other" from The Echoes Return Slow

Silence and solitude are precursors to service. They can seem to be escapist, but in fact a true silence and a true solitude lead to a full expression of care and love; so the call to love and heal is integrally bound up with the call to be hidden and alone. — Philip Roderick
Episode 71: Encountering Silence in Quiet Gardens: A Conversation with Philip Roderick (Part Two)
Hosted by: Carl McColman
With: Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson
Guest: Philip Roderick
Date Recorded: May 6, 2019