{"id":17431,"date":"2026-07-27T21:47:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/?p=17431"},"modified":"2026-07-27T21:47:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:47:24","slug":"safe-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2026\/07\/27\/safe-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Safe circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n <\/p>\n

This week I feature a prayer poem inspired by Psalm 32:7<\/a>, written by Christine Colliar<\/strong> as part of our Presbytery project, Prayer Poems for Lent 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You Surround Me<\/h3>\n

by Christine Colliar<\/p>\n

You are my hiding-place;
\n    you will protect me from trouble
\n    and surround me with songs of deliverance.<\/em>
\n 
\n 
\nYou are my escape room.
\nWhen I crawl into myself,
\nfind a nook ready –
\nchair, hearth, book, tea –
\nyou are there already.
\nI can wear myself,
\n    no pretence
\n    no brave face
\n    you see me
\n        know me.<\/p>\n

I can sit
\n    on the floor if I want
\nand there you are
\n    to talk to
\n    or just sit with me,
\ndoor closed,
\n    until I\u2019m ready
\n    to go back
\n    to the world
\n    emptied,
\n    filled.<\/p>\n

And when I can cope
\nwith more than silence,
\nyou cover me with song
\nround and over and through me –
\nso I see,
\n    I feel,
\n        I taste
\nyour music,
\nthrill
\n    and complete
\n        and mend.<\/p>\n

Words that join – a daisy chain,
\nfragile and true,
\n    full
\n        and wide –
\nwords that encompass,
\n    encircle
\nthat hold together
\n    a fragility
\n    deep within,
\nand keep me
\nwhole.\n<\/p><\/div>\n

 
\n~ written as part of the Presbytery Project, Prayer Poems for Lent 2026<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

From the blog<\/strong>
\nIn the school of prayer with P\u00e1draig \u00d3 Tuama<\/a>
\nOne body, different gifts<\/a>
\nChange \u2026 like little children<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  This week I feature a prayer poem inspired by Psalm 32:7, written by Christine Colliar as part of our Presbytery project, Prayer Poems for Lent 2026.   You Surround Me by Christine Colliar You are my hiding-place;     you will protect me from trouble     and surround me with songs of deliverance.     You are … Continue reading “Safe circle”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,63],"tags":[282],"class_list":["post-17431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-poetry","tag-circle"],"yoast_head":"\nSafe circle - 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(Psalm 91:4, The Voice) \u00a0 When early Celtic Christians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bible"","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/womens_day_rome.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/womens_day_rome.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/womens_day_rome.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/womens_day_rome.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9576,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2020\/05\/13\/small-talk\/","url_meta":{"origin":17431,"position":4},"title":"Small talk","author":"Irene Bom","date":"May 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 A prayer of confession by Rev. Christine Sobania to shine a light on how we are relating to God - all small talk or something deeper? Prayer of confession Lord, You are only as far away as the sound of our whispers will travel, yet we so often struggle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "confession"","block_context":{"text":"confession","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/confession\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/grass_and_legs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/grass_and_legs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/grass_and_legs.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/grass_and_legs.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13438,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2022\/10\/26\/time-together\/","url_meta":{"origin":17431,"position":5},"title":"Time together","author":"Irene Bom","date":"October 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Swans foraging for their evening meal \u00a0 Opening Prayer (based on Psalm 145:15-16, Isaiah 55:1-3, John 6:35) Lord, the eyes of all look to You in hope; and You give them what they need. You open Your hand and satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. We, too,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "prayer"","block_context":{"text":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/swans_foraging_together.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/swans_foraging_together.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/swans_foraging_together.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/swans_foraging_together.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Irene Bom","author_link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/author\/irenebom-com\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/\" rel=\"category tag\">bible<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/poetry\/\" rel=\"category tag\">poetry<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"  This week I feature a prayer poem inspired by Psalm 32:7, written by Christine Colliar as part of our Presbytery project, Prayer Poems for Lent 2026.   You Surround Me by Christine Colliar You are my hiding-place;     you will protect me from trouble     and surround me with songs of deliverance.     You are…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17431"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17460,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17431\/revisions\/17460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}