Spirituality

The Christian basis of Visions is fundamental to everything we do and are. However, we draw inspiration from many Chrstian denominations and would not feel happy about being pigeonholed into any theological `camp'. Let the world be free of labels!

Labels

Many of us grew up in the evangelical tradition, and we affirm its sense of equality of access to God and its respect for the Bible, but we resist its frequent association with right-wing fundamentalism. Indeed, we accept a lot of the liberal analysis that social action against poverty, homelessness, and so on, is an important job of our society. However, we also have charismatic roots and believe that the move of the Spirit is one way of bringing healing and wholeness to people's lives. In some ways our approach to church services is very Catholic in terms of being sacramental and using ritual; it also draws on Orthodox traditions by using all the senses and rich visual symbols. On the other hand, our spirituality is not confined to services, and hence we adopt the Celtic view that all parts of our daily lives can be sacramentalised. This brings us part-way along the road to Creation Spirituality (Matthew Fox), and the Spirit in Creation (Jurgen Moltmann). Some of our mystical roots are in Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179), Thomas Merton, and Julian of Norwich. No doubt I've forgotten to mention several other important influences... Finally, a quote from St. Francis of Assisi:

"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."

Influences

We are influenced by many Christian paths and expressions of spirituality, some very ancient. Here are just some of them.

• Roots: the life of Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, the Creeds, the examples of the Saints.
• Celtic spirituality: Lindisfarne, Iona, Irish high crosses, Orthodoxy, awareness of nature, life as worship, creation spirituality, the redemption of all Creation through Christ.
• Sacred spaces: pilgimage, labyrinth, stained glass, candles in darkness, silence, plainchant.
• Monastic orders: community, laborare est orare (to work is to pray), hospitality.
• Mystics: Moltmann, Ignatius, Hildegarde, Thomas Merton, art as meditation, the Spirit of Life
• Justice workers: Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Mother Theresa, William Wilberforce.

Stained Glass. In the middle ages, few people were literate enough to read the Bible. In order to teach people the narrative, therefore, the biblical stories were often depicted in stained glass windows. In those very visual times, ordinary people understood the frequent symbolism which went into religious pictures much better than most of us today. However, even if today we were only to treat stained glass as an exquisite artform, there is plenty of God's nature of creativity and beauty to meditate on in these treasures.

This image is one of the group's favourites from Chartres Cathedral.

Celtic things. The Celtic Christian tradition emphasises that spirituality is something for the whole of life. Evidence of this outlook is found in Celtic prayers for milking the cow, for weaving cloth, for baking, for setting out on a journey, and so on.

Celtic knots, as well as being very pretty, symbolise eternity, as the knot is drawn with a single line weaving over and through itself, with no beginning and no end. Richard designs and draws his own celtic knotwork patterns, which he often photographs and projects in unusual places. Here is a `carpet' he placed on the floor of a nightclub.

One of our planned projects is to build a replica of a Celtic stone high cross (using wood, cardboard, papier mache, and sandtex). The Celtic Christians generally did not build churches out of stone. A monastery would perhaps have a chapel made of wood, but there were few towns or cities. Instead, monks would set up stone crosses outdoors in rural areas and preach there, where the people would gather.

The Labyrinth. The labyrinth is a feature of many mediaeval cathedrals, although it probably originates in pre-christian times. It is marked out on the floor, and unlike a maze, has only one path (so you can't get lost!). Christian versions are generally based on a cross shape. The idea was that a person would walk the labyrinth on the eve of their baptism, confirmation, or before Easter as an aid to contemplative prayer and reflection. As you wind your way round approaching the centre, you gradually offload the pressures of the day. You can view it as a centreing exercise to help you focus on God. You can also view it as an allegory of your life - sometimes appearing to be close to God, only to be suddenly thrown out to the edge, or perhaps to find yourself walking sometimes in sympathy with others and other times far distant, and so on. At the centre, you meet God and can sit and rest there for as long as you like. Then you walk the labyrinth outwards, carrying the light of Christ with you out into the world.

You can make your own labyrinth. It just requires a large square of material, several rolls of gaffa tape, and some patience. We copied the one on the floor of Chartres Cathedral, which you can also find at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral and in Milton Keynes(!). For this one, the minimum practical size is approximately 5.5m x 5.5m, which gives a path approximately 18cm wide and enough room for one person to sit at the centre. If you've got more space, use it.

We like to ensure that the atmosphere of the space surrounding the labyrinth is conducive to contemplation - we lay ours in St Cuthbert's church, which is very ancient, there has been a building on the site since 687AD; we play plainchant over a small sound system; and we have a few `installations' of ikons or sculptures and candles nearby.

Pilgrimage. A couple of times we have visited (en masse) Holy Island (Lindisfarne), long associated with St Cuthbert after whom our church is named. He was Prior of the Anglo-Saxon monastery there for many years, and later Bishop. He presided (reluctantly) over the move from the Celtic Christian tradition to the Roman tradition forced by the Synod of Whitby. In 1997 we were privileged to have a priest of the Celtic Orthodox Church celebrate the Divine Liturgy for us in the open air on St Cuthbert's Island. Here's one of Richard's atmospheric photos of Lindisfarne.

One year we marked St Cuthbert's feast day (March 20th) with a special communion service in York, using a Celtic Liturgy published by the Northumbrian Community and readings from Bede's Life of Cuthbert.

Another recent pilgrimage was to Chartres Cathedral, both to walk the labyrinth together and to be amazed by the wealth of Christian art within the stained glass and stone carvings.