Heart of Darkness, Sharing the Darkness, embracing the darkness – the archetypal theme of darkness versus light is ever-present in our lives, through books, movies, media, faith, life experience.
Last week – on the night of the full moon – I was at a Celtic Christian service in the 13th century church at Morton Bagot, Warwickshire.
And the theme: “Sun, Moon and Stars: Finding a Way in the Darkness.”
The Celtic-inspired service was led by Annie Heppenstall, and comes from her book The Healer’s Tree.
Ten of us gathered together in the chancel, where Annie had hung from a central chandelier a large hoop, to which she had tied the feathers of local birds, which she had found in her garden. The hoop represented the circle of the year. During the service we tied ribbons to the hoop to represent ourselves.
This lovely ancient church (which has no electricity) was lit only by candles.
I am one of those who is sensitive to atmospheres, and the feeling I receive from this church is one of deep peace, goodness and harmony.
My sister Julia, on a recent visit to the Uk with her husband, visited this church with me, and both were conscious of this very special atmosphere. Julia took the photographs that illustrate this post.
During Annie’s Celtic Christian service, we each took two dark pebbles, and considered how these represented different aspects of the darkness for us, then we carried the pebbles to the lighted candle and placed them there.
Annie loves to focus on animal symbolism, rich in Celtic spirituality and in the Bible. The two animals she chose for this service were the bear and the cat, to represent different aspects of the darkness.
I find the incorporation of pre Christian Celtic spirituality into contemporary Christian practice very moving.
Religions and all thought systems assimilate elements of what went before, and then we move on.
To me, the ability of the Christian faith to assimilate aspects of the pagan world – nowhere more evident than in our Western celebration of Christmas – is part of its strength and enduring power.
In all things, we take with us something of what went before, and we move on.
About the Writer
SC Skillman is a British romantic suspense author Her debut novel “Mystical Circles” is available to order at your local bookstores or online. A signed copy may be purchased direct from the author’s website, and the ebook may be downloaded on Amazon Kindle.
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Thank you for sharing. Annie’s name has come up a few times in my wanderings: I must find her book. This service sounds like an ideal expression of the sacred darkness to me..I caan imagine how the church felt, having felt a similar warmth and love at St Just in Penwith this summer. Peace and blessings for midwinter and christmas x
Thank you for your comment. The services which Annie led at Morton Bagot were beautiful and very special. I hope she will be leading more services like this in the future, maybe at different churches, if one can be found that has the same resonance as the one at Morton Bagot. We were in several historical churches in Lindisfarne and Northumberland during the summer and found some others which were also full of that love and warmth you speak of. Blessings for the rest of Advent and for the Christmas season and New Year 2017.
Reblogged this on Plen an Gwari and commented:
Oh to have been at the service!
Thank you very much for reblogging my post.
you are welcome x
Hi Sheila, wow that church looks beautiful and your post is so very evocative of this time of year! Thanks for sharing something that has been central to my thoughts recently.
Thank you Catherine. I’m pleased you enjoyed my post!