Concrete Holiness
A personal reflection on sacred
space in Carlisle Cathedral
This is how the Church is made of living stones, compacted by mercy.
Thomas Merton
Following the success
of Martyn Halsall's inaugural year as Poet in Residence which has resulted in a
forthcoming book Sanctuary to be published later this year I accepted the
challenge of becoming poet in residence in 2013.
I began my year with
the intention of creating a series of nine spare, terse, schematic works or 'posters'
each reflecting an aspect of monastic life and then through an iterative
process to make linkages between the monasticism practiced on this historic
site and what is coming to be known as New Monasticism.
For each of the nine
'sacred spaces' identified by the Cathedral I have endeavored to make a
connection between the ancient practice and current expression e.g. in the
first poem between the work in the scriptorium and the contemporary pattern of
communicating using the 140 characters allowed by Twitter.
The nine poems are not
intended to be definitive but are offered as a contribution to the conversation
about sacred space / new monasticism currently being developed in Chapter and
through the wider Cathedral community.
Stylistically these
poems may be seen as reflective of other poetic forms such as Haiku, although
they do not conform to the accepted haiku pattern. Each is however shaped around
three verses or paragraphs and to some extent I see this pattern linking to the
form developed by Celtic Christians to express their faith in a God revealed as
a Trinity of persons in community.
The poems are each
connected by the quotation from Thomas Merton, which I use as an epigraph.
This is how the Church
is made of living stones, compacted by mercy.
The first poem ends
with words I first heard spoken by Bishop David Jenkins, former Bishop of
Durham and should therefore be properly used in quotation.
1
Scriptorium
pen
scratching
vellum
scripture
illuminated
today's
scriptorium
allows
140
characters
God is
He is as He is in Jesus
therefore
there is hope
2
Refectory
simple
food
shared
attentive
silence
today's
TV
chef's
make
food
entertaining
without
taste
yet
here
bread
is
still broken
wine
spilt
community
made
3
Garden
cassocked
bee
keeper
tends
hives
fritillary
herbs
grow
flowers
bloom
rich
earth
remains
where now
the pollinating
buzzing of bees?
4
Cloister
reflective
walking
calming
souls
turbulence
today's
procession
passes
from
Abbey Street
through
Mary's Gate
all
sorts
and
conditions
seeking
mercy
amongst
these
living
stones
5
Chapel
this
empty
space
watched
over by a
neglected
crucified
figure
from Lauds
to Vespers
many
professing
belief
absent
themselves
sunday
by sunday
leaving
ancient
amens
echoing
6
chapter
tasked
with
caring for these stones
meets
beneath
Prior's
painted
ceiling
each judgement
judged
by a fellowship
of other stones
gathered in mercy
compacted
spirit's
power
energised
close
harmony
7
Cell
prisoner
of faith
enclosed
Julian
poet's muse
all will be well
left
now
just
140
characters
prayers
rise
as birdsong
As from
the enclosed silence
of our screens
all manner of things
will be well
8
Infirmary
hospitallers
bring
their
sick
to health
now
we interrogate
www
self diagnose
medicate
type
symptoms
on NHS Direct
touching
the screen
restores
well - being?
9
Road
this
gateway
where
your
road
begins
today
check
this
starting point
into sat nav
your
destination
represents
pilgrim
journeying
into
futures
becoming
