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13:49
25 Dec
2007 |
Merry Christmas |
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Season's greetings and a happy new year to all our regular readers - it's a continuing miracle and blessing that such people, though small in number, exist, and we're very grateful.
I hope you are all having a wonderful festive season no matter where in the world you are. On the right is a snatched glimpse of midnight mass at St Michael's church in Minehead last night, a beautiful building set on the hill at the crest of the town, looking out towards Wales.
Even though we're barely Christian at all as a family, I've always been fascinated by the history of religion. I like to be involved in occasions like this not necessarily because I share the beliefs of the congregation, but because it helps me imagine what life must have been like in an Anglo-Saxon monastery more than a thousand years ago - when it was much easier to justify faith, in the absence of many other sources of hope.
Imagine yourself in the monastery at Lindisfarne, exposed on the North Sea coast, in 793 AD. The monks have gathered in the cloisters and you can hear chanting and the offering of prayers. If you turn around and look out to sea, you can make out the dim lights and murky shadows of the first Viking ships on the horizon - the beginning of an invasion whose impact would last hundreds of years.
Granted, the little church in Minehead with its peaceful, contented congregation is a million miles away from that Dark Age tableau. But the coming together of souls to sing and offer prayer has its roots in the incredibly real danger of the unknown in centuries gone by. I hope you find yourself some similar sanctuary in your busy Christmas schedule!
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by Ollie : Digg him : Facebook this |
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