Over the past six months I have been spending a lot of time in the Parish Church of Haworth, having been helping out with services, weddings etc during their interregnum (time without vicar, pastor, minister).
Haworth and in particular the Parish Church is a tourist destination with some 90,000 visitors a year coming through it's doors thanks predominanlty to the Bronte connection and the Bronte Parsonage museum..
This weekend I spent a large part of Saturday afternoon planning a wedding with a couple and a part of Sunday afternoon rehearsing next Saturday's wedding with anothercouple. The following reflections are not about either of those couples or their families, I would never betray such confidences.
My reflections are of what was going on all around at the time.
It was a sixties theme weekend in Haworth and at the bottom of the church steps on the main street was a small marquee with a band playing sixties music (very well I hasten to add), with a good number of the happy throng in sixties clothing and dancing away having a good time. "Lambrettas and Parkas" were prevalent as was a party atmosphere and all the aromas that go with that setting. Lots of friendly smiles, hellos and general chit chat as I make my way to the church (although I was fairly casually dressed I was waring a clerical collar, given the duties I was undertaking). All good and enjoyable fun.
An then I enter the church...
I tend to get one of three reactions: 1, A request to help with a historical question
2, An avoidance of me in general (particularly eye contact)
3, A request of a more pastoral or prayer based need
None of which I mind and at least two out of the three allow engagement in some way.
The second provides me with a good reminder of this society of secular lives and sacred hearts (as used by Alan Billings) that predominates. People want to be in church building and have that "Holy" space but in an individualistic way. I have been told by people how they visit the church one, two and three times a week, never for a service, and it is their time and space!
And this weekend:
- a group of young females with pink flowers in their hair all sat praying in the front pew (genuinely so),
- a man with headphones on sat for some fifteen minutes, alone and reflective, his appearance not what you might expect in a Church building;
- five people wrote in the book of remembrance while I was there - mainly connected to lost Fathers (Sunday the 21st being Fathers day in the UK)
- a decorative rope separates the high altar from the rest of the church and creates an unofficial "out of bounds", however, I had removed it so that we could practice the choreography for the wedding, as I am saying goodbye to the couple and their family I see two older people praying at the altar rail
- at the rear of the church there is a book and card stall (unmanned) with an honesty box, numerous people purchased material of a Christian nature
- many people simply sat - did they pray, reflect, take in the beauty of the building, were they moved, challenged, hurt, happy, sad, worried, anxious?
As one constantly trying to break down the man made barriers between secular and sacred in our lives it is good to remember that their are "thin" places, special places, moving places that allow a closer encounter with the sacred!
