Wednesday 12 December 2007

Celtic Liturgy

We took over the rather disastrous Taste and See course that is getting a trial run in Barton-on-Humber, as mentioned here earlier. Ending a rather low level description of Celtic spirituality with an unrelated task about silence last session, we decided to set our own tasks. This included writing a Celtic type prayer or Celtic type liturgy as in a Daily Office.

I have done the latter and more ambitious task, and the result is added to my Spiritual Area. It is available there (top menu) and then under Liturgies and then Celtic Liturgy for Late Evening. In other words it is like Compline.

Mine focuses in on the crossover with neo-Paganism and indeed with expressions in faiths about nature and place, and the spiritual significance of place. Much is taken from Judaism, the structure is Anglican Christian plus, and the theology liberal (but not exclusively) and the content Celtic inspired. I also focus on activity in the day. There is a central ceremony, which is my nod towards the esoteric, though I don't particularly follow that line. What I do respect is doctrinal flexibility and variation, and a late evening liturgy and ritual such as this should be available to as many as would want to use it. So there is much about the moon and the sun and time and places, as well as what we do.

Institutionally then it crosses between Anglican (structure, some theology and content), Unitarian (some theology), neo-Pagan/ New Age (some content), and Independent Sacramental Ministry (because of the combination of liturgical, theologically different and even esoteric). Although Judaism and Buddhism were used, the content is so altered as to move beyond both, because of the Christian elements and because of the theism.

Not exactly what a Lent course might expect. However, I am working things through, pushing my theology in several directions as far as it can go, and this is the result.

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