Sacred spaces and singing

(Nimue)

For all that I’m a Pagan, I’m often attracted to churches and cathedrals. I find them powerful places because of the roles they have played in the lives of so many people. I respect the love, devotion, craft and determination that went into building them. I respect they way they function as community spaces and how much good they can do for people.

Recently I’ve had the pleasure of getting to sing at Mary de Crypt, in Gloucester. It’s an old church, and it turns out that it is on the site of a Roman temple. There’s a Roman well in the pub next door, and the Roman altar stones are currently at the local museum. So this has been a sacred place for a lot of different people for a very long time indeed. Given how the Romans tended to co-opt local deities, there’s every chance there was something on the site before they came to Gloucester.

Churches often have great acoustics for singing. They are places where a person can be without having to pay. An open church can be a place of warmth, shelter and comfort and many churches try hard to serve their communities in this way. Sometimes I find the best way of doing the Druidry is not to announce the Druidry but muck in with whoever is already doing the work. Christians have a lot of useful infrastructure, spaces and resources that Pagans do not, and I’m happy to cooperate with anyone who broadly shares my aims and values. It’s not the first time I’ve worked in Christian settings. There are some awesome vicars out there and there is much to admire in genuinely Jesus-centred Christianity.

It looks like singing in the church is going to be a regular thing for me, if we can pull all of this together. I want to make time and space where people can come along and sing without having to pay or make a substantial commitment. Both of these things can be serious barriers for people who are struggling. I want to sing my way round the wheel or the year, and share that with people. Community singing does a great deal of good, for mental and physical health, connection and community cohesion. Most of the places I’ve been able to offer that for free have been outside, which doesn’t work in the winter, or its the back rooms of pubs which are problematic in their own ways.

I’m hopeful about this opportunity to do something for free in an open and inclusive way.