Mind Space

Moore at Kew

Technorati tags: Henry Moore, Kew Gardens, sculpture, photography

Open House Weekend

This weekend was London Open House weekend, when many buildings in London were open to the public to promote interest in architecture and a debate about the built environment of our city. I visited several buildings around the city, including the apothecaries' hall, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Landsdowne Club and the lobby of the former Daily Express building in Fleet Street (photo above). It's a sumptuous art deco construction, recently refurbished.

Open House is easily one of the best weekends in the London calendar, a chance to get a glimpse of places that aren't usually open to the public, and to better appreciate this wonderful city.

I've got a Flickr set of photos I've taken at Open House venues.

Technorati tags: Open House, London, city, architecture, photography, environment

Seeking something in the Cathedral

Earlier this year I went to a day at St. Paul's Cathedral for clergy new to the Diocese of London. I've never felt a particular affinity for Cathedrals' other than as faith museums, but I was intrigued by the life, faithfulness and creativity of the people that work in this stately building, rather at odds with my preconceptions.

I learned that they have a volunteer priest on duty every day that the cathedral is open, talking to visitors, offering prayers, and being ready to respond to whatever people bring. Cathedrals are becoming places of pilgrimage for people who are recognising their spirituality, even if they wouldn't wish to associate themselves with the Christian faith. My hunch is that the size of the building offers anonymity, whist its age gives a sense of connection to the past and to tradition.

The role of being a duty priest at the cathedral sounds to me rather like the work of dekhomai at the Mind Body Spirit festivals (website here, my blog post about it here), trying to help people from a diversity of spiritual and new age traditions to discover something of God. Both cathedral and festival are places were spiritual seekers come, and both afford opportunities to listen and talk.

So I've signed up to do half a day each month on duty at the cathedral. My second shift was yesterday, and I had some good conversations and prayed with people. Some were Christian, most were not. It was an exciting afternoon.