We had a fantastic day at the cathedral exploring what spirituality means to us through the use of music, silence, discussion and artwork. We reflected on our relationships with ourselves, with others, with the world and with God, and were all inspired by the majesty of our surroundings.
The day began in the Crossing with a reminder of the story of Saint Alban, in which the roles of Alban and the magistrate who ordered his arrest, demanding he renounce his Christian beliefs and ultimately killing him when he refused to do so, were reenacted brilliantly. We revisited this commitment at various points during the day.
In our first workshop, we explored our relationship with ourselves. The children were invited to enter and follow a giant labyrinth laid out on the floor of the Nave, in which they met with several challenges and questions about themselves. We then thought about how we might look similar but underneath we are all unique. We were each given a lemon, which on the surface all looked the same however when we examined them more closely, we realised were all different. They were then collected back in and we had to try to identify our own unique ones from the tray of 15. Who knew that would be so tricky!
Our second workshop took us to the shrine of Saint Alban, where candles were lit and we spent some time reflecting. From there we visited the shrine of Saint Amphibalus, the Christian pilgrim who Alban sheltered and ultimately sacrificed himself for. Although his shrine is at the entrance to the Lady Chapel, where we have our weekly cathedral services, very few of us had ever stopped there to take in the detail (including the carved cheeky monkey on the side of it!). We then learned about Taizé in Burgundy, one of the most important sites of Christian pilgrimage, especially for young people. We listened to some music, thought about the importance of kindness, simplicity and reconciliation and wrote reflections about Saint Alban to hang on the prayer tree.
After lunch, we sat under the beautiful Rose Window and thought about the creation of the world. We began by completing a quick draw activity of the key part of Genesis 1, after which we had to teach and test one another. We then thought more deeply about the last day, in which God created humans. We listened to Genesis 1 26-28 and considered whether we think God created humans to be in charge of all living things or to be equal to all living things. In conversation alley, we debated the answers to some key questions on the environment including; what do we think are the biggest causes of climate change; what can we do to fight climate change; is everyone equally affected by climate change; and are we equally responsible for the effects of climate change?
I was so impressed with the children’s commitment, focus and ability to engage in some deep thinking. Here are a few photos from our day:
