A contemplative and reflective day at beautiful Brooking Church for deepening into autumn with its outer and inner harvests. Booking essential – please contact Sam. Offered on a flexible and donation basis: You can join either the morning or afternoon, stay all day (including lunch) or just come for our wild communion at 5pm. Suggested donations on a sliding scale of £15 (supported), £25 (standard), £35 (supporters) for a half day or £30/£50/£70 for a full day. Wild communion freely offered. Please come prepared for all weathers as some of the time we will be outside & church can be chilly inside too! More details below:
Please note – offered on a flexible basis, so different arrival times are: 9am (morning start), or 10.30 (morning break), 12.30 (Angelus), 1pm (lunch) 2pm (afternoon start) 5pm wild communion. We conclude around 5.30pm. Help with clearing up afterwards is much appreciated.
Morning: We gather at 9am for an exploration of how to enter sacred space, drawing on Druidic, Kabbalistic & Christian traditions. We will explore the motifs of sacred circle and Tree of Life, through a blend of study and sacred practice, experiencing them through our own bodies and in the body of the church & churchyard. From Christian tradition we will also explore mystical approaches to entering church as sacred space and sabbath time through practices of embodying the sign of the cross and blessing ourselves with holy water. Please bring some of your own local, ‘living water’ (collected from a spring, stream or suchlike) for us to bless together.
Middle of the day: We pray the Angelus at around 12.30 together (optional) – an ancient Christian devotional to Mother Mary (through our Wild Church version, featuring gender inclusive language) and then share lunch from 1-2pm. Soup, bread & hot drinks will be provided. Please bring extras to help create a feast! This is always a highlight in the day and, weather permitting, we can sit outside around our campfire.
Afternoon: After lunch, from 2pm, we enter a quieter and spacious afternoon together. A few reflections will be shared to invite us into contemplative of the harvest season, as we experience this in both outer and inner nature. Then much of the time will be given to silent space for meditation, journalling, sketching and you are free to wander and be wherever you feel drawn, within the beautiful church or outside in the peaceful churchyard with its many, lovely old trees. There will be the option to share reflections from 3.30pm over a cuppa, before we co-create a harvest altar and share a quiet, simple, wild communion at 5pm. We will conclude at around 5.30pm.