Sacred Space
Most of us at various times in our days need a bit of peace and quiet.
We also need opportunities to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life as well; to find a bit of space, space in which we can reflect, meditate, pray or just to ‘sit and be’.
The Scottish Episcopal Church is blessed with many places in which this ‘quiet space’ can be found. Our church buildings and our gardens offer sanctuary and an oasis of calm to anyone who may seek it.
Many of our buildings are open during the day and if not there are often ‘wayside chapels’ in porches and benches in the gardens where one can find sanctuary in the midst of a busy day.
Some of our churches and gardens offer ‘food for thought’ or aids to prayer – objects or texts that can lead one into contemplation; contemplation of on your life and of the divine as well.
When you are able to take a bit of time to create a sanctuary space you can often leave it feeling refreshed and renewed, with your head cleared and your thoughts organised.
‘Sacred space’ which this becomes is re-energising for both the body and the soul.
Sacred space in common language is a ‘chill out zone’ and these zones become ‘sacred’ or special by the way we use them; be it for prayer or by creating an opportunity to gather our thoughts.
When we create such places for ‘time out’ and relax into them God can come close to us and we can hear that ‘still small voice of calm’ that so many of us seek.
Why not try exploring the ‘sacred space’ offered by your local Episcopal church?
Or try the simple Celtic approach of drawing a circle around yourself, in the air, with the intention of making your immediate space sacred, then relax into that sanctuary and spend some quality time with God and yourself.
Create around me God,
a place of stillness and of peace;
a place where I might find the time
to reflect and relax;
a place where I might hear your
still small voice;
a place where I might be renewed.
Amen.
