The Kirkstall Abbey Labyrinth
From: Revd Jude Smith
“Amazing, thank you so much. I have come back to Jesus.” Those words were written on a post-it note, one of the ways in which we invited feedback on the Holy Week labyrinth experience in Kirkstall Abbey. We built the labyrinth out of dead twigs and through the week people had added flowers, blossoms and leaves. Some had come intentionally but many had just discovered the path and had a go. Over the Easter weekend hundreds of people walked the path: visitors from Japan, France, Liverpool, Surrey . . .
By Easter Sunday the path was alive with colour, representing hope, fear, love, fun, adventure and who knows what else.
The week has left me with a number of reflections. First, people are willing to give something a go, just because it’s there. Second, we don’t get to control how people respond: we simply offer something and people engage as they can. Third: when we had a cross in the middle of the path people flocked to it, and engaged with it - kneeling, hugging, praying. And, finally, when the wind blew the path, people put it right.
My prayer had been that what was happening in the Abbey would be reflected in the life of Leeds’ churches, and so in my own church and others I pray that we might find people willing to have a go, that we will create space without control, that we might find the cross at the centre and that we might know the joy of people making it work even when it’s not perfect.
Jewishness, Jesus and Junk Food!
From Revd Heston Groenwald, All Hallows Leeds
On Maundy Thursday, about 50 of us gathered for a Passover meal, led by our Jewish friend David Winston (and me as his sidekick). The ancient liturgy and symbols helped us to understand more deeply the ‘past’ of our Christian faith, and also the ‘present’ message of freedom and hope it offers in our modern world - especially poignant as we were sharing the meal with several asylum-
seeking friends.
Then we had a (partly-kosher!) dinner courtesy of our Junk Food Café; learned about wudhu (ritual washing before Muslim worship) from our friend Adam; and then we read John 13, said our prayers and washed each other's feet.