From Volume 7, Number 2, Autumn 2000

What can the Celtic Christians Say to us Today

Radical Gospel Attitudes

A: Spirit Awareness Instead of Programs
The more that I have read  the stories of the Celtic saints, the more I have been challenged by their  sensitivity to the leading of God. Related to their openness to hear God speak  and see God act  in and through anyone, was also a deep sense of confidence in  the leading of God. This made them free to respond in an uninhibited way to  situations and God's leading in them.  We sometimes seem to have lost this  ability to trust the leading of God and followed the fashion for programs, goals  and targets which create barriers to creative faith living.  This does not stop  a seeking of a vision for the future.

Application: Creating an ethos where space is given to listening for  God's leading, by all members of the church community through all their  senses.

B: "Whole Person" Spirituality
So much of our attitudes and  underlying strategies are based on the experience of division. The Celtic Way  was one of "unity." This involved perceiving the created world as a whole.  The  nature of a person's life was a journey with spiritual and physical dimensions.  The interplay of the life of faith and that of happening, and the life of the  past (where they had come from) with that of the present (who they were now),  were all interrelated.  This engendered a proper respect for all the created  world and a sense of being part of a "cosmic orchestra."  Spirituality was one  with every part of life and the natural world.

Application: Expressing this in liturgy and teaching and practicing it  in decision-making in the church.

C: Simplicity in Style and Sensitive Use of Resources
The Celtic  church was marked by its simplicity of living and approach to faith.  This did  not mean that either were superficial or uninteresting; rather its life flowed  out of a harmony with the natural world without pretense or show. Devotion to  God was seen in the quality of relationship to all things and not in elaborate  buildings, or complex structures.  There was a general approach of the  non-permanence of buildings which were constructed of what was at hand.  Much  has since been wasted by transporting from elsewhere the resources required both  for buildings and manpower.

Application: Formulating a parish policy for simplicity of lifestyle  and using what is locally available.

D: Ministry of Spiritual Protection
The prayers of the Celtic  church contained a number that reveal a strong awareness of the power of evil.   The old incantations against the unseen powers were adapted into prayers for  protection. Our rationalistic society has robbed people of the ability to  recognize these powers in their lives and left them unable to defend  themselves.  The Celtic church knew how to use this protection for themselves,  others and the community as a whole.  This went hand in hand with the ministry  of "healing of the land" by which, through prayer and fasting, a place would be  made safe from any negativity, so that people might live and worship there in  harmony and freedom.

Application: Giving time for a ministry of healing in the life of the  church and encouraging the use of protection prayers in daily life.

Summary

The features listed above may already be part of the life of the local  church, but seeing them as part of a cohesive model can help to give a clarity  and freshness of vision. Whatever the churchmanship of the community the above  can be applied, with care and sensitivity. They can provide a model for  development, which any church community looking for vision for the future,  without attempting too much change all at once, can use to respond to the  changing needs and culture of the society in which we live.

The Rev'd Adrian Leighton. The Rectory. Holbrook Suffolk. 1998

Reprinted from The Aidan Way, the magazine of the Community  of Aidan and Hilda, November 1999, issue No. 20