I am definitely beginning to develop an interest in Celtic Christianity.
While I was at The Wild Goose Festival I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Kenneth McIntosh. He is an engaging person and the author of Water From an Ancient Well: Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life. Click on the image below and you can get ordering information for the book.
Kenneth gave me a copy of this book to take home with me and I must admit that it couldn’t have come into my hands at a better time in my life. There I was…at a festival named after the Celtic symbol for the Holy Spirit, among the trees and fields of God’s natural cathedral, practicing hospitality and community, experiencing the “thin place” that was Shakori Hills for me during the four days of the festival. Thank you, Cathleen Falsani, for the time you took to tell us the meaning of anamchara, the Celtic word meaning “soul friend”. How fitting that Kenneth’s book is published by Anamchara Books.
If some of these words and symbols are new to you (as they were to me), get yourself a copy of Kenneth’s book and come to Wild Goose next year and experience the wonder, the mystery, the koinonia.
I am a Presbyterian minister, so the Celtic Cross has a rather special meaning for me and a special place in my life. But the symbol of the Celtic Cross goes back in time much further than John Knox and the Scottish Reformation. It goes back to the days of St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Columba, St. Cuthbert, and even draws from the traditions of the desert Ammas and Abbas of Egypt. It is a symbol rich, deeply wealthy in meaning and tradition.
And I am becoming more and more fascinated by it.
This is my third post in a series about the 10 most important things I experienced at the Wild Goose Festival.
The number 3 is a very special number in Celtic Christianity, a tradition that is heavily ensconced in Trinitarian thought and practice.
There are 7 more posts to go, 7 posts to write and share with you over the next week.
7 is another special number…it’s divine.
Take my advice…follow the Goose, wherever she leads you.
Not so much as serious numerology as simply playing with the number of remaining entries a bit…though 7 is considered to be a divine number. Seven candlesticks, seven seals, trumpets, bowls in Revelation, seven days of creation, etc.
F14TRex, It’s not that the Celtic Christians were hung up on symbols. It’s that they found God revealed in creation as well as scripture, so the natural order helps us draw closer to God. It also freed them to weave the arts, mystery, story, – in short, the intuitive and what has to be experienced rather than analyzed – into their way of faith. It’s a good antidote to our Western tendency to want to nail God into creedal boxes, then fight about them.
Great to read this, ken(nith) put the link on my facebook page. I work for the community of aidan and hilda, which ken also belongs to, a celtic christian community. I work as ‘explorer guide’, helping the members impliment our way of life, based on celtic christian spirituality, into their everyday lives. I pray this expression of the christian faith will enthuse you and enrich your walk with God as much as it has mine over the years.
July 6, 2012 at 2:58 am
Sounds like it puts too heavy an importance on symbolism
July 6, 2012 at 3:33 am
How do you mean? As compared to what? Let’s discuss…
July 6, 2012 at 3:36 am
Actually, reading back, I think I misinterpreted it the first time around. From what I gather, it’s basically Christianity, but with a Celtic twist.
Maybe the part I got hung up on was 7 being a divine number. What’s that about?
July 6, 2012 at 3:40 am
Not so much as serious numerology as simply playing with the number of remaining entries a bit…though 7 is considered to be a divine number. Seven candlesticks, seven seals, trumpets, bowls in Revelation, seven days of creation, etc.
July 6, 2012 at 3:46 am
Gotcha. Hey, thanks for the follow!
July 6, 2012 at 4:11 am
Be blessed!
July 6, 2012 at 2:18 pm
F14TRex, It’s not that the Celtic Christians were hung up on symbols. It’s that they found God revealed in creation as well as scripture, so the natural order helps us draw closer to God. It also freed them to weave the arts, mystery, story, – in short, the intuitive and what has to be experienced rather than analyzed – into their way of faith. It’s a good antidote to our Western tendency to want to nail God into creedal boxes, then fight about them.
July 6, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Great to read this, ken(nith) put the link on my facebook page. I work for the community of aidan and hilda, which ken also belongs to, a celtic christian community. I work as ‘explorer guide’, helping the members impliment our way of life, based on celtic christian spirituality, into their everyday lives. I pray this expression of the christian faith will enthuse you and enrich your walk with God as much as it has mine over the years.
July 6, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Thank you, be blessed, David!