6Barnabas2009

{Sacred Space Sacred Place

The pilgrimage was performed in the school with a trail that was symbolically rich for pupils to follow. There were twenty-one sites around the school – both inside and outside of which the following are examples:

Icthus – Ancient Greek word for fish. Used by early persecuted Christians as a secret symbol of identification. Also, “Jesus calls Simon and his brother Andrew ‘Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men’ and immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mark 1, 16-18)

Lily – associated with Mary, Mother of Jesus.

Vines - “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.”

Jesus claims to be the source of joy. (John 15, 1-6) Jesus changes water into wine (Cana of Galilee). Wine at last supper. (John 2, 1-12)

Bread and Wine – Jesus’ words “This is my body, this is my blood” at last supper – used in Holy Communion.

St. Francis of Assisi – from Italy in the early 12th century. Gave away riches to become poor. Patron saint of ecology and lover of animals. (Luke 22, 54-62)

Olive tree – Good Samaritan (oil soothes) (Luke 10, 25-37); Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane (means oil press) – Jesus prayed there before arrest and trial (Luke 22, 35-53). Psalm 23 ‘You have anointed my head with oil and my cup shall be full.’ Noah’s Ark – dove brings back symbol of God’s forgiveness – twig of olive. (Genesis 6)

Fig tree – Figs are used as a sign of peace and prosperity ‘each man under his own vine and fig tree’, (1 Kings 4, 2-5). Jesus and the withered fig tree, (Mark 11, 12-14, 20-24, Matthew 21, 18-22). Symbol of divine healing – plaster of figs on Hezekiah’s wounds. (2 Kings 20 and Isaiah 38, 10-20)

The school pilgrimage was put in the context of pilgrimages in a variety of religious traditions:

Our scheme identifies places of pilgrimage under the unit World Religions.

BishopCornishSchoolJourney of Discovery – a simple pilgrimage

Why pilgrimage? A pilgrimage is a journey which people make because of their religion/belief to a sacred or special place where people have become aware of the presence of God.

The schools places of pilgrimage

It doesn’t have to complex to be profound

{Sacred Space Sacred PlaceA partnership between Churches Together in Cornwall and Cornwall SACRE �

Some Christian Pilgrimages: to Rome; Gethsemane; Assisi, Italy (St. Francis); Santiago de Compostella, Spain (St. James); Taizé; Iona; Lourdes; Fatima; Glastonbury; Canterbury; Walsingham; Oberammergau (every 10 years); Cathedrals around the country. Jesus’ journey in Holy Week – Palm Sunday to Easter (compare Passion Play).

Some Jewish Pilgrimages: repeated cycles of exile, also tombs of King David, and Nazi death camps. Jerusalem – holiest site – Western wall; Masada, Yad Vashem (holocaust memorial).

Some Hindu Pilgrimages: Seven Sacred Cities – Varanasi, Hardwar, Mathura, Ajodhya, Ujjain, Dwarka and Kanchipurum. Varanasi is the holiest of the seven tirthas, on banks of River Ganges in northern India. Kumbah Mela Fair, city of Allahabad (every 12 years).

Some Islamic Pilgrimages: Muslims try to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca once during their lifetime. Also Arafat, Muzdalifah, Medina, Jerusalem.

Pilgrims walk seven times around the Ka’bah, the sacred building at the heart of the main mosque.

Some Buddhist Pilgrimages: Buddhist pilgrims go to places where the Buddha lived or taught, or visit stupas where some of the Buddha’s ashes were buried. They believe that going to these places will help them gain Enlightenment.

By doing this we contextualized pupils experience within the context of a wider human experience.

How did the project promote spiritual development?As a result we hoped to promote spiritual development for pupils through our theological vision for them. Their encounter with God in the context of the school day is through a daily act of collective worship, through the love we all receive and give, and through the teachings of the Gospels on how we deal with each other, i.e. love for God and love for our neighbours. Obviously it is not easy to measure that development and it will be different for all pupils but the opportunity for lived reflection is significant in our context. Of course this also changes the nature of the school as a place which lends itself to the sacred and therefore pupils may use their memories to further reflect when they find themselves in a specific place associated with one of the symbols.

Pupils follow the symbolically rich trail

u Woodcut of a Pilgrimage, Circa 1490