Spirituality for all

Revd Gary van Heerden, Chaplain

With religion in the western world in decline, it is worth revisiting our religious heritage here at Scotch. Established as a college of the Presbyterian Church (and then becoming a Uniting Church school when the Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists merged in 1977), religious principles have always informed our endeavours, but the theology underpinning this religion is a robust, earthy spirituality. At the opening of our chapel in 1968, then chaplain Rev. EH Blackman referred to this spirituality as ‘a happy blend of the sacred and the secular’. Our brand of spirituality has always veered away from religiosity. Instead of teaching Religious Education as a timetabled subject, for example, we aim to take the traditional subject based RE construct and bring it to life through our Celtic DNA. Chapels, assemblies, ceremonies and service-learning activities provide the context for ‘religious education’. Tapping into our Celtic heritage will clarify this.

Johannes Scotus Eriugena (815-877), arguably the greatest Celtic theologian, taught that Christ moves among us in ‘two shoes’ as it were – one shoe being that of creation and the other that of scripture. Eriugena believed that God is in all things as everything is full of God’s essence. One is therefore just as likely to encounter God on an early morning beach walk, while enjoying a sunset, or jogging through Bold Park, as one is while praying or during a chapel service. This presence of God in everything undermines the distinction between ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ activities. Whatever we are engaged in, we are embraced on all sides by the divine Being. Long misunderstood, Eriugena’s theology was condemned as ‘pantheism’ (all is God), but is now celebrated for its ‘panentheist’ view of God’s nature (all in God), which goes far beyond mere ‘theism’ (God is up there, beyond all things down here), to affirm that God is both immanently within and transcendentally beyond all beings.

The decline of religion in the western world should not be interpreted as a decline in interest in spirituality. The burgeoning meditation, mindfulness and wellbeing fields are evidence to the contrary. Instead, the decline reflects a growing uninterested in outdated religious doctrines, dogmas, rituals and structures. Celtic spirituality offers a form of spirituality which is accessible to everyone.

The Celtic notion of a ‘thin place’ (a location or moment where the boundary between the physical world and the spiritual world is believed to be particularly thin or permeable) means that bumping into God is a daily possibility. In a world infused with God’s presence, nothing is too trivial to be sanctified by prayer and blessing. This sense of the importance of the little things parallels the Celts’ identification with the little people, the marginalised and the oppressed. The sanctity of ordinary, everyday tasks, meeting Christ in every person we bump into, enables us to encounter the Divine without being religious. As you face each new day, be as alert and attentive to Christ moving among us in creation, in those around us, as we are to the voice of God in Scripture.

Undermining the ‘religious/secular’ binary allows everyone access to a spirituality which can embrace life’s burdens and beautiful moments. As Chaplain, I search for new words, images and metaphors to deconstruct spirituality and to make it more accessible. Kirk@scotch is an initiative that seeks to make this spirituality available to the wider community. It is a 30-minute meditative service at 5pm on the first and third Saturday of every month in term time. Chants are led by choristers from Scotch and PLC. If you are interested and would like to experience a service with a difference, please join us. For more information, contact Rev Gary at gary.vanheerden@scotch.wa.edu.au