The Sanctuary Bells

Submitted by The Rev. Ross Downes on Tuesday September 21 2021.

The content of this post may not necessarily reflect the policies, theologies or opinions of St Peter's Anglican Church, Palmerston North.

The Sanctuary Bells

A soul stirring event took place in Nelson on Monday the 20th of September.

The bells of Nelson Cathedral rang out over the City to announce the arrival of the Godwits. Their marathon flight from Alaska, to various places in New Zealand was over, they had arrived. Just for good measure, as I heard it, the bell ringers rang the changes.

Not only was I deeply moved by this event, I found myself being transported back in time, to a series of events that took place more than sixty years ago.

I was living in the Feilden Taylor Hostel; a hall of residence owned and run by the Wellington City Mission. Attached to the mission, was St. Martin’s Chapel There as a new convert to Anglicanism, I sat at the feet of two Clerics, soaking up their teaching. Little by little, I was drawn into a mystical spirituality that would change my life forever.

Central to their teaching, was the idea that if you could fully describe a spiritual event in finite terms, then it would not be God that you were describing. They also taught me their approach to traditional behaviour in the Church. I learned the difference between tradition and doctrine... Read more...

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