Sanctuary

Well, this morning afternoon I woke up and thought of all your encouraging messages from yesterday, in particular Spartan's positive words, and today has indeed been a better day despite the grey and rain! Thank you all :)

This is the Sanctuary Knocker at Durham Cathedral. In the middle ages criminals could knock on the door and claim sanctuary for thirty-seven days. During this time they could organise their affairs and decide whether to stand trial or flee the country, and the Cathedral staff would protect them. It is actually a replica, but the original is available to view as part of the Treasures of St Cuthbert exhibition.

For those of you of a certain age who may be wondering ... yes, these are indeed the knockers of the famous Simon Groom 'boob' on Blue Peter!

Well, let me try to raise the tone again!

Christopher Forrest McDowell said "Sanctuary, on a personal level, is where we perform the job of taking care of our soul", and in this sense Durham Cathedral continues to provide sanctuary to many thousands of people. Visitors of many nationalities and faiths find it a very spiritual place. Celtic Christians believed that there are places where the sky is 'thin', where one has closer contact with God. A friend once commented to me that Durham Cathedral is such a place, and I know exactly what she means. I certainly sense the years of dedicated prayer of generations of Christians, be they local, visitors or pilgrims to Cuthbert's tomb.

It only occurred to me this evening the significance of the fact that on the way to the Cathedral I stopped for coffee at the Salvation Army drop-in Sanctuary 21 - "a place where you can connect with God, with others and with yourself". They do a wonderful job there, particularly in supporting people who are homeless or in distress. Dawn and Gary and their volunteers are the living embodiment of this passage from the Bible -

'For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'
(Matthew 25:34-40, NLT)