A Quiet Day at Ramsey, Cambridgeshire was held on 1st October, and the readings and contemplative activities reflected the theme. The day opened and closed with meditation. A large tray of wild nuts, seeds and seedheads was placed centrally.
Silence was held throughout, apart from the lunch break.
In the free time, options were given to spend time with a poem, a picture, delicious smelling windfall quinces, or simply enjoy the garden. The garden has a small labyrinth, but for the Gathering a spiral was laid out on the gravel car park using cord.
The idea for a joint Quiet day grew out of a discussion with Hannah Stone, who facilitates one of the Cambridge meditation groups. Members of the Ramsey meditation group and people from the local area were working together to transform the church garden into a wildlife-friendly Quiet Garden for the town, and Hannah Stone was curious to see how the garden had developed.
We invited meditators from the WCCM groups in Cambridge and Ramsey, regular attendees at quiet mornings run by the Ramsey Quiet Garden team, and members of a Julian Group who meet near Peterborough. Fourteen people attended, either for part or the whole of the day.
Everyone appreciated the deep sense of peace and stillness, both in the church and the garden. There was quite a bit of preparation work involved in organising the day, but it was well worth it. Feedback from the day included:
“I enjoyed the sharing times, seeing the variety of responses and the way we supported each other, especially in our discussion near the end.”
“I got a lot out of it, although I’m really tired today! Looking forward to the next one!”
Eilish Storey
Area Team Member Norfolk & Cambridgeshire