We settled in for Lizzie Kingston-Harrison and Fiona Owen’s theme talk, looking at the tale of St. Francis and the wolf;  I found myself thinking of this cartoon by Kate Beaton.

I wrote down many quotes, including: “The quiet healer who mends broken things”, “Live the life that’s yours, not the one you thought would be yours”, and “Theological Alchemy”. I love Summer School, but it is intense, and my note-taking skills might have been dropping a little this far in. I catch some more gems, though, including “250 years of illuminating the humanity of Jesus”, “We are created to move towards good”, and “The mountain draws energy from the land, but the rest of us need some toast.” Here’s their talk in full:

The Engagement Group continued, beginning with our traditional three-word check in at the start, three words describing our state, and considered the question of where we are on our own spiritual journeys.

With inspiration from Derek Walcott’s poem, ‘Love After Love’, we asked that key question: “What does Unitarianism offer?”, and someone came up with a classic quote, “Obedience is un-Unitarian”. As we put the roof on our house of faith, we carried on the Theme Talk’s topics of cracks, light and healing with an appropriate soundtrack:

Our discussions asked what we have to offer, and what Unitarianism offers the world, although some of us thought of the story of the Englishman who got lost in the Irish countryside, and we added another quote: “I respect your wish for me to go away.” How do we make an offer to people who don’t know how to think about their own spirituality?

I joined the afternoon ‘Wayside Wisdom’ session for the chance to spend some time outdoors. Led by Sheena Gabriel and Rob Oulton, this was an introduction to the practice of shamanic walking, described by one author as:

“The Shamanic Walk Ritual is a type of movement meditation that connects you to your deeper knowing. It can be an effective means of releasing old patterns of behaviour and ushering in new intentions for personal growth and change. As you enjoy the sights and sounds of nature you will also be opening your awareness to messages from your unconscious and Higher Self.”

That’s one description; there are many more, including Street Wisdom – here’s one author’s account of this: Go for a walk – you could discover the meaning of life. Sheena and Rob encouraged us to ‘walk with a question’. This was, for me, perhaps one of the most profound experiences I had whilst at Summer School, and for once I won’t describe it in much detail, though here are some photos I took of what I saw:

Following our Wayside Walk, some of us went for a stroll around Great Hucklow and up to the gliding club. Here’s another song – “Mulch Me” by Hannah Moule and Pink Oyster:

The day rounded off with the close of the Silent Auction, a hilarious Open Mic session hosted by Helen Simpson, and Mel Prideaux’s restful Epilogue service. Open Mic was a highlight of the weekend; alas, I didn’t record Helen’s poem about Summer School, an impromptu group belly dance, flying yarn, nor the live singalong of ‘Sit Down’ by James, but I did take photos of all of them – see below!  

And feel free to sing along yourself! “Sit Down” by James: