Popular legend suggested that Joseph of Arimathea brought the Gospel to Glastonbury, England along with the Holy Grail. The pervasive popularity of the beloved Arthurian Legends of the Knights of the Round Table, Guinevere and Lancelot and the search for the chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper in story and film speak to the romantic in all of us. (The film Excalibur by Boorman is my personal favorite.)

More likely, Christianity came to the British Isles with traders from the Orthodox East via Gaul (modern day France) in as early as the 2nd century. Sometimes called "Insular Christianity" because of its isolation from the rest of the Roman Empire after the withdrawal of the Romans from England in 401, Celtic Christianity developed a unique flavor quite distinctive from the rest of Western (Latin) Christianity. Even after the decisive Council of Whitby in 664 C.E. in which the Celtic Church recognized formally the primacy of the Latin Church, a Celtic ethos and spirituality continued to resonate in the souls of the peoples of the British Isles.

There are two essential characteristics of this strand of primitive Christianity which bear mentioning. First was an emphasis on God's revelation through intuition and the imagination. Unlike the Roman Church, there was a great valuing of the mystical vision. Second, the Celts saw the world as the transformed image of God and that the whole world was charged with God's goodness and grace – a world created profoundly good. These strands made for an earthy and homey Christian expression in which a mindfulness of God's presence in everyday activities is a key expression. Thus the Celts developed prayers for milking a cow, prayers for washing the face, prayers for nursing a child etc. – any and all activities were opportunities to recognize, acknowledge and praise God for God's grace experienced in everyday life.

Here is a Blessing attributed to Patrick, the Patron of Ireland (389-461 C.E.)

May the strength of God pilot us.
May the power of God preserve us.
May the wisdom of God instruct us.
May the hand of God protect us.
May the way of God direct us.
May the shield of God defend us.
May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.
May Christ be with us,
Christ before us,
Christ in us,
Christ over us.
May your salvation, O Lord,
be always ours this day and forevermore.
Amen.

During our Lenten Series this year, Dr. Peace invited our members to write prayers of their own in the Celtic style. Here are some of them:

Father, Son and Holy Ghost;
be near me as I make my toast.
Grinding coffee, water boils;
guide me through these meager toils.
Grateful for my morning meal;
remind me how my neighbors feel.
Keep me watchful through the day
for what I think, and do, and say.
- by Mary Allen

A Prayer for Term Paper Writing
God in the page;
God in the pen;
Jesus in the questions
and ideas juxtaposed within.
Christ in the writing process;
Christ in the final product;
Lead us, students and teachers alike, to see
who Father, Son and Spirit call us to be.
- by Michael Bell

Eternal God, thou who has made us and thou who will not forsake us.
In whom we live and move around and have our own being.
In whom there is no darkness and from whom we find light for life's journey.
We open our minds and hearts to thee this day.

I thank thee for the world thou has prepared for me as my dwelling place.
I thank thee for letting me see the rising and setting of the sun, seedtime and harvest time, summer and winter.
I am thankful for seeing the beautiful mountains and hearing the mighty roar of the seas.
In this world I see thy handwork and creator of all beauty.
Bless my family.
In thee I live and trust.
- by Marina Bowens

Blessings one and all
Growth and health … no fall
Winter gives its blessing too
Open arms to Spring's view
Christ within this mellow chart
Great and good Deity's heart
Forever within trinity
Father, Son, Spirit unity
Love the one, the All
Growth and health … no fall.
- by Andre Champagne

Bless me in my solitude
Let me not myself delude
To think that what I have is mine
Help me to know that it is thine.

I love thee who created me
I love thee all sustainer be
Blessed Trinity of life
Uphold, embolden my belief.
- by Gretchen Haight

Jesus you who graced the hill,
God creator of all, fulfill.
Spirit blow that windmill 'til
It fills with love my each belief
To soften pain and exile grief
And with your grace protect my life.
- by Peter Haight

Prayer for Washing Dishes
Father, let the water flow
Wash away my sins so low.
Father, let the soap discover
All my errors where they hover.
Wipe me clean, so I may shine
With love and care, thy gifts divine.
- by Sheila Harrington

Bless the laughter of the child;
Bless the yearning of the youth;
Bless the working of the man and of the woman;
Bless the nurturing of the mother and the father;
Bless the dance of all the people circling the earth;
Bless us with the light to see the glory in it all.
- by Judy Peace

Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Bless, inspire, protect and teach

Bless all children in their learning
Father, know their hearts' true yearning

Bless all children in their seeking
Jesus, comfort them their weeping

Bless all children in their quest
Holy Spirit, be their guest

Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Bless, inspire, protect and teach
Bless the children we beseech
- by Ken Phillips