Poetic Pathways into Prayer

On entering the church, please take a seat.
John Milton (1608-1674) the poet, although more connected with St Giles Cripplegate, for a time lived in this parish. In 1647 he brought his daughter Mary to be baptized in the second church on this site. For Milton baptism into the Christian faith gave visible expression to one's entry into the grace of God which he outlined in Paradise Regained, the restoration to that state of well-being from the chaos of the fall, which he had written of in Paradise Lost. Milton wrote of Christ's nativity, 'But peaceful was the night, Wherein the prince of light, His reign of peace, Upon this earth began'.

What might it mean for yourself and for others if you accepted Jesus Christ's offer of peace and forgiveness?

Proceed to the left-hand side of the church and sit half- way down.

When we acknowledge Jesus' claims about himself and when we decide to follow Him, we find that our lives become renewed and we see others and the world around us in a different light. 'He gave us the eternal spring, which here enamels everything'. So wrote John Milton's associate and secretary, the poet Andrew Marvell (1621-1678). He lived a few streets away from the church, and it was here that he was buried in 1678. The tablet to his memory is to be found on the north wall to your left.

Spend some moments giving thanks for the wonder of God's creation and re-creation, as well as those things which we so often take for granted, pondering Marvell's words: 'Oh let our voice His praise exalt, Till it arrive at Heaven's Vault'.

Notice the cream coloured pulpit on your left.

This is the pulpit from which John and Charles Wesley often preached at West Street Chapel. When the chapel was closed what remained of the pulpit was brought here. Although hardly ever remembered for his poetry, Charles Wesley (1707-1788) wrote over six thousand Christian poems, many of which were put to music as hymns and carols. These include some of our most popular such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Love Divine All Loves Excelling and Jesus Lover of My Soul. Thanks to the Christian missionary endeavour, these hymns have become woven into the fabric and identity of different countries. They have often become the means by which people have celebrated major landmarks in their journey of life.

Think back over your journey, its landmarks, the high times and low times, and ponder what you have learned about yourself and others.

Behind the model of the church notice the large block of stone, formerly a Roman monument.

This is the monument to the poet George Chapman (1559-1634), which was previously outside in the churchyard where he was buried. He was the first person to translate the works of Homer into English. The monument has been weathered by long-exposure to the elements.

Take time to contemplate your own mortality and the precious gift of life, and the need to be responsible for our use of time. We take much for granted and miss many of life's opportunities. We all experience the fragility and vulnerability of life but often don't learn from them.

Let us consider this, and our own need to face the realities of existence, reflecting upon the words of Chapman in that 'There's no danger to a man that knows what life and death is'.

Move now to the right-hand side of the church and take a seat.
Near to the lectern on the right hand side lies buried Chapman's contemporary Edward Herbert of Chirbury (1582-1648), whose monument survives beneath in the crypt of the church. He was ambassador to France and a poet in his own right although not as well known as his brother, the cleric George Herbert. He did not share the Christian assurance of the faith that his brother possessed, but nevertheless believed in the existence of God, and that God had established basic principles in all human beings by which they should live. Many of his poems deal with human love, and its variability. In his 'Ode upon a question moved whether Love should continue for ever?', he pictures a world needing the return of its Creator to put it to right, a world 'strew'd with flow'rs for the return of the wish'd Bridegroom of the earth'.

You might like to pray for the coming of God's kingdom of love upon earth as it is in heaven.

Next sit near the font at the back of the right-hand aisle.

In 1818 in this font were baptized William and Clara, children of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) on the same day as Clara Allegra, the daughter of Lord Byron (1788-1824). Both Shelley and Byron wrestled with questions which only a Christian faith could resolve. Both recognized that however often Jesus' followers might betray His message, the witness of His own life and actions remains compelling. In Hellas, Shelley wrote of how the self-sacrifice of Jesus had influenced the course of human history and placed it within its divine context: 'While blazon'd as on heaven's immortal noon, The cross leads generations on'. Byron similarly saw something powerful in the message of Christ, while reacting against religious hypocrisy. He said that 'if I ever become a Christian, I would not be a luke-warm one'.

There are many like Shelley and Byron who are searching, and who have questions to which they have not found the answers, but who feel drawn to find out more about the person of Jesus Christ. Ponder what questions you carry with you today, and how the Christian message might help to address them.

Look now towards the communion-table facing you in the right-side aisle.
'God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame'. So wrote Elizabeth Barret (1806-1861) echoing perhaps the words of St Paul that 'no eye has seen, no ear has heard what God has prepared for those who love Him'. While we hang on to desperate remedies, God wants to open before us the never ending treasury of abundant life. We play in a pool of water forgetting that the ocean lies beyond. In 1845, it was before the communion table (previously in St Marylebone Church) which you can see in the south aisle that she married Robert Browning (1812-1889) a wedding which constituted a triumph of love over so many obstacles. Reflecting upon the way in which God operates in His world, her husband wrote that 'God is the perfect poet'.

If God were to draw upon the empty pages of your book, what might be the results? Allowing God to take control may appear threatening, but contemplate what would be the benefits of allowing God to compose your life in ways that would be best for you and for others? Who can say that they are in control of their life anyway? How do you read others and how do they read you? Is it perfect poetry or not? What lasts…and for eternity?

Whilst you are in the area you might like to visit the Poetry Café which is situated within the parish in Betterton Street, and which is also the base for the Poetry Society. Website: www.poetrysociety.org.uk