Impressions from

Bedford and Luton Councils of Faith

Open day for the Faith Woodland Project

Maulden Woods, Clophill, Bedfordshire

Sunday 30th March 2008

Sunday was forecast to be clear and dry after a week of revisiting winter (with snow the previous Sunday!)

Paula and her two young girls and I set off loaded with picnic gear for the two hour drive armed with the postcode and multimap directions, and that slight apprehension that we would have one of those ‘lost in translation’ experiences as the map fails to describe the location.

As we drove west the sky cleared and the bright spring sun shone and all went well – other than the slightly weird experience of driving along a brand new A428 which was like being in some sort of video game.

We turned south on the A6 and the woods were clearly visible on a hill in the bland flat Bedfordshire countryside – but would we spot the ‘lay-by’ and the gathering point?

WE DID! – and we were there in good time.  Gradually a crowd of participants arrived, and it grew and grew. 

Kevin, who had the inspiration for the project, and who is a keen naturalist, led us the 3/4 mile to the site and stopped us a couple of times to listen and pay attention to the woods, to the bird song, and the fresh-back-from-migration Chiffchaff.

As we walked I was able to make connections with members of the team who had put the project together, and it became clear that a lot of teamwork had gone on behind the scenes to get to this point.

The Luton Council of Faiths, and the Bedford Council of Faiths had worked together with a team from the Forestry Commission over many months – forming a steering group.  The project’s outcome was as much this teamwork as it was the installation on the ground, and it really showed in the quality of friendliness amongst the committee members.

Being in woodland is a naturally spiritual experience, and brings us together through an accessible and shared experience – and walking together to the site provided an easy opportunity to fall into natural conversation.

We soon arrived at the clearing, and saw the three solid wooden seats arranged around an oak, and had our first sighting of the labyrinth – which was constructed very simply as a fence, made out of wooden posts and thin lengths of hazel coppice – all harvested from the woodland.   It was made a bit like this:-

Our first priority was our picnic, and soon the grove was full of picnic rugs and people eating and talking.   I counted about 70 people.  Paula and I had brought a kettle and stove and had the luxury of a cup of tea – we had an extra mug with us and were able to share with Sue the Ranger.  There were several other young children there and they soon made friends with each other and began excitedly exploring the wood round about, bringing back prickly beech nuts and holly berries.

After the picnic we gathered around the oak tree for verses and songs from different faith traditions, then entered the labyrinth for a silent meditative journey to the centre.

The afternoon ended with a session of circle dancing around the oak tree – as we cleared up afterwards we realised that it was 5.30 – we had been out there for over four hours!

We had a smooth journey home with the sun setting gloriously in a clear sky and lighting the landscape in a warm honey glow.

This idea is eminently exportable:-

One of the ironies of the visit was that we found notices that the Forestry Commission was, due to lack of funding, going to have to remove all the waysigns in the wood and cease looking after the paths.  However we were reassured that the signs to the sacred site were to stay.

Jnanamitra

Faiths Officer, East of England Faiths Agency C.IC.