On Vision, Sacrament and Connecting with The Ancestors

In Jung's Red Book which was published 50 years after his death, Jung emphasises the need to connect with our universal ancestors. It is a part of our culture that over millennia has been banked down. To get a taste of what a ceremonial connection to the ancestors might feel like there are shamanic ceremonies in Mexico where mummies are literally brought out on show. 

The Red Book

The German sinologist Richard Wilhelm in his lectures on the I Ching suggests that we can connect with the dead though the humanities. I remember when I read this, I was singing in China. I was also heavily into playing and singing the lute songs of John Dowland. Wilhelm's logic allowed me to find a timeless connection that was not constricted by the limitations of physical life. Therefore, I discovered that works left by the dead can take the form of a sacrament which delivers wonder, joy and inspiration to the recipient.

Lancing Chapel

Last weekend I visited Lancing Chapel which is situated on a prominent position in the South Downs near Brighton. It is really a cathedral but with its modern construction it has a lighter feel than a cathedral and there is significantly less paraphernalia cluttered within. I have been visiting this chapel all my life because my father attended Lancing college as a boy and his great grandfather, my great great grandfather, Nathaniel Woodard is the man who had the vision to create the chapel. 150 years later the service that I attended was to celebrate its completion. The insight I glean from this slow manifestation is that the gift is that because Woodard didn't have the resources to complete the chapel, others had to step in and make it happen or not. This then allowed his artistic vision to become universally owned and appreciated. As a result the work is a living sacrament to be cherished by all.

Lancing Chapel looking towards the altar from the organ loft 

The interior of Lancing Chapel is so utterly gorgeous that if like me you adore all things gothic, it appears to create an idea of what an orderly part of heaven could feel like. It also reminds me of my obsession with Mormon temples which have heaven rooms attached to them, these are only accessible to paid up members. Lancing chapel is conceived as a sacramental space. It is Woodard's out-of-the box vision which otherwise was concerned with providing good education for the economically dis-advantaged through the Woodard Schools network.

Lancing chapel looking toward the organ and rose window

Personally this service was a monumental occasion, But it was also tinged with a question as to why my side of the Woodard family had not been involved in the completion of the chapel. Speculation is a dangerous thing, but I think I have an inkling. The inheritors of the project were men and my linage comes through my grandmother Audrey, Elizabeth who is mentioned at the very end of the text in Woodard's tomb as having married Sir John Otter. Perhaps as in so many areas, women were not the inheritors 150 years ago. Luckily times are changing.

Nathaniel Woodard in Lancing Chapel 

Returning to the theme of vision, sacrament and connecting with the ancestors. I feel that my trip to Lancing Chapel furnished my imagination with a sense of excitement for creating the extraordinary. It does not matter so much to me or anyone else that I am a blood relative. Instead it is connecting with  Woodard's vision of creating a building solely to inspire that resonates with composing a symphony or writing an iconic novel. 

Many thanks to Bernard Barker my cousin, also a great great grandson of Nathaniel Woodard for his photos.