I VERY MUCH ENJOYED a brief visit to the marvellously reordered, Grade 1 listed, St Bartholomew’s Wilmslow today, where I was much taken with a simple but very, very striking representation of Jesus in the Wilderness – in a quiet corner of the Church. There’s such a great deal to be contemplated in the idea, the spiritual metaphor for us, of wilderness - a place where we come face to face with the reality, the depths, of our physical and spiritual selves. I often return to the definition of wilderness found in several dictionaries as “a place that hasn’t been interfered with by humankind”. Wilmslow’s Wilderness provides much needed pause for thought in a sometimes too busy world, sacred or secular. Guess which neighbouring parish church might be discovering a little wilderness next year? ;)
