Dancing Lutherans and Poor Clare Nuns

Dancers from the Lutheran Diocese of Karlstad in Sweden were looking for a monastic community that uses dance in worship to round off their visit to other choreographers in the UK. It mattered enough to their Bishop, Sören Dalevi, to sponsor a group of over thirty dancers, including several clergy to make the tour. They were all ladies except their choreographer, Father Hans Kvarnström.

It is the Year of the Reformation and, while the Catholic Church supports any one who wants to pray by dance: 'The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of devotion such as … pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary …' (CCC 1674-1675) one might, possibly, fail to find similar support from the writings of Luther.

The sisters shared their very simple beginnings with sets of three dancers in a circle and short fixed sequences: the the responses of psalms and free interpretation on the music of the verses, to elements of ballet and Tai Chi. Our guests shared with us part of an exquisite set of dances from 'Your Lucent Shadow' a sequence of poems which they used to surround their celebration of the Eucharist. The texts and music are by Maria Huthén Birkland and Kristina Ssandgren Furberg.

The day was a unique and unforgettable gift to all of us. If we pray for the healing of divisions in the Christian Church and only look back to stitching together statements, however valuable, on theological differences, nothing will really change. But if we are involved in creating something new together we will have a united future.

It is creating things that makes strangers and pilgrims into family. That is how cloistered, multicultural communities like the little sisters of Ty Mam Duw heal the divisions of the fragmented world.

Our first contact with our dancing friends was through Ami Nordström, who wrote: Thank you so much for having us! We were all really thankful and blessed to spend the day with you! To dance and share and praise and pray together, isn't that a true blessing from our God?

They sang us a blessing in Swedish, we sang one in English, they conveyed to us the loving blessing of Bishop Sören - and we all bowed our heads and made the sign of the cross!

Incidentally, Saturday October 28 11am-1pm is the Poor Clare Colettines annual Sale of Work. Ty Mam Duw, Aston Hall Lane, Hawarden, CH5 3EN

You can see the choreography at Dansmässan Din ljusa skugga (Universitetskyrkan Karlstad) here on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPLmYvg0eYM . (Father Hans is the gentleman with the plaited beard!)

Watch the Sisters' Sale of Work video here: www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=d7oB0rE2Cv0