Sue McMullen

A Priest described life as a Journey through a Wilderness, with an occasional oasis, where we could rest and refresh, but then we had to move on. In Northumberland, I encountered The Franciscan Brothers and some priests with whom I found acceptance. Thus churches came to represent a spiritual home. “God became to me a place, both within and without. I began to accept the cross of myself as someone, as a burden I have always had since childhood. The cross of difference, or being outside, is always other. I am free to take it on Kathleen Norri’s “The Cloister Walk”. A solitary person became part of a Community.

I have lived and worked in  London, Salisbury, Newcastle, and settled in York. In the North East, I was introduced to the awe-inspiring Pugin’s Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, St. Cuthbert’s College, Ushaw, Durham. I was in a world of beauty and Mystery, with soaring turrets directing one’s gaze to heaven, Gothic windows, gargoyles, elaborate stone carvings, and intricate brick patterns. Gargoyles are an integral part of the design of older churches.
It is the architecture, colours, light and dark, mythology, philosophy, spirituality, and the exquisite varied work that has gone into creating churches that inspire.

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