Holy Personal

From a chapel made of tires in Alabama to one fashioned from wine casks in California, all these creations invite Chester to ponder many questions, among them: what spitiual path leads someone to create a private place of worship; does such a space conflict with more public worship; and, why do artists so often feel moved to explore their spirituality. As Laura Chester says, 'Holy Personal ...bears witness to a yearning for religious privacy, a deep desire to create for oneself a holy chamber, a place where creative expression joins hands with devotion'. Included in the book is a visitor's guide to selected worship spots. In his Foreword Thomas Moore writes, 'When we are seized by the spirit, we may be tempted toward grandiosity. We may become inflated, believing that we know and possess the truth'. But here in the world of the holy personal, ordinary people enter the mysteries of the microcosm.One of the charms of the private chapel is its small scale, which can transport one back to 'spiritual childhood'. In fact, the smaller the space, the more the imagination is engaged.
The idea for this book came unexpectedly, almost like being surprised by love when you are not seeking it out. As with love, I had to follow, see where this pilgrimage would take me, moving from one small sanctuary to the next, from one radiant story onward, connecting me to these small bird nests of worship and to the wonderful spirited people who had built them.Many questions are addressed throughout these chapters, where temples, chapels, stupas, and shrines are explored: what spiritual path leads an individual to want to create a private place of worship; does such a space conflict with or supplement worship in a more public sense; how might a priest, rabbi, or minister react to a place of worship that is so individual; does a private space nurture a marriage at a deeper level; and, why do artists often have an impulse to explore the spiritual arts.This book is filled with diversity, because it is an American story. It furthers the idea of honouring our differences, while being mindful of our oneness.
Though we may not have to create our own secret chapels out of a sense of persecution anymore, there is still a yearning for religious privacy, a deep desire to create for oneself a holy chamber, a place where creative expression joins hands with devotion. We need a place devoted to tranquillity in a world that is always pushing us outward. Moore concludes, 'Laura's book represents the best way of doing theology - keeping it relentlessly human and thoroughly concrete...The ultimate effect of a worthy spiritual life would be beautiful lives in a beautiful world. This beautiful book is an excellent start'.