This is such a special place for me. The Tate Modern was my place I escaped to when I was a student, it was my happy place. I could escape from all the stress of exams and coursework and deadlines and just immerse myself in the art. Then it came my place of wonder and wondering what was next.
And then when I started dating, it was the place I wanted to take my beloved. I knew this was the place we’d come on our first proper date. And so, in the upper restaurant, I wanted one of the window seats and we watched the sunset over London. St Paul’s Cathedral, shone with all that delight. St Paul’s Cathedral is also a special place in my heart. I grew up knowing that it was a place connected to my Great Uncle. But also it was going to be a place connected to me.
I didn’t know that my route and journey was going to include ordination. Now, I didn’t actually get ordained in London, but it was looking out at St Paul’s Cathedral that I knew that God was calling me to ordination. And so, looking out at St Paul’s from the Tate Modern always holds that special place. Every time I return to the Tate Modern I remember that calling. I remember those, oh I can’t run away from this, there is something deep within me.
My journey ultimately led us to move to the United States for a time and then I became ill again with M.E. In late 2021 we returned to England, and since then I have not been able to return to London and to see St Paul’s.
I imagine sitting in the Tate Modern, I can smell the food, the clattering of the tea cups. But it’s the sunset over London and the spotlights turning on and shining at the cathedral and remembering God calling me, and that sense of vocation that is still deep within my soul.
