Church of St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol

Bristol’s Church of St Mary Redcliffe is one of the most impressive in the country. Parsimonious Simon Jenkins awards it a full five stars, while the great Professor Pevsner pronounced “St Mary Redcliffe need not fear comparison with any other English parish church". Little wonder that visitors sometimes mistake it for the city’s cathedral.

It is fair to describe its architecture and decoration as ‘busy’; fussy, even. Every wall, every crevice, every aspect appears to be highly carved, highly decorated, highly managed. The time and trouble taken to make this structure so visually impressive must have been immense.

On the one piece of plain wall I was able to find, high up, the sunshine was beautifully illuminating it it through the windows on the opposite side, so even that was adorned and bedecked at certain times of day and year.

My home operates under similar principles, albeit on a smaller scale. On every wall hangs a picture, on every shelf sits a dozen books and a couple of ornaments. All very interesting, all very curious…but sometimes I long for that which is plain and simple. Minimalism is rather refreshing when one lives among clutter and detritus. Man-made religion creates gaudy temples, cluttered cathedrals and busy basilicas. Godly worship renders simple, plain meeting houses and bare chapels rather beautiful, where distractions are minimalised and the invisible God made the centre of our attention, as we read, hear and contemplate the riches of His word.

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24, New King James Version