Gaia in the Cathedral

I’m not entirely sure what I made of the installation of a giant spinning globe in the nave of Rochester Cathedral. It certainly looks better in photos than in real life and the crowds certainly enjoyed their selfies and Atlas-like shots of family members holding the Earth up. Two things did strike me, though. First was how the whole thing seemed to remove the usual sense of awe and mystery you get when entering a church. It could have been any indoor space. Second was how incongruous it seemed that such a non-Christian spirituality of Earth-worship, Gaia, was placed at the centre of a Christian place of worship. Noticeable was the lack of priests… and in their places people tending to the secular congregation in yellow hi-viz jackets.