What is a Thin Veil?

In the Celtic tradition, a “thin place” is the place where the veil that separates heaven and earth is nearly transparent. It is a place where we experience a deep sense of God’s presence in our everyday world. A thin place is where, for a moment, the spiritual world and the natural world intersect.

One of the components of understanding healthy congregations is assessing whether those who are worshiping have an experience of the divine. For some, traditional hymns and organ pipes create a mystery and a sense of depth that ushers one into a spiritual experience. For others, it could be a riveting sunset that stops you in your tracks and causes you to mouth the words, Thank you, Lord. For others, it is at birth or at death when power and pain and beauty are often felt simultaneously.

I experience thin places, places where the veil between heaven and earth feels permeable, at unexpected moments. Just this past Sunday, at a children's musical, I felt the Holy Spirit wash over my body and tears dropped uncontrollably from my eyes when a young 11 year old boy offered a solo entitled "My Gift is Me."

These places are clearly evident in the Bible. When Moses was confronted by the burning bush, when Abraham heard God's voice that told him to spare Isaac, when the heavens opened at Jesus' baptism and when Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus are just a handful of examples of moments when humans felt God's presence and heard God's voice tangibly.

I believe it is God's great hope that we will experience these moments often. Hopefully they happen when we worship together, but when we pay attention, when we listen to each other and to our heart's desires, we can place ourselves in the presence of God, knowing that as we reach for the hand of Jesus, he is already reaching for ours.