St Clares :  How to read the church                                     

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The Nave (body of the church)

This is called the 'nave' from the Latin 'navis'-'a ship', the root of the English word 'navigation'. The association of the church with a ship, and the congregation as passengers in the ship, indicates the priests and people traveling together together towards God.
With St Clare's this meaning is even more evident in the design of the building  where the roof design and its timbers actually look like the shape and timbers and  of an upturned boat.