Worship in London

St. Paul's London, view from the north

Westminster Abbey, western facade

I'm continuing to post from home - picking up on things I didn't get a chance to post while in Europe.  I had begun chronicling my worship experiences in Scotland and England, but I fell behind with that.  So here's London from Sunday, April 24, 2016.  My challenge that day was to decide where to worship - St. Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey.  I guess if one has to struggle with a choice, these are not bad options to be caught between!  

Since Westminster Abbey had an organ recital at night, which I didn't want to miss, I decided to head to St. Paul's in the morning.  I wish I had set out earlier.  As I approached the church the bells were ringing out, calling people to worship.  I did capture a bit of it, roughly, on the nine-second video clip below as I rushed to the door!

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, west facade 

Other than the few people talking while gawking (rather than worshiping) it was a wonderful experience!  It began with the processional hymn which was the, to me, very familiar hymn All Creatures of Our God and King.  The familiarity of it made me, once again, to feel the oneness of the body of Christ, and to sing this in such magnificent surroundings was breathtaking.  (Sadly I have no pictures of the inside, but they are easily found through a google search.)

Let all things their Creator bless,

And worship Him in humbleness,

O praise Him, Alleluya!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, three in One:

O praise Him, O praise Him,

Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!

We also said together the Nicene Creed, which too made me feel the oneness of the body as we made that profession with united voice.

St. Paul's Cathedral, London - as seem from Millennium Bridge to the south

Both of these churches have multiple worship services on a daily basis, and they are closed to tourists at these times.  This may sound standard, but this was not what I experienced in Notre Dame; I've also recently heard from family members who traveled in Spain that it was very hard to worship in the two cathedrals they went to because tourists were milling about and snapping pictures (and, in one case, hugging the statue of St. James at the front of the church) as services were being held.  Not only is touring not allowed during worship, but it is the case at Westminster Abbey that during times that are open to tourists a prayer is said from the pulpit each hour.  Everyone in the abbey is asked to stand still and remain silent while the prayer is being said.  This is part of the way that the primary function of the Abbey is shown to be that of a church, which it is.  These hourly prayers encompass the world, all people and all families, and I found them to be very meaningful and calming.  In fact, I hope it comes to my mind from time to time as I go about my everyday life now that each hour I too am encompassed in the prayers said there.

After a day of much wandering about the city I queued with many others at Westminster Abbey for the organ recital.  I was pleased to find out that there was an evening service after the half-hour organ recital, so I stayed for that as well.

Buttresses of Westminster as seen from the cloisters

From the cloisters

From the southeast

It seems to me that the view of Westminster Abbey that is most familiar is that of the western facade with its two towers, which can be seen in the second picture of this post and to the far right in the post below.  I remember the first time I visited Westminster Abbey (2003) that when I entered through a door on the northern facade that I did not recognize this as the Abbey that I had seen so often in pictures and on television.  I'm including the views below in order to show both of these facades and how they connect.

Detail of one of the north doors

North facade

Here too was the sense of oneness in many ways.  We began with the hymn Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven, we said The Lord's Prayer in unison, and we ended with Now Thank We All Our God (my favorite hymn). I found the worship service to be as ecumenical as the hourly prayers said throughout the day.  The way in which the minister began the main prayer of the service was to ask God to be with all Christians: "Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Reformed, Pentecostal, Charismatic  .  .  .  ."  Thus recognizing us all to be of one body and sharing one faith.  I felt a humility and love here both in my touring and in my worship.  The image I close this post with is that of an engraving on the western facade (just to the left as you face the western doors).  From what I have experienced here it seems to me that this is truly the desire and aim of those at the Abbey, and that they are doing their best to partner with God in bringing grace, peace and concord.