Eucharist

May 9, 2010

Check out my May 8 update!

I woke up early this morning to enjoy a very leisurely morning. I got up about 7:00 am, had a nice shave, showered, enjoyed a lovely breakfast of Weetabix, toast and tea. It was so nice to not be in any rush. I went upstairs to get Michelle at 9:30. We planned a walk through Hyde Park for the morning before arriving at 11:15 at Westminster Abbey for Eucharist. For those who know her best, it might be needless to say that she wasn’t quite ready at 9:30. I didn’t mind the wait though. Michelle looked like a total babe. She got fake glasses yesterday at Portabello Road and has really enjoyed wearing them. We didn’t end up getting to take our walk through the park, instead had to go straight to Westminster Abbey. Walking into the abbey, the most incredible organ music was being played. The virtuosity of the organ player was so incredible, ornate like the incredible decoration of the building. Michelle and I got really great seats sitting in the knave right next to the choir. Just as an educational bit, the choir sits in the nave of church in two halves that face inward. The seats were very different from the ones we had at Evensong last week. The sound wasn’t quite as covered by the acoustical space and we were much more aware of some of the difficulties of singing in such a place. Despite this, the sound was absolutely incredible. The boy soprano tone is so clean and clear. In addition to the Mass which composed by Ralph Vaughn Williams, the choir sang a piece entitled “I sat down” which BYU Singers and Concert Choir sang this past year. It was a wonderful performance of a piece that is so difficult to sustain and keep the crescendi and diminuendos under control. Participating in the service was actually left a strong impression. Little of what was said was in contrast to the doctrines of the Church. The only real theological problem was the Nicene Creed and the difference in priesthood authority (interestingly enough the sermon was given by a woman clergy). Impressive also was the opportunity for the congregation to participate so actively in the service. It was a sung Eucharist, so we joined the organ and choir frequently for hymn singing. I was also impressed by the personal nature of communion, so individualized. There was a certain appeal to it in comparison to our LDS services. Don’t get me wrong, I love LDS services and I’m so gratefully aware of the proper priesthood authority in the Church. It was nice to see how other people worship and observe the sacraments in their unique ways that really aren’t too different from our beliefs. After the service, we went to our own sacrament meeting. We attended the singles ward again. It was nice. Discussion on priesthood got very lively about Adam and Eve. I always love fiery, speculative comments. Luckily the teacher handled it very tactfully. After the block of meetings, Michelle and I were invited along with Steve Durtschi, Emily Workman, Emily Gardiner and Heather Faerber to Jeff Lark’s flat for dinner. Jeff Lark sang in Concert Choir last school year but has been living and working in London this past year. He’s good friends with Michelle and all the other invitees. I met him today and he was nice to invite me along. He and Steve made a wonderful dinner of salad, garlic bread, spaghetti and alfredo over penne. It was such a nice meal. It was so nice that it was free! Socializing was great too. We had chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. We didn’t get back until 11:00 because we were just having so much fun together. The only downer of the day was that we were going to attend Evensong at St. Paul’s Cathedral today, but somehow someone misunderstood the schedule, so we didn’t end up getting to go. Today is Mother’s Day, so I’m going to cut this one short and I’m going to try to call my mother.

I love you Mom! You are the best!