Denomination: Church of England (Anglican)
The building: The building is impressive and eclectic. It is part of Christ Church, and wholly surrounded by the college.
The church: This is the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, and also the college chapel. Somehow it manages this split personality: but I'm not sure it makes for a close-knit congregation. By its nature, it has several distinct sub-communities.
The neighborhood: City-centre Oxford; the heart of the University.
The cast: About five clergy (I didn't see any names); a verger in a cassock covered by a curious (i.e. not Oxford) black gown; a choir of around 10 men and 10 boys.
The date & time: Sunday 17th October, 6.00pm Christ Church time (which is 6.05pm British Summer Time).
I haven't been to Christ Church for years - I'm guessing, about 15. On a whim, I thought I'd drop in to Evensong, and see what's what. I remembered a fairly low-church austere set-up, with no announcements or concession to those unfamiliar with the service. I found an even lower set-up (all the genuflection has disappeared! and the odd bows in the Gloria patri, and no one making the sign of the cross at 'the resurrection of the body' in the creed), and a few interruptions to the liturgy of the 'now turn to page 45, paragraph 2' kind - which disappointed me a little.
What was the name of the service?
Choral Evensong
How full was the building?
Probably about 25% - but it has many parts, so it's hard to say.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
Someone handed me a service booklet; I'm not sure that they actually spoke.
Was your pew comfortable?
Not bad.
How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere?
Quiet and reserved.
What were the exact opening words of the service?
Welcome to Christ Church.
What books did the congregation use during the service?
A booklet set out the liturgy for the service; the hymn book (a new one on me; I forget the name) was needed for the two hymns; the prayer book was used for the psalm; and another booklet listed the psalms, hymns, and music chosen for the day.
What musical instruments were played?
Organ. And the choir - is the choir an instrument? They played a big role in the service.
Organ. And the choir - is the choir an instrument? They played a big role in the service.
Did anything distract you?
Not much. The chap sitting in front of me elected not to kneel for the prayers. He didn't even adopt a 'non-conformist crouch', preferring to sit bolt upright, so I found myself breathing down his neck, quite literally.
Not much. The chap sitting in front of me elected not to kneel for the prayers. He didn't even adopt a 'non-conformist crouch', preferring to sit bolt upright, so I found myself breathing down his neck, quite literally.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what?
Low and Liturgical. Cathedral worship in the finest Anglican tradition. The choir is probably still being broken in, as it were, it being the start of a new academic year. There was nothing wrong with the music, but nothing really stood out, save a curious emphasis/intonation in the psalm.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
Sermon? This was evening prayer. No sermon.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
Who needs a preacher?
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
Who needs a preacher?
Which part of the service was like being in heaven?
A sense of peace, of measured, dignified worship.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
Kneeling with my nose in someone else's back.
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
Oh, I don't think you do that at the cathedral.
How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
Oh, I don't think you do that at the cathedral. Well, I suppose some people do. But that would be a 0 for me.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian?
Yes.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
The great familiarity of the liturgy (I gave up on the booklet half-way through the first page), and the surprise at not having any genuflecting to do.
Post-script: the organ voluntary was some kind of variations of the theme of the Westminster Chimes. Truly Bizarre. A glance at wikipedia suggests to me it was probably by Vierne. It was certainly in his style.
2 comments:
the 'non-conformist crouch' *snerk*
I was interested that you find the page directions to be interruptions. Once I read that you'd abandoned the leaflet and were doing it all by heart, I understood better. I remain the person who is *more* irritated by priests who seem to feel that an uninterrupted liturgy, complete with visitors desperately flipping through the book trying to find their place, or giving up altogether and just gawping at the architecture, is somehow more worshipful than the gentle hint now and then as to where we've got up to.
@Ruth, well, if we were using the prayer book proper, then getting lost would be understandable. I can't help feeling that a well-designed booklet should avoid such problems. But the booklet wasn't well-designed, hence the announcements, I suppose.
I don't have it in me to be irritated by interruptions - but I wonder if the liturgy would have been different if those writing it had taken into account the fact that people might need such prompts.
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