Easter in Great Britain
John 3:16
Dear reader: I am presenting to you an accounting of my Easter in Great Britain. Again, all I ask of you is, when you read this, please do so with an open heart and mind.
I had hoped to celebrate Easter in the U.K. since I had left there in November of 2005, however the economics were looking somewhat grim at the time for this to happen. While on the Yahoo instant chat one Sunday afternoon, I was told the Men’s/Boy’s choir of St. Philips in Norbury would be singing the Rutter “Requiem” on Good Friday night. When I “heard” this, I started looking for possible airfares again and I found one that I could afford in the time frame I needed. To me, a prayer had been answered. I bought the ticket and made the other plans immediately. Luckily, there were no hassles about passports or any of that other nonsense I went thru for my trip in November of 2005.
Finally, the day of departure came and even though we were over an hour late leaving, we arrived in London, Gatwick airport only half an hour late. I will always fly non-stop whenever possible. After getting thru the British immigration and customs, I was able to get a train ticket to my friends place in Cobham, Kent. I had first stopped In Norbury to pay my respects to the Vicar of St. Philips and have a cup of tea with him.
One thing I would like to point out at this time is while although we have many desirable attributes in America, the British have a charm that I find very compelling. True enough, I will never give up my U.S. citizenship at my stage in life, but I would like to live and work in Britain for a while just to see what it is like. I have lived in Britain, but only as a tourist. If I ever did such a thing, I would like to live near St. Philips Church in Norbury. A church I have been very graciously allowed to call “My home church” while I am there.
I finally arrived in Cobham where my friend and his wife very warmly greeted me. I had a bite to eat and was finally able to get some rest, a nap that I guess lasted about four hours, after which I had another bite to eat and then went to bed. As you might expect, I was exhausted from the travel with a touch of “jet-lag”.
The next morning, I went to Norbury to take part in a “Witness March”. It seems the Church’s in the Norbury and other areas of London get together and have these marches on Good Friday. This was the first time I had ever participated in such an event and wouldn’t you know it, we were rained on in spite of the weather forecast. The march started at Norbury Park, just north of the train station and proceeded south on the A23, London Road. There were four stages and at each stage, a passage of scripture was read followed by a hymn and a prayer. Each stage was held at a different location along the A23, hence, the “March”. Stage one was Mark14: 32-52 followed by the hymn “My song is love unknown”. Stage two was Mark 14: 53-72 followed by the hymn “Why, what has my Lord done”, however, I’m not sure if this is the correct title. Stage three was Mark 15: 16-23 followed by the hymn “When I survey the wondrous cross”. Stage four was Mark 15: 33-47 followed by the hymn “There is a green hill far away”. We then proceeded to the Norbury Methodist Church for a service of Music and Meditation. I found this to be an interesting form of witness and I had the blessing of meeting many very nice people. One of them was The Rev. Hazel Ratcliffe, a very kind and devoted lady. When this event was over with I returned to Cobham by train where I was given the opportunity to witness to a young man.
Good Friday night, my friends in Cobham and myself went to Norbury to hear the St. Philips Men’s/Boy’s Choir perform the Rutter “Requiem”. I might point out the choir of St. Philips is comprised of many boys between the ages of eight to sixteen as well as adult men. These boys also do recordings as the vocal group “Libera”.
The service started with an introduction and opening sentence by the Vicar, The Rev. Canon Patrick Washington. We then sang the hymn ”My song is love unknown” followed by a prayer for the evening of Good Friday. The choir then proceeded with their rendition of the Rutter “Requiem”. The Requiem is comprised of the following sections, Requiem Aeternam, Out of the deep, Pie Jesu, Sanctus, Agnus Dei; The Lord is my Shepard and Lux Aeterna. The performance of the choir that night was outstanding; there were two priceless times with the performances of a treble soloist, doing the “Pie Jesu” and another treble soloist, doing the solo part of “Lux Aeterna”. At the end,
there was applause and a freewill offering with a younger choir member standing by the Baptismal Font with a collection plate in his hands. It was nice to see the amount of generosity exhibited and in my opinion, this group should get all the help it can. If I were a man of means, I would have gladly underwritten the performance with a cheerful heart.
After the performance, I went with another friend to his home in Hoddesdon. This person and myself had never met before and as you would expect, there was a great deal of trust on both our parts to keep each other’s company in such a manner. We had a number of soul bearing conversations on the Yahoo messenger and we felt we knew each other well enough to take this kind of step. I am very glad I did this for I was able to meet many more wonderful people. The next day, my host took me to see a sailing club where he is a member. We had also stopped at the Waltham Abby at my request. This turned out to be a spiritual time for me, not only did I get a lesson in the history of Britain, I also had the opportunity to make a number of votive offerings and have a period of prayer while we were there. Many of the people I have met in Britain are secular, but the nice thing is, they have always respected my beliefs and wish’s. I am saddened by their lack of knowledge, but it has given me a chance to witness to them as I have done to others. That night, my host and his friends had a supper where I was the guest of honour. Another compelling thing about the British is those I have met have accepted me as I am; The same way Jesus has accepted me.
The next morning, Easter Sunday, We drove to Norbury for a wonderful, spiritually uplifting service. We sang hymns from The Songs of Praise Hymnal. The hymns we sang were as follows. 107-“Jesus Christ is risen today”, 105-“Good Christians all”, 193-“Lord enthroned” and 114-“Thine be the glory” from “Judas Maccabaeus” by G.F. Handel. The choir treated us to a wonderful rendition of the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” and I was in awe of the beauty of what I had heard. The one thing I find very compelling about the Anglican Church is, the Eucharist is served every Sunday, not just once a month like many churches in America. After the service, there is a tea social, this is when I was able to meet and talk with members I had made friends with last November. It was good to see them, young and old alike, for they are indeed my church family in Great Britain.
That afternoon we just knocked about giving ourselves a local tour of the area and we ate locally as well. We eventually wound up on top of Pollards Hill where I found the view to be quite interesting for what can be seen. We also did a driving tour of areas north of Norbury to check out hotels and Bed and Breakfast establishments. There may come a time when nobody will be in a position to host me, so I considered it time well spent learning where these places are and what they are like. I also noted the rents tend to be a lot cheaper than in London. For the budget minded traveler like me, this is always a concern. There was no point in traveling back and forth to Hoddesdon because of the time and distance involved.
Evening finally rolled around and we were glad for that. It was time for Evensong. The Evensong comprised of the following music. We sang from the Hymnal, “Ancient and Modern, New Standard”. 77-Jesus Christ is risen today, 83-“Loves redeeming work is done” and 80-“Aleluia”. The Psalm was “This joyful Eastertide” with the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis being done to a setting by Dyson in D. The Anthem was “Ye choirs of Jerusalem” by Stanford. This was all very nicely done and I really appreciated the effort.
After the Evensong, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a number of the parents of the younger choir members. They are all very lovely, kind people and when I had mentioned the possibility of coming back for the Harvest Festival in September, I was told, “Please do”. You have no idea how good this made me feel and it also made the amount I spent for the weekend worth it. I know it seems like a lot of money for a four-day weekend, but it’s what you get out of it that matters.
Afterwards we went back to Hoddesdon and collapsed, it had been a very eventful day and we were both exhausted. The next morning I had something of an emotional collapse as I realised the weekend was over with. My host had offered me many words of encouragement that helped me get a grip on things so I could get on with my departure. My host took me to the Tottenham Tube Station and after a warm farewell I departed for LGW airport. I had nearly missed my plane, but that was mostly me, lollygagging around London Victoria taking in the sights and sounds of London, not wanting to leave.
When the plane took off, I looked Northward towards Norbury and yes, I cried for a bit. It is heart wrenching for me to leave the people there I have grown to like and love very much. However, it wasn’t as bad this time as I am now reasonably confident I will be able to come back for many times to come, Lord willing.
I still believe, to this day, with all my heart, it was the Holy Spirit working through a group of South London Schoolboys who can sing and their music, that gave me the kick in the head I needed to get off dead center spiritually. I consider it truly amazing how one word, sweetly sung, was able to push me “over the edge” and dramatically change my life for the better and forever.
“Sanctus”
As always, you are in my prayers.
Terry …….
PS: This happened in 2006
