Easter in
Great Britain
John
3:16
Dear
reader: I am presenting to you an accounting of my Easter in Great
Britain.
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, indeed. 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. 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 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 realized 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 wept 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.
As always,
you are in my prayers.
Terry …….
