Evensong

On our second official day in Europe, our group attended an Evensong service at St. Paul's Cathedral. I had never really heard of Evensong until I saw it on our itinerary. Evensong was very interesting to me, though. It was my first experience at a church in Europe, and also my very first encounter with the Anglican church. St. Paul's was actually the first cathedral built for the Church of England. It is breathtaking. There is a dome at the top, which is unusual for any church other than Catholic. Christopher Wren, the architect, wanted a dome all along, but skeptics did not want it to took anything close to Catholic. The dome was added after Wren's death.
So many things were different about Evensong service than what I have been exposed to. The service started at 15:15 on Sunday and began with the entrance of a boys choir. They entered in a line with their hands folded in front of them. Such discipline. I have never seen 10 and 11- year-old boys act with such poise. It is no wonder since they rehearse over 20 hours a week I learned. Most of the boys go on to recieve music scholarships and become professionals. THey wore the cutest robes too! They sounded like women. Like women with beautiful voices singing higher than I can by far. One helpful aspect was a program that had instructions on when to stand, sit, kneel, respond, or sing along. The first song we sang with the choir and only one person I could see actually knew what he was doing. He knew the tune and sang with enthusiasm. Seeing this man made me curious. How many people were "regulars?" Did they have members? or were we all tourists just desperate for a closer look at the sanctuary without having to pay the entrance fee and a tour guide? This is when it got awkward.
The reverand, an older man, got up to give a welcome. He prayed first, and then had an announcement. "This will be my last service in this cathedral," he said. He was taking his wife to Christ's Church someonwhere else. I looked around the "audience" for some sad sighs or any sign of sorrow. None. That answered my question. We were all tourists. No one knew this man who had dedicated his life to this cathedral for 40+ years. No potluck dinner. No slideshow. No farewell party.
Is this how God intended his church to function? An extravegant cathedral with open doors, welcoming in strangers. I can understand that. Reaching out to the curious, hoping to attract lost souls who are lured in by the lavish outlay. But the church. The congregation. The community was not there. Maybe that is how this particular service is. Maybe other gatherings are more personal. Maybe not. I feel sympathy for them though. To not have a family to rely on. I thought the U.S. was individualistic, which is true, but London is as well, and there aren't many strong communities of believers there. Sad.
I did enjoy Evensong. I was uplifted and encouraged by the reverand's words and by the beautiful repsonses (repeating praises) and songs. Maybe that is a ministry in itself. I know it is a good effort, but there just didn't seem to be any that stick around to see what its all about.