Sacred and the City

Sunday morning. Westminster Abbey. I don’t think there’s a better combination. I walked all through the Abbey with a smile on my face. We quietly took our seats by the front and just looked at everything. What a magnificent place to be. There isn’t an inch of the building that isn’t breathtaking. The people are quite the characters, too. The old gentlemen in the red robes were my favorite: they looked incredibly bored or tired and stereotypically British. I pretended they had been at the pub late last night and were not quite awake yet.

There was a lot of standing and singing with the brilliant choir, but that kept me awake. I was so upset with myself, but I found I was truly struggling to keep my eyes open. The Reverend’s sermon about the bread of life was wonderful, but I was so tired. It was then that something caught my eye-rather, something pierced my sleepy gaze. From the top window of the Abbey, a streak of sunlight was beaming down at me. I realized that my eyes were a bit misty. “Got the message, Lord.” With a smile and a better attitude, I brought my focus back to the sermon.

Receiving the body and blood of Christ in Westminster Abbey is something that will stay with me forever. I was sad to hear the final piece from the organ and to slowly meander out of the Abbey. I said good-bye to Sir Isaac Newton and thanked Winston Churchill and went on my way. I noticed a friend just openly crying. I knew exactly how she felt. In places of such majesty and beauty, we are moved. Christians understand why this is. For the first time on this trip, I know the Spirit was moving. My prayer is that it continues to move in me.

College Kids The Conquerors

It turns out one good night sleep is not enough to cure a person from intense jetlag. But off we went at 9 a.m. anyway. On a gorgeous Sunday morning, the only rational thing to do is go to church. And where better to go than to Westminster Abbey? We walked from the flat to get a better feel for London. It’s amazing how many sights and smells you encounter in just one city. We wandered between tranquil side streets and chaotic tourist-filled roads. Just as we were passing an adult only store (“Shop like Christian!”)  I heard the bells. Like being smacked in the face, I was struck by the sound. We had to keep walking; otherwise I would have just stopped to marvel in it. But instead I kept going with a giant grin on my face, knowing what was coming.

What a skyline. Big Ben, The Eye, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. Talk about some food for the soul. The service that we attended at the Abbey was something I can’t even begin to describe. We sat in the first section, right by the alter. Anglican is not something that I’m entirely used to, but there’s no denying its beauty. The Reverend began his sermon, “We are what we eat.” This was the Sung Eucharist Service, after all. He spoke for a very short time, but with persistence and gentleness. “Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.” Amen, indeed.

Leaving the Abbey, we were left to enjoy the day on our own. It’s quite remarkable how much responsibility you feel when you lead a group of people. I thought a lot about Christ today. However, unlike him, I guided my group astray. Instead of getting to Buckingham Palace in the 15 minutes it should have taken, we saw every back street there is on the way there. Thanks to a bike race for charity, most main streets were closed and we were all rerouted. This is the only time in my life I have ever been bitter towards charity. I wasn’t thinking about Christ then. I got one quick glimpse at the Palace before being shuffled through a wall of people. I was frustrated. I was tired. I felt like I had failed my group (who were not being entirely pleasant about the whole ordeal). But then my wonderful friend reminded me that “we’re in London. Who cares where we go? We’re in London. Let’s revel in the fact that we no longer have a destination” How freeing it all became. So revel I did.

Show time! Off to the Duchess Theatre we went where we waited for the curtain by sitting with our amazing leader and his wife and discussed our day on the side of the street. It’s astonishing to me that the simplest moments in your day can be some of your favorites. Tonight we saw “The Play That Goes Wrong,” a comedy created by college students. It was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen and basically two hours of laughing. Just what we needed.

After the show, we split up again and decided to try out the Underground by ourselves. We did a lot of looking at maps. And walking in circles. And swearing. BUT we got there. We got on the tube and laughed about it the whole way. A quick stop at Sainsbury for a late dinner and bed.

What a day. We were lost for half of it, but we loved it. We already have so many stories to tell. We saw the city from a completely new perspective, a completely clean slate. If that’s not what this is all about, I don’t know what is.