Christmas in Canterbury
Since this particular Christmas, 2013, would be hard without Papa around anymore, I thought it fitting to go somewhere with an amazing church and even more, amazing music. Little did I know, standing room only tickets were sold out months in advance for the candlelight services on Christmas Eve! We were able to attend the 11:00am Children's Crib service and participated in a beautiful service which seemed to be filled with local parishioners more so than tourists.
Highlights:
the music!
all of our voices filled the sanctuary like light in a room
children's message with everyone crowded around the manger was heartwarming
Singing Away in a Manger was tearful for me--that was my dad's song as he passed into heaven
a perfect stranger -parishioner- put her arm around me -an unspoken understanding-
the comfort of a fellow believer
it was wonderful to worship in a foreign country and understand the language
awesome to worship in a place where people have witnessed their faith for over 1400 years
Cathedral History:
Established in 597 by St. Augustine who was sent to Kent, England by the Pope to convert the Angle slaves. It saw several additions and reconstructions due to various wars, needs (Saxons, Normans, Benedictine monks, eventually mother-church of the Anglican faith), abuses and effects of time on such an old building (Romanesque and Gothic). Puritan uprisings in the 17th century destroyed much of the medieval stained glass; horses were once housed in the nave; it even witnessed a murder within its walls --1170 Thomas Beckett, subject of Chaucer's Tales! You can read more about the history here.
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| It was difficult to get many pictures since today was not a tourist-wander around day! It's an enormous space-- |
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