Today
is a Sunday, so here are some stories of the churches
we went to.
Our
first Sunday, we attended St. Patrick’s Cathedral, “mother church of the Archdiocese
of Melbourne”. We had noticed the cathedral in our walks, often with tourists
taking pictures. Beautiful grounds with some lovely magnolia flowers; a
striking steeple, which became a landmark for us to find our way back to Nevin
and Ali’s apartment; uncomfortable pews (designated by our hosts as the most
uncomfortable they had experienced).
The
morning mass was led by a Palestinian priest. Notable in our worship experience
was the closing prayer – the Ave Maria chanted in Arabic, sounding similar to the
Arabic I have heard used in the mosque in Winnipeg.
Our
second Sunday, we attended St. Francis’ Church, billed as the oldest Catholic church
in the Province of Victoria. The cantor was a woman, which our daughter-in-law
told us is unusual. The priest reminded the parishioners to carry their
belongings with them when they took communion – a reminder that this is a
downtown church and one’s stuff is not safe left in the pew. We went to the
church hall for tea and coffee when the service was done. One has the impression
of a vibrant community in the heart of the city of Melbourne.
Our
last Sunday was at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, more fully, “St. Peter’s
Eastern Hill”. We realised immediately that we were not in a low church
Anglican setting, as the trio of clergy wended their way to the front,
scattering incense as they went. This is not a church for those with scent sensitivity!
St.
Peter’s is definitely “Anglo-Catholic”, with some elements that would be
unusual even in other high Anglican churches. The New Testament Scripture and
Gospel were chanted rather than simply read – giving me a sense of connection
to the way that Jews read the Torah using a set chanted melody. The responses
included an excellent choir. Someone else might have found the music “too highbrow”,
but I found it deeply stimulating. It was a wonderful time of worship.
St.
Peter’s was also the scene of another serendipity. The sermon was given by a
visiting preacher, Dean of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne. He
turned out to have been Associate Dean of Tyndale UC and Seminary in Toronto,
one of Providence’s sister schools in Canada, about 15 to 20 years ago. So the
preacher knew Providence, and in this high Anglican scented setting with the
chants of the psalms and scriptures in our ears, I found a colleague from the
Canadian seminary scene.
We
enjoyed our church contacts in Melbourne, but it was good to worship at home this
morning. Steinbach Mennonite Church is home, and we are glad to be home.
2 comments:
I meant to comment earlier--got side-tracked.
Your church experiences are most interesting. We experience similar churches when we are in London.
We usually go to the C. of E. church our daughter and family attend, St. Saviour's. Since we go to the early service, it is much more family focused. Less worshipful feeling, for me. For example, no music! On the other hand, Father Gary is very personable and most enjoyable..
We have on past trips gone several different places--St. Martin's in the Field one trip; several times to St. John's Wood C of E (near Lord's Cricket Grounds). That church has a lovely 8 voice choir (all paid). One Sunday we happened in to the music service which was Haydn's Little Organ Mass.
This latest trip, in May, we went to St. Mary's C of E which is a sister church to St. Saviour's.
This was high church, very traditional liturgically--full incense, procession of vicarr and whomever else. A young child to hold the book from which the priest reads. A choral sung response to almost everything. And traditional Eucharist, shared cup (which I eschew). Finally, the Lord's Prayer, the full Apostles' Creed AND the Hail Mary.
St. Peter's was like your description of St. Mary's, without the Hail Mary. I don't know if their choir is paid, but it is certainly of high quality. The preacher that morning (dean of Trinity College) told us that the choir of Trinity College, Melbourne University was said to be the best in Australia. Perhaps on a future visit we can go there to Evensong.
To complete similarities, like St. John's close to Lord's Cricket Ground, St. Peter's and St. Patrick's (across the street from each other) are both a few blocks from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which has a statue of Don Bradman outside. Another form of worship?
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