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Evensong at Salisbury Cathedral
By Neil Peterson | October 24, 2009
Spiking the sky some 60 miles southwest of London is Britain’s tallest spire. It belongs to Salisbury Cathedral, a magnificent Anglican cathedral built between 1220 and 1258.
Several years ago I had the honor of attending an evensong, or evening worship service, there. It was a very powerful experience, one that I can describe only as “intimate.”
Even before I reached the cathedral, I could tell it was a special place. As I saw the spire rise above the trees and rolling countryside of Wiltshire County, I was struck by how alone it was.
Upon entering the walled close-the 80-acre area surrounding the cathedral-I was impressed by the silence around me. I, too, was quiet, at peace. And though the cobble streets were empty as well as the expansive lawn before me, I felt a sense of belonging, as if I were being welcomed.
The cathedral seemed to be waiting for me. It is gigantic. And as I circled it, I was overwhelmed by my smallness, my insignificance. Yet I still had the feeling that I was welcome, almost a sense that I was supposed to be here.
Inside, I wandered slowly down the nave to the choir area, where I asked the Anglican minister where to sit during the evensong. He told me I could sit in the choir section if I wanted, provided that I didn’t sit in a reserved seat or a seat with a lit candle in front of it.
I couldn’t believe his response. I had assumed I would be in one of the 2,000 chairs in the main part of the nave, where the congregation usually sits-not in the comparatively small choir area!
I took a seat in the third row, behind the first two rows reserved for the choir.
As the gigantic pipe organ behind me began to play, I could feel the music vibrating through my pew and the floor beneath me.
The choir began to file two abreast down the nave and into the pews in front of me. I was surprised by the age of its members. No surprise were the six men ranging in age from early forties to late sixties. However, these men were outnumbered by fourteen girls, the oldest of which could not have been more than nine years old.
But, boy, could they ever sing. The entire forty-minute evensong was sung-every prayer, every lesson, every chanted creed, every hymn, with the organ as accompaniment.
Salisbury Cathedral Miserere Mei Deus
By the end of the service, I was emotional. My eyes began to well up. My breath hesitated for a moment. My cheeks became warm and a little flushed.
Something had touched me. I felt comfortable, like I belonged there. I was touched by the spirit in the cathedral.
I was thousands of miles and eight time zones away from family, friends, and home-all alone, yet not alone at all, in this huge, almost empty, 750-year-old structure.
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