17 January 2010

Well, today being Sunday it was time to experience church in London! A group of us wanted to go to Southwark Cathedral, and since our TA Laura was going there it worked. We left around 0830 because we thought the service started at 0915. Well, it turned out that the service didn’t actually start until 1100, so we walked down the Queen’s walk to London Bridge and walked across the bridge. It was amazing. We also saw the Tower of London, since it’s right across the river near the bridge. On the river was a large boat that Laura said they probably had to raise the bridge to let through. I wish I could have seen that – one of the things I want to see before I leave London! We walked back in plenty of time for the service and went in, got service orders, and sat down. The order was 17 pages long, and included pretty much every word that was spoken except the pastor’s (I know that’s not his Anglican title, but I don’t know what the correct one is) sermon. They had a baptism service – a baby named Charlotte and a girl who looked to be about 5 named Katie. That was neat to see. We also had the Eucharist. I had always called it communion, but it was different enough that it makes sense to call it something else. We went up to the front, knelt at the altar railing, and held out our cupped hands. One robed man put a wafer that was about 1 inch in diameter in my hand, saying “the body of Christ”. Then another robed man came by with a cup of wine which he held for me to drink a little from, saying “the blood of Christ”. We then stood back up and went to our seats. (For anyone who is from Houghton College and is concerned over the fact that there is a ban on alcohol, I offer the following explanation: members of the London program were told, when we arrived here, that the rules of Houghton still applied. [They added a further restriction that we are not allowed to go to dance/night clubs, but that is beside this point.] We were not allowed to drink, unless our parents gave us the drink, or parents of our friends. This was said citing the Houghton College Community Covenant, which states that parents overrule the college and so if they gave us some alcohol we were allowed to drink it. This authority, specific to the London program, was also extended to the parents of friends, essentially making them in loco parentis. Back to the states: the legal drinking age is 21, and yet priests in the states serve wine as a part of the Eucharist to minors. When questioned about the legality of that, my political science professor responded that it was because the church had been given special rights of in local parentis since the parents, by allowing their children to attend the service and take communion, were giving tacit approval to allow their children to partake of the wine. Last night, I Skype-called my family and in the course of the conversation told them that I would be attending Southwark Cathedral today. They did not object, giving the same tacit approval. Therefore, I believe that I am exempted from the ban on alcohol in this case.)(I did think this through before I went up, just in case you were wondering. One of the penalties for drinking can be dismissal from the London program, and I didn’t want that.) After the service we went to a small reception place where they were serving tea, coffee and cookies, and we stood around and talked. There was an older gentleman who was very interested in talking with us. He wanted to know where we were from, etc, and Laura asked him for recommendations about what to see. He strongly recommended the Tower of London, History Museum, Tate Museum, and so on. He was very friendly and had a rather noticeable accent.

When we left the cathedral we took the tube back to the HC where we were a bit late for lunch, but not so late that we missed it. (Most days lunches aren’t provided, but on Sunday they are and dinner is not. Breakfast is provided every day, and dinner is provided Monday – Saturday.) It was green beans, potatoes and carrots with ham and gravy. We each also got a bowl with an orange and a clementine in it. After lunch I read more of my homework assignment for Tuesday’s colloquy session, then at 1510 we met to go test for our walking course. We walked briskly around a lovely park that was a little more than a mile around and tested our pulse at the end. Mr. Prof. Lipscomb recorded it, and we will do the same at the end. The point is to see if there is any physical improvement over the course of the semester. We came back, and I did more homework, ate granola bars and raisons for dinner while I read, read more . . . and just finished. But I’m done with my readings for the next few days, and ready for the plenary session at 0900 tomorrow morning, so it’s all worth it! I’ll post this and get some sleep so I’m ready for tomorrow. I love London. GStQ