St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Although you no doubt realize that this is not Sunday, it is the day of the week when I usually write some sort of travel-related post. In keeping with that trend, I decided to write about St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

There are few things as thrilling as attending the First Sunday of Advent service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, with my two daughters! 

We arrived at the west front of St. Pauls at 4:30 PM for the 6 PM service, and it was not a minute too soon! The lines became very long and I was glad we had arrived when we did. While we were waiting, we struck up a conversation with a student standing in line next to us, who just happened to be from...Appleton, WI.

 Evening at St. Pauls

Looking up at the interior of the dome

St. Paul's Cathedral - Under the Dome

We were seated in the 223 ft. long nave, just beyond the ticketed guests, so we were close enough and facing the Quire. (The green mark shows where we sat.) Guests were also seated in the north and south transepts. Just before the beginning of the service, lights were dimmed. At that moment, the whole congregation rose and turned to watch as the cantor began and the choir, with a processional cross in front, filed into the nave.

Choirboys, some of whom appeared no more than six years old, processed into the nave, carrying large candles. They stopped once for Scripture reading and anthems, then continued on to the 167 ft. long Quire.

 The beautiful quire at St. Paul's

View of the altar

Photo by Helen Devereaux

It's hard to describe how beautiful and meaningful the service was, reminding us all to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. The Maker and Ruler of the Universe, our Only Hope for Salvation, left the glories of Heaven to become human and dwell among us. He came to rescue us, bearing our sins in His death on the Cross, satisfying God's justice - that those who trust in Him might live. What amazing grace!

I love to listen to the great cathedral choirs, but I think they can only give us a hint of what it must be like to hear the angels in Heaven singing praises to our risen Savior, God and King!


P.S. By the way, the day after tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent.
 
  

Note: All photos, unless otherwise indicated, were taken from St. Paul's Cathedral website and Wikipedia. They frowned on photo-taking inside the cathedral. :-)

Note: I just checked the outdoor thermometer. It's 8 degrees out there. My dog is lying in the snow and loving it! 


This post is linked to New Friend Fridays
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