The Sign Of The Cross

It's at times like this leading up to the major Christian events and feasts that I am beginning to realise how important the concept of tradition and liturgy really is. I became a Christian in 1994, being baptised at an Anglican church in Farnborough, Hants. The church was an evangelical Anglican church which was 'traditionally' evangelical in that there was little in the way of liturgy for the Sunday services and little or no 'tradition'. At this church my faith grew but so did my rebelliousness. However, I began to question the natural authority within the church structure and the concept of the division between clergy and laity became more of a barrier to a Christian life than the true method that God employs in His church to further His aims. And to be honest the worldly outworking of the Church of England didn't help much. Still doesn't! So my rebellious heart together with family living in a different area led me to take my own family to join a sma...

 Just spotted that the Christmas Tree in the staff canteen where I work has an angel on top. The single, sole reminder of that momentous event two millenia ago. I wonder how long it will be before this smack-in-the-face for the militant atheists is detected by one of their acolytes. I mean, how dare anyone display such overtly Christian religious symbols at this, or any time of year! I'm glad I'm not a first aider anymore as blood pressure and respiratory problems in humourless bigots were never my cup of tea.

I've lived in Farnborough for over 20 years and have never really been aware of the presence of St Michael's Abbey , let alone visited it. So yesterday I decided to set things right and paid them a visit. The Abbey does public visits every Saturday at 3pm so I availed myself of the tour to see the Abbey and the Crypt. You can read about the Abbey at their website or on Wikipaedia . I was given a tour by one of the Benedictine brothers which included the church and also the crypt where the Empress Eugenie , her husband Napoleon III and their son the Prince Imperial are entombed. The church is in a baroque style complete with amazing gargoyles. Inside it was very moving with the reverence that such an environment gives to worship. The marble flooring was fantastic, the windows are in a Belgian bottle style and some 'English' stained glass windows. My first ever visit to a Catholic church. The recently installed underfloor heating was most welcome according to the b...

I've already posted over at my other blog Lansbury's Lido the first of these videos but it's so good that I can't resist posting it again! There is something about that Orthodox chant in the Slavic languages! To make things different I've added in a few other Beatitudes videos. Any of these your favourites? ** just noticed the video has been removed by the user, a shame! **