Does Westminster Abbey Have a Congregation?

Every time I’m in London, I visit Westminster Abbey.

A lovely Anglican cathedral across the street from London’s golden Parliament buildings, it’s been there for nearly a thousand years.

Originally built outside the London walls, the Roman Catholic abbey is now in the center of town.

Winston Churchill’s World War II Cabinet rooms hide just down the street. Big Ben tolls around the corner. Bright red double decker buses pass continually.

And yet, there’s something restful about the grounds despite the hordes of tourists roaming the aisles.

It’s part mausoleum, part museum, part history lesson.

Soaring ceilings, glorious stained glass windows, a powerful pipe organ, and busts, statutes and memorial slabs to a who’s who of British history.

You can spend hours there, milling around with others listening to tours on headsets or examining  tour books.

Rick Steves does an excellent job explaining all.

Spiritual Life?

When I enter a cathedral, I admire the fortitude and skills it took to build,  but I also try to catch a glimpse of the spiritual life.

I like to sit in the pews and imagine worshiping God in such a building. I wonder about parishioners who have gone before and try to imagine a service.

One summer I sat in a pew and listened to the choirmaster describe the organ and choir school.

I heard music played on that organ and the boy’s choir singing. Terrific.

This opulent structure oversaw the crowning of kings, marriage of royalty, and the burial of many.

I can appreciate the irony of Elizabeth I buried with her sister, bloody Queen Mary. But what does that have to do with worshiping God?

It’s a church, first of all.

But what does it mean to be a member of the congregation?

Westminster Abbey tells you up front it’s a church and asks visitors to respect that fact.

It also lists services, holds Evensong, and provides opportunities to join the church life of the congregation.

I watched magenta-robed clergy moving throughout the abbey and, as part of the tour, peeked into a back corner where many of the clergy and their family lived.

Unlike other cathedrals I’ve visited, Westminster Abbey felt like a living and breathing congregation where Jesus can be worshiped.

I suspect church life goes on in smaller chapels and corners of the enormous building; you can find it if you hunt.

Of course God’s fingerprints are on Westminster Abbey–Christians have worshiped God there for nearly a millennium–even when they had to look around the pillars and can’t see the altar.

The best news is, Jesus can be worshiped wherever you are–you don’t need an old building full of relics and monuments.

Thanks be to God.

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