St. Paul's Cathedral (Sept. 8th)

This morning on the agenda was a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral for a service with the rest of the class. To be honest, I was only excited to see the architecture and art in the cathedral-not to much observe and participate in the service.  Especially after visiting Westminster Abbey and experiencing that service, I was kind of checked-out on the church front.  However, I was definitely looking forward to going inside the cathedral and seeing everything up-close and personal!  Tourist Larissa was in full-force this morning.

As I sat down in my seat and looked at the program, I hate to admit that I sighed when I saw that the service would be over an hour long….I do not have the attention span required for attending a church service.  I'm usually like that annoying, fidgety kid (you know the one) who is constantly distracting everyone from what is going on at the front of the room-I get antsy, what can I say!  

Why then, at the end of the service, was I completely awestruck and wishing I could stay for another service?  This I do not know, but what I do know is that St. Paul’s is an amazing place, and somehow being surrounded by so many other worshippers from all over the world, from all different religions made me weirdly emotional.  There were several points throughout the service when I just sat there looking around, amazed, and feeling like I actually belonged.  I don't even feel like this when I go to my own church at home! 

I sat there feeling a bit baffled the whole time.  From the young boys singing in the choir, to the history of the cathedral, and the fact that I am so far away from home, I couldn't keep still-typical-but this time, it was so I could take everything in and be in the moment.  I'm surprised my neck doesn't hurt from looking up at the ceiling!  Talk about majestic.

***NOTE: you are not allowed to take photos inside, which is why they are lacking in this post.

I am still really confused about my experience this morning, but I am trying to just go with the flow and view it in a positive light.  I definitely had a big ol' smile when we left at the end!  I find it so interesting to hear about the ways in which people are moved and touched by all types of religion, even though I myself have never really felt this movement or excitement until this point.  I do think this was an important experience for me, because while I was expecting a “touristy” moment in an international cathedral, I was touched by more than that, in ways that I truly cannot understand-almost in an overwhelming way.  

Even though I can't quite put my finger on it, I am really glad that I had such a positive experience at St. Paul's.  Maybe because it is such a significant place, I felt like I had to have some kind of special feeling there?  I don't think I will ever know, BUT, I do know that I am getting more and more excited about this trip every day.

xx