Saturday, the Fourth of July. London to Tunbridge Wells.
Having executed a practice run earlier in the week to get the timing right, I left St. Matthew's House to meet Ingrid at Heathrow. After walking to the St James Park Underground Station, I took the Tube to Paddington Station (where Paddington Bears are on sale for, well, padded prices), and then walked from the Underground catacombs to the Rail Service area, and took the Heathrow Express to Terminal 5, arriving in perfect time to greet Ingrid as soon as she entered the arrivals' waiting area. A quick shuttle to our car rental location, followed by an interminable wait in a long line, and we were eventually assigned our car-- another Mercedes! Then we were on our way back to St. Matthew's to pick up my luggage, and off to Tunbridge Wells, by way of a traffic bottleneck around Parliament Square, a drive south on St. Margaret's / Abingdon / Millbank, and then left across the Thames on Lambeth Bridge, past the small and not-very-impressive eponymous Palace, and on through suburban areas facing into the sun, which caused me to miss several opportunities to find our way to M25, so that a trip of about 80 minutes took about 120 minutes.
Sunday, July 5. Tunbridge Wells to London and back.
We returned the car, took the Heathrow Express to Paddington, and then walked along Victoria Street to St. Matthew's House, where I gave Ingrid a guided tour of my past week's environs. Then a walk to Waterloo East and a ride back to Tunbridge Wells on the Southeastern Train.
Monday, July 6. London
A rainy day visit to the Natural History Museum, followed by a wet trek to Harrods (we asked for directions, and a kindly American family obliged!) to buy food for eating at the flat in Tunbridge Wells.
Wednesday, July 8. London.
Something Turns Up.
I knew from visits to the Moot website that there would be two Moot events today, a 6:30 pm Meditation at St. Mary Woolnoth, and a 7:30 pm meeting of a spirituality group called Quest, just down the street at the Church of St. Edmund the King. So even though I hadn't been in touch with Ian Mobsby, we could at least experience something of Moot's life and community.
I had drawn a little map based on the Moot website's map, but I thought it would be a good idea for Ingrid and me to make our way there this morning so we could be sure of getting to the two events on time this evening.
So we took the train to London Bridge, and the Underground to Bank. And as we emerged from the station, there was St. Mary's in front of us!
You can see Ingrid standing next to a sign advertising the Meditation, and underneath the yellow canopy inside the church's fence is an Italian coffee stall.
We entered the church, and saw this imposing reredos with the Ten Commandments:
(The green light shades on either side illuminate the choir stalls, and the evening's meditation would take place in this space between the altar and the chancel steps.)
And here is the magnificent pulpit. I think I'll preach from here rather than the aisle should I ever be invited to St. Mary Woolnoth!
I picked up a pamphlet titled Welcome to the Parish Church of S. Mary of the Nativity, better known as S. Mary Woolnoth. It includes the information that the British architect Nicholas Hawksmoor built the reredos and pulpit as well as the present church itself between 1716 and 1727. This is the third church on this site. There is a deed for the first church, dated 1191; the second, built in 1438, was damaged during the Great Fire of London and restored by Christopher Wren in 1674. (According to Tom Fletcher's Essential Architecture website, St. Mary's ranks 6th in a list of the top ten London churches.)
The pamphlet also mentions the Rector who served from 1779 until his death in 1807. John Newton "was a friend of the poet [William] Cowper and author with him of the Olney hymns, including the hymn Amazing grace. He preached, too, vehemently against the evils of the slave trade, and encouraged and inspired William Wilberforce who fought and won the battle for the abolition of slavery."
Having found St. Mary Woolnoth, Ingrid and I walked about a hundred feet further east on Lombard Street to the Church of St. Edmund the King, which now houses The London Centre for Spirituality. Here is the facade, designed by Christopher Wren; you can see why the Illustrated London News for the week ending Saturday 9th July 1864 called it "Wren's worst church."
A pamphlet titled Welcome to 'Wren's Worst Church'! begins with this fascinating historical note:
"This area of London is one of the oldest centres of commercial activity in the country. Roman remains have been unearthed in Lombard Street, though a fire here in 1135 destroyed whatever was standing of Roman and Saxon London.
"By the 13th century Lombards from northern Italy were settled in the City as merchants and moneylenders. They were evicted by Queen Elizabeth I, but their role as moneylenders gradually developed into the modern banking system and for many centuries Lombard Street remained at the heart of the banking world. St. Edmund's for a time was known as the 'bankers' church'."
The interior of the church, designed by Wren's friend Robert Hooke, and later renovated by William Butterfield in 1864, belies its dull exterior:
Here's a closer view of the altar and reredos:
Perhaps you noticed the four large and oddly shaped fragments below the altar top. Here's a further close up:
The pamphlet explains:
"Of all the City churches this was the most badly damaged [during the First World War], most especially when a bomb made a direct hit on the church at 10 am on the 7th July 1917. The remnants of the bomb are encased within the altar frame, combined with a quotation by St Teresa of Avila."
[This is the quotation, from St. Teresa's breviary:
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away,
God never changes
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.]
The pamphlet continues:
"More than other City churches, this is one where each century has added and taken away, significantly compromising what went before, whilst trying to re-imagine an aesthetic use that would be more appropriate to the present and the future. It was for this reason, and because the building had become unused and neglected, that the Bishop of London recommended the church become the home of the Centre for Spirituality, and the use of the nave as a bookshop enables us to keep the church open, staffed and tended."
Ingrid and I spent some time looking around the church and at the collection of books, Bibles, and worship resources, including one by the Moot Community titled Little and Compline Services. As I was purchasing this small book, I struck up a conversation with one of the booksellers, and mentioned my interest in the Emerging Church and Moot. In response he said, "Perhaps you'd like to meet Ian Mobsby. He's in the garden just now, but he should be coming through soon."
Something had turned up. Or, rather, someone had turned up!
To be continued!
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