Very Near You
- The Rev. Ann Fraser
- Aug 5
- 2 min read
“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim)…Romans 10:8
Paul writes in his letter to the Romans reminding them that God means for each of us to find the abundant goodness of life in Christ. That truth is near to us and made real in the telling of it, on our lips and in our hearts.
Sixty-five or so of my closest friends and I just returned from a rich and meaningful time in the UK, as the St. Mark's Choir took up residence in Salisbury Cathedral and then St. Paul's, London, led by Jon Johnson. Two weeks of singing daily Evensong and Eucharist in those historic cathedrals, giving respite to the regular choirs there, and inviting worshiper and tourist alike into the beauty of holiness.
The cathedrals themselves are absurd in their scale, audacious in beauty. It happens that both Salisbury and St. Paul's (at least this iteration) were built quickly compared to many other cathedrals. Reliable funding and momentum from supportive bishops and builders helped both come into being in under 40 years, meaning each reflects an integrated architectural style rather than changing ideas cobbled together over time.
Salisbury was consecrated just a few years after the Magna Carta was signed in the 13th century. St. Paul's was rebuilt completely after the Great Fire of London burned an earlier structure in 1666. Each in its era became, among the other symbols of power and prestige, a means of hospitality to carry people from their daily lives into contemplation and consolations of the divine. Somehow the experience of soaring beauty can both carry us away and root us where we are. The Word is majestic and full of glory, but also on our own lips, in our own hearts, as we let ourselves praise our Maker and Redeemer.
The simple can orient us to the sublime; the sublime to the simple. The choir, in its offering of musical leadership, joins the stewardship and practice of the daily liturgies of prayer and praise that have sustained people through centuries. The psalms are known for containing multitudes of human emotion; sung aloud in these liturgies, they make space for us to offer our own varied human experiences to God. From our hearts and lips, the truth of God's faithfulness is proclaimed.
The support of the congregation to make this pilgrimage possible is a beautiful expression of mutual gratitude for the ways the choir leads us in our own weekly worship at St. Mark's, as we seek and proclaim the abundant goodness of life in Christ together.
The volunteer and staff singers, choral scholars and choristers in our music program, and companions on this pilgrimage each have stories of their observations, transformations, and encounters with the holy or wholly irritating. I hope you'll join us for breakfast for the next two Sundays, as they share reflections and images in our formation series. See you at 9:15! Peace, Ann+
