Sabbatical visits: Choral Compline: St Marks Cathedral, Seattle, WA

What was your first impression as you entered?

We were astonished, almost awed by the space. It appears to be a cube, as wide and tall as it is long. The 95’ high ceilings are supported by four columns. It is the opposite of ornate, and could be described as sparse. The immense open space, stone, concrete, earth tones and absence of décor, gives one the sense of being outdoors. I found myself eager to worship there.

How long was the service?

30 minutes

How was the service structured?

Compline, from the Book of Common Prayer, sung by a trained male choir, using mostly Gregorian and Anglican chant settings.

What did you like best?

1) The visceral sense of prayer: quiet, reverent, meditative, relaxed pace, dimmed lighting, the spaciousness, the sparseness of décor – all made it feel like sacred space.
2) 600 people praying together, many with closed eyes and bowed heads, some sitting on the floor, some lying prone, the sense of being in God’s presence. 80% of the diverse crowd appeared to be in their 20’s. A woman sitting behind me said to her friends, “everytime I come here, it makes me feel like I want to start going back to church.”
3) The chanted compline – worshipful, reverential, prayerful.
4) The acoustical qualities of the hard surfaces and the immense distances made the sound of the chanting hauntingly beautiful to hear.

What did you dislike?

Although the acoustical qualities of the hard surfaces and the immense distances made the sound of the chanting hauntingly beautiful to hear, it also made the words unintelligible. I would have liked to have known what they were chanting. Without altering the acoustic qualities, a projection of the texts (the wonderful dimmed lighting made a printed text impractical). I thought the nearly perfect cube cried out for the altar to have been placed in the exact center of the space with the seating surrounding it rather than the typical “processional” orientation.

What were its greatest strengths that you'd like to import?

The sense of sacred space, the meditative experience, the choral compline, the huge diverse crowd of 20-somethings.

If you were looking for a church, would this be it?

This isn't a church -- it was a coming together for prayer. Afterward, everyone dispersed -- and presumably will never see one another again, unless they gather together, same time / same place. Since this gathering is not a community, it is not a church. It was wonderful worship gathering, but it was not intended to be a church.

What did you learn from this visit?

A crowd of 600 people can remain completely hushed, reverent, and prayerful for nearly an hour, and follow a Compline service without any verbal prompting, written or aurel.

Is there anything else you want to say?

This was one of the most remarkable gatherings I've ever experienced. It was worth the trip to Seattle just for this.

Disciples are personally responsible for their own study, learning and understanding, which can be done alone or in groups -- and to become part of a Christian community. It is not essential for study, learning and understanding to take place at the gathering for worship. If disciples will take responsibility for their own study, learning and understanding, and if they will intentionally form community with other disciples, then could find that this gathering would be enough for them. If forced to chose between a public gathering for singing and teaching or a public gather for prayer, I would choose the latter. For I know that it is own responsibility for my own study, learning and understanding, and to create community with others. Then that community needs to gather together for prayer.

This is my opinion; I could be wrong.

The Lord be with you,