Ship of Fools: Community of St Anselm, Lambeth Palace, London

The Mystery Worshipper

Ship of Fools: Community of St Anselm, Lambeth Palace, London

A very, very liturgical Evening Prayer warmed our Mystery Worshipper, as did the coffee

Read the full Mystery Worshipper report here

Box Pew

That method for reading psalms (antiphonally and with a pause at the colon rather than the verse ending) is common and how we do it daily at Evening Prayer. I sometimes think it destroys the poetry completely. But the author/s of the Psalms are prone to exclamations, repetition and wild imagery so if they are to be read as a group they are going to lose most of their declamatory poetic impact anyway; rather like the lyrics of a catchy pop song, falling flat on the page. But if the Psalms are read in worship among a group that manages to keep well together they are a great binder. Surely that is one of the functions of collective worship.

I would love to know how easy it is for members of the general public to attend St Anselm's services. This is not clear from the report. It reads as though our MW was a specially invited guest (in spite of his advanced age!)

Nick Tamen

Box Pew wrote: »

That method for reading psalms (antiphonally and with a pause at the colon rather than the verse ending) is common and how we do it daily at Evening Prayer. I sometimes think it destroys the poetry completely.

There was a discussion about the practice in Ecclesiantics two years ago: Pausing at the Asterisk.

Bishops Finger

@Box Pew said:
I would love to know how easy it is for members of the general public to attend St Anselm's services. This is not clear from the report. It reads as though our MW was a specially invited guest (in spite of his advanced age!)

It's not clear from the Community's website, either, and the impression I get is that the worship is indeed open to members and/or guests only. There is no timetable of services, whether Office or Eucharist.