THE
MYSTERY WORSHIPPER
Mystery Worshipper: Abed-Nego.
The church: S. James the Great, Darlington, England.
Denomination: Church of England.
The building: The church had just celebrated the 125th anniversary
of its dedication. It is set in an industrial suburb of Darlington
known as Albert Hill, which is near the main railway line from
London to Edinburgh. The exterior is bleak, but with one glance
at the beautifully tended garden, I could almost sense the welcome
that was waiting within. Once inside the door, I was overwhelmed
by the light and colour which seemed to radiate from the sanctuary
and side chapels. The obvious care and attention to every detail
within the building took my breath away. This is one of the loveliest
church interiors I have ever seen, and the memory of it will
not be easily erased.
The church: I have never felt so warmly greeted or so readily
assimilated into any group of people. I could not discern any
particular social background or age group in the ascendancy –
but everyone, except for the celebrant, had lovely, "homey"
northern English accents, and warm welcoming smiles.
The neighbourhood: St James-the-Great is set in an
industrial suburb, the by-product of a 19th century revolution
that cared little for the housing of the working classes. In
recent times, several elderly care homes have opened nearby.
The cast: The celebrant was Canon David Hinge, and the preacher
was Fr Ian Grieves.
What was the name of the service?
Parish mass and sermon.
How full was the building?
Pretty full; I'd say about 100 worshippers of all ages.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
We arrived half an hour before mass, but nonetheless there were
three ladies waiting – maybe a little surprised to see us
early birds but ready to give us a warm welcome and to hand us
the materials which would steer us through the service. As soon
as we set out towards our pews, a priest (who later turned out
to be Canon Hinge) greeted us with a firm "Welcome to Saint-James-the-Great!"
Was your pew comfortable?
The pews were some of the most comfortable I have encountered.
They were of the Victorian open back variety, so it was easy
to put our books down in front of us. And the tapestry kneelers
had just the right level of "give".
How would you describe the pre-service
atmosphere?
It was quiet, except that an acolyte approached me wanting to
know how I had found the church. He was particularly pleased
to hear that I had discovered it on the internet as he was the
church's web-master!
What were the exact opening words
of the service?
Priest : "Good morning everybody." Congregation (loudly)
: "Good morning, father!" Strictly speaking this wasn't
quite the beginning of the service, but introduced a series of
lively notices of upcoming events.
What books did the congregation
use during the service?
The English Hymnal – The Mass, which was a superbly clear,
and beautifully illustrated booklet published by the church.
We were also handed St James' newsletter which contained details
of readings, psalm responses, the eucharistic acclamation and
the anthem – also details of weekday masses and activities.
What musical instruments were played?
Organ, played by David Garrood. He provided some of the most
imaginative re-harmonisations of standard hymns I have ever heard.
The congregation responded with really strong and enthusiastic
singing. For the closing voluntary, his assistant took over for
an energetically inspired play-out which was loudly applauded
by the congregation.
Did anything distract you?
Well, there were the usual restless youngsters and squeaky babies,
but nothing was more distracting – in the best sense –
than the exceedingly lovely shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip,
happy clappy, or what?
This place has the fervour of a revivalist rally and the trappings
of St Peter's in Rome! The liturgy was in contemporary English
however. The ritual, which was quite detailed, was perfectly
executed, and the congregational responses were deafening.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
10 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was
the preacher?
9 – Fr Grieves has a no-nonsense style that gets to the
point and gets on with it. He is a very talented public speaker.
I would have given him a 10 if he'd delivered it by memory.
In a nutshell, what was the sermon
about?
He took as his text a verse from Ecclesiastes – "Resentment
and anger, these are foul things" and wove it into the Gospel
for the day – our Lord's response to S. Peter about forgiveness
(77 times) and the parable of the unforgiving debtor. Eloquently,
Fr Grieves pointed out that hating will stop only when forgiveness
begins. He tied this in with flash-points across the world, in
particular the probable war against Iraq. Likening debts to sins
– as in the Lord's Prayer – he emphasised the need
for forgiveness. "What if we were to do as the unforgiving
servant did?"
Which part of the service was like
being in heaven?
The sense of being in a place where the only agenda was to offer
praise to almighty God as perfectly as human imperfections allow.
And which part was like being in...
er... the other place?
Until about five or so minutes before the service there was a
lot of activity in the sanctuary. It felt as if every choir member,
and there were about 20 of them, had to come in and re-arrange
their music personally.
What happened when you hung around
after the service looking lost?
No time for that. We couldn't get out of our pews before the
meet and greet got underway. There was no way we were going to
be excluded from Parish Breakfast in the church hall across the
street. Fr Grieves apologised that he couldn't join us since
he had to attend to three baptisms. It was quite difficult steering
a pathway to the hall since those baptismal parties had crowded
out the sidewalk. There must have been the best part of a hundred
people waiting to get into the church!
How would you describe the after-service
coffee?
Tea, coffee and biscuits – and we all sat at tables restaurant-style.
How would you feel about making
this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
10 – Darn it, I'd move to Darlington for this church, if
I could figure out a way to make a living there!
Did the service make you feel glad
to be a Christian?
Overwhelmingly so.
What one thing will you remember
about all this in seven days' time?
In a well-produced little flyer on the history of the church,
I discovered that since 1989 Sunday and daily congregations had
increased five-fold, that a choir had been established (and very
good it was), and that this relatively small parish was now served
by four priests. Facts like that don't fade in memory cells.
As I left I was given a copy of the August-September edition
of the parish magazine. It was huge – 60 pages of locally
generated and church-centred items, complete with artwork, a
crossword and cartoons. I will treasure this as a wonderful memory
of a magnificent place.
The Mystery Worshipper project,
which produced this report, is run by ship-of-fools.com, the
online magazine of Christian unrest. The project has volunteer
reporters who visit churches of all denominations worldwide,
leaving only a calling card in the collection plate. For further
reports, visit the Mystery Worshipper at: http://ship-of-fools.com/Mystery
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