On Thursday I happened to wander by the charming Anglican Church of St Stephen and St Thomas in Shepherd's Bush and, having grown up in Devon around so many of these beautiful buildings so particular to this island, it occurred to me that I really ought to include a proper, English Anglican church in this project. St Stephen’s seemed ideal: a beautiful, mid-nineteenth century church, sadly missing its spire due to a WW2 bomb but never the less a very attractive building.
So, on Friday (June 4th), I decided to take the kids along. I phoned the church late in the morning and spoke to the vicar, the reverend Dr Bob Mayo, and threw the idea at him quite unannounced. He was, naturally, quite thrown by my request at such short notice but graciously acquiesced and we arranged for a meeting later that day.
At two O’clock I arrived with my first class of students and met Bob outside the church. We were taken around to the front of the building where we gathered and listened as Bob introduced himself and his church. Here they have a shiny brand new extension built for social occasions and the like, of which Bob is, naturally, very proud. He was keen to explain that in the Christian tradition it is believed that God came to earth in the form of Jesus Christ and that God and man are inherently connected or ‘mixed’ as he put it. As such, the building extension is very much that: an extension, not a separate building. The religious and social elements of the church community, tradition, practice and lifestyle are all part of one and not separate entities. He further demonstrated this point by taking us into the new hall (complete with a rich, new-hall smell - nice!) and then through to the church proper.
Once in the church my students and I were asked to explore the building and search for crosses. We were to count the number of crosses in the building, from grand, obvious adornments to subtle decorations on cushions and miniature crosses hidden about the place. Most of my students counted around fifteen or so but one, keen young Colombian managed to find 155! Well-done Tibisay… We gathered back around at the front of the church where Bob revealed the purpose of this exercise and drew our attention to one cross that we may have all missed. The missing cross to which he referred was the building itself (http://www.freewebz.com/bunkertown/www/church-floor-plan425.gif) He showed that, from a birds-eye view, the building was designed in the shape of a crucifix; so central is this symbol to the Christian faith.
We were then brought down to the far end of the church, to the font: a kind of large pedestal in which to baptize children. Our guide explained the journey through life in the church: It begins as an infant at the font end of the church known as the narthex, immediately after you enter the church building. You then continue down through the nave, where all the pews (long wooden benches) are, up to the chancel at the centre of the church where you are married (Anglican vicars, unlike their Roman Catholic counter-parts, are allowed to marry and Bob tells us he is, very happily, so). Finally, in the sanctuary of the church, beyond the altar, you are laid out for your funeral service. This is the journey through life in the church.
Bob then went on to compare and contrast the Bible and the Qur’an (several of my class are Muslim). He explained that, as he understood it, the Qur’an is believed to be the direct word of God, whereas the Bible is about God, written by people and is to be interpreted. One of my Muslim students, Adil, while agreeing that the Qur’an is indeed the word of God, suggested that it also requires a good deal of interpretation and study to be understood.
When questioned about their impression of the place, my students responded with such words as ‘history’, ‘peace’, ‘calm’, ‘religion’, and other, similar ideas about the church as a building. Bob went on to explain enthusiastically that, while the church is a nice place to be for quiet and calm, that it was made complete only by the people and that the people are the heart of the church: “The church is nothing without people” he said.
With that we thanked our guide and went on our way. The church of St Stephen and St Thomas has a service at 10am every Sunday morning and, so we’re reminded, all are welcome. Certainly the Reverend Bob was very welcoming and hospitable and we are very grateful for the experience. If you want more information about St Stephen’s, their website is http://www.ststephensw12.org/
nice 👏🏻👏🏻
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