[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 16/Feb/2020]
Many times when travelling across Europe I have noticed a large, very imposing gold-tinted building visible from the motorway about halfway across Austria. I have often wondered what it was and recently we had the opportunity to find out. It turned out to be the Benedictine Abbey at Melk, founded in the 11th century and containing an extensive museum and a large library of books dating from medieval times. At its centre is the ornate abbey church, decorated in the Catholic tradition and offering a place of quiet contemplation amongst the hundreds of tourists milling around the abbey’s more secular attractions.
On a subsequent Sunday, I visited a church near Medenbach in Germany. This church is a completely different from the Abbey, being built within the curtilage of a motorway service area. Here the focus is on a simple cross formed from natural materials, and a book of prayers contributed by those who had visited the church. Here too was a place of peace and quietness despite the thousands of people hurrying past.
In between these two visits I slipped into a morning service at HBC. Once again, a different style of worship, with Ian and his music group practicing hymns to be sung during the service. There were people to meet and greet but despite the bustle of preparation there was an air of quiet expectation as the service began.
Three contrasting experiences of worship. One common factor was the dedication and devotion of those who had brought these places into existence whether it be gifted artists sharing their interpretation of Bible events, skilled architects achieving a sanctified simplicity or generous donors contributing to the cost of a building that bears God’s name. Did you notice another common theme in each of the descriptions? All three are places where those who are so minded can be quiet and meet with God, away from the urgencies of daily life.
“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46 v10.
Speak Lord in the stillness, while we wait on Thee,
Hushed our hearts to listen in expectancy. Emily Crawford.
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys