As I\u2019ve said to some of you in conversation, I don\u2019t consider myself to be a very religious person but I am rather spiritual. Visiting Westminster Abbey today was INCREDIBLE, and so I really wanted to attend Evensong since I\u2019ve never experienced an entire mass in song.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the choir was not available this evening but we stayed for Evening Prayer instead.\u00a0 The whole church \u201cprocess\u201d felt familiar to me, and was thus comforting.\u00a0 Much of the ritual and most of the prayers were exactly the same, and so I enjoyed having a small taste of home.<\/p>\n
I think that religion can either be one of the most unifying or one of the most dividing factors between cultures, depending on how you look at it.\u00a0 For cultures that subscribe to entirely different religions, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s a difficult obstacle to overcome and that agreement or even healthy debate is nearly impossible because it\u2019s such an emotionally and personally charged subject.\u00a0 However, I come from a varied background (I grew up in a Reformed Church, then a Nondenominational Church, went to a Catholic youth group, work at a Protestant summer camp, and agree with many ideas from other religions such as Buddhism).\u00a0 Therefore, I find it easy to notice details or concepts within almost any religion that I can identify with.\u00a0 Westminster Abbey\u2019s service was so similar to Catholic services I\u2019ve attended, and I remembered a homily from the United States in which the priest said that \u201ceverybody meets in the Eucharist.\u201d\u00a0 Even though the people I sat with during the service in London were strangers, from assumedly varied backgrounds, we experienced the same ceremony together.\u00a0 I found it to be a bonding experience, because even if we didn\u2019t all necessary believe the same things or wholeheartedly agree on all the things stated, we all attended and stayed for the entire service collectively.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019m alone here, but I found that somewhat comforting.<\/p>\n
I understand that religion can be a touchy subject, but it is important to me and I enjoy knowing that it can (and did) carry over between my home in America and my new experience in London.<\/p>\n\n\t\t