Going to Church in London?
 

What would be the most impressive place to attend a church service? Does Westminster Abbey have a regular service? It would be nice to attend very early in the morning.
Thank you.

I have attended church at both Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's. I prefer St. Paul's, but that may be because the only Sunday morning I went to Westminster the service seemed to be a lecture rather than a sermon and nothing to do with worship. You can check the service times on line.

Do they charge you the normal fee they charge tourists when you attend church services?

<i>"Do they charge you the normal fee they charge tourists when you attend church services?"</i>

I've attended a Sung Eucharist at Westminster Abbey. No charge to attend a service, but the collection plate was passed.

Another lovely, old, church to attend a service is Saint Bartholomew the Great. Google it if you're not familiar with its history.

Both Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's (for example) have excellent websites with all the information you need, including daily pertinent information. Why not check out the website for its wealth of info (no they don't charge but you can't sight-see).

I actually had the exact opposite experience of carolyn's - I've been to a Sunday evening service at St. Paul's where it was basically a homily, and an evensong service at Westminster Abbey that had more singing and prayer. I think it depends on what type of service you go to, so check the web sites for the times of the services you're interested in.

No charge to go to either. I vaguely remember having to be on time for Westminster, but being able to wander into St. Paul's a little late (my memory may be fuzzy, though). In Westminster we were seated in the choir space, whereas at St. Paul's we were just in chairs, so that may have been the difference.

"the service seemed to be a lecture rather than a sermon and nothing to do with worship"

So there's just one kind of activity that can be called "worship"?


The best choir at London's biggest churches, in my view, is currently Westminster Cathedral (Catholic), with daily sung vespers at 5 followed by an unbelievably well-attended sung Mass (in Latin) at 5.30 pm on weekdays, as well as a more lavish High Mass, with an extraordinarily cosmopolitan congregation, at 11 on Sundays.

No generalisation is possible about services at the Anglican Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral.

Evensong (Prod for vespers) is the most accessible service for those unused to Anglican services: mostly singing by their excellent choirs (technically not up to the Westminster Cathedral standards these days, but their style's what most people think of typical of English choirs), with a few prayers and sometimes a homily. The main Sunday Eucharist, around 11, is the most elaborate service, with a great deal of choral singing.

All major churches have earlyish morning services daily at 8 and/or 9. These rarely include music, though the Sunday 10 am Matins at the Abbey is choral.

Music is an essential part of major Anglican and Catholic churches' liturgy, and in those churches is virtually always based on the classical Anglican/Catholic repertoire. These churches (there's about another two dozen Catholic and Anglican churches around London performing much the same repertoire, often to extraordinary standards) publish their music lists on their website about a month in advance.

Other kinds of music are used in less traditional Anglican and Catholic churches, as well as in churches of other denominations and sometimes need a bit of ferreting out. If, for example, Gospel or Greek Orthodox is your thing, you'll find it also done well in London.

What impresses <i>you</i>? What style of service/religious tradition are <i>you</i> familiar with?

The Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Bayswater (St Sophia) is pretty impressive (to me), certainly a lovely building, have been to a couple weddings there.

If you're asking about a Sunday church service, then I'd recommend St. Pauls or Westminster. However another thought would be the Templar Church in London(made famous in the DaVinci Code. From their website, they have several services on Sunday.
http://www.templechurch.com/

We atteneded Sunday morning services at Westminster, no charge, but also no sightseeing. It was a fabulous experience, we were seated along the side in the area that the choir sat in during the recent Royal wedding. It was fun to watch the wedding and be able to -"I sat right there!!". After the service you will be escorted out to the side entrance so you won't get to see much of the whole Abbey, but you will get an excellent up close view of the Altar.

We went to a eucharist at Westminster Abbey in the late 80s perhaps. The congregation sat in the choir or chapter area rather than the nave. Princess Margaret, with a detective and a lady-in-waiting, sat across from us. She showed remarkable good taste by smiling at our children when they came forward to the altar,earning my wife's enduring sympathy whatever else she may have done in her life.

I would like sometime to go to the Jesuit church where Evelyn
Waugh was recived into the Roman Cathoic Shurch. I think it was on Farm Street, but my reference materials are not where I am.

flanneruk, can you enlighten?

I would love to attend a service at Westminster Abbey with a choir. I have been to Catholic service in the US and would very much like to see a Church of England service. Thank you.

Ackislander, Immaculate Conception is the church on Farm Street where Evelyn Waugh was received into the Catholic faith. He was also married there.

Ah right, then the choice of CofE services is more or less as flanner has it. Grandest would be a full Eucharist, "standard" would be a Matins, most characteristic would be a Choral Evensong (though as he says, that's based on the Latin Vespers so wouldn't be too unfamiliar), which you can get a feel for by listening on the BBC website, as there are regular broadcasts from around the country:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006...pisodes/player

Likewise you can check orders of service on the Abbey and Cathedral websites:
http://www.westminster-abbey.org/worship
http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Worship-Music