Your talking about the Winter Solstice reminds me of a trip we made to Dublin to celebrate a wedding anniversary. We hired a car and there was still some fuel in it on the last day, which would have been wasted as you were supposed to take it back empty. We followed our noses and ended up seeing a sign for The Battle of the Boyne. Luckily they had finished fighting, so it was fine. We ended up at Newgrange and quite by accident! The tour was amazing and our guide described what happens on the morning of the Winter Solstice (and only on that day, due to the careful alignment). The light-box above the door allows the sun to exactly illuminate the heart of the tomb, it is thought, in a rebirth of some kind, or a āmoving onā in a spiritual way, of the bodies that would have been prepared and left in round partial-spherical containers made of rock, like a shallow bowl. This respect was only given to Kings, chiefs etc.
Absolutely amazing, and over 5000 years old!
Many years ago (in 2002!) I was with CĆ“r Cymry Gogledd America (North American Welsh Choir) on a tour in Wales. We stopped at the Orthodox church in Blenau Ffestiniog and did a rather impromptu concert for the people there - we had a big crowd! The priest, Tad Deiniol, was exactly what youād expect of a Greek Orthodox priest in looks as well as demeanor. It is a lovely memory of mine. As far as I know, that church is still going strong.
Thatās the one! I may have seen your choir on TV. I was on Gower in 2002, which is when I saw stuff about the church, quite possibly about the visit from American Welsh people!!!
Very positive film being released by the Church in Wales this year.
Sound interesting Anthony. Any details on what itās about?
About the LGBT community within the Church, and how attitudes have changed towards them.
Just a musing I had:
I once read that Nick Robinson, the reporter, is jealous of people that have faith. I think this is a position I find myself in. I do not believe in a creator or an omnipotent god, I donāt think Iād be any more in tune with the Celtic pantheon of gods either. When difficult times rise their head, I can really understand how a faith would provide support. Then add on top of that the community spirit that @CatrinLliarJones described.
Now that Iām older and uglier, I really understand the significance of the imagery used by Christianity - a father sacrifices his own son to save others. I went to a catholic school and, as a teenager, that didnāt really sink in. Much like the numbers from battles or other world events that I donāt need to name. They were just numbers. It was just a sentence banded about by teachers - he died for you. Hard to really understand te imagery at that age.
It was put slightly more into context for me recently. I wonāt go into too much detail because that would involve explaining the role of physiotherapy on intensive care, which you may or may not know but would probably lead to another thread. The closest Iāve come to understand why that imagery is so powerful is organ transplantation, and the timing of when a family has to make that decision.
Sacrifice for your neighbour. Itās not a uniquely Christian message. It also got me thinking about how much that message has been lost with recent results. Again, I wonāt get into that. I can sense @aranās blood pressure rise as politics and religion mix. So I wonāt 
I think arguments between whether a God (or gods) does or doesnāt exist are fascinating. I think the original human need for religion is to make sense of those bits we canāt get our heads around. That combined with a group need to do it, can lead to very supportive communities.
The biggest argument against religion / religions are some of the awful things that have been done in the name of religion. I neednāt go into details.
But then, the same thing could be said about some political creeds which originally had great ideals as their driving force.
I think there must be something very strange in the makeup of humankind that produces these apparent paradoxes.
Completely. Doing something in the name of a religion or political cause, or using either to manipulate others, logically itās the manipulator that should be blamed. An extension of a bad workman blaming his tools.
Yes, the only thing wrong with religion, politics, philosophy etcā¦ is human beings!
Returning to the Anglican service of Evensong, which I mentioned earlier in the thread, as I said then, in my experience in the RC church, there was not a service quite like it.
Looking at Wikipedia today in this artcicle:
I had actually read this before, but forgotten, but according to this, Evensong was originally based on a combination of the traditional Catholic / Monastic offices / services of Vespers and Compline.
These are not common in normal parish churches, unless the church happens to be served by a religious order, which is sometimes the case. There is at least one RC church in Oxford offering Vespers, and that is run by a religious order (canāt remember which). There is also Blackfriars College, run by the Dominicans, whose chapel is open (at least sometimes) to the public, and which offers a wider range of the offices / services.
I should say that my interest in this is mainly musical, partly historical, and perhaps aesthetic. I do not look for or derive any spiritual comfort from this type of thing, although I donāt deny that others do.
Thereās a depth to music you canāt put your finger on. How much/what kind of enjoyment do you get from any particular kind of music, Mike?
I read a novel about a murder in a Cistercian Monastery in Quebec. Gregorian chanting played a key role in the book. So I downloaded some (funnily enough my parents read the book after me without us talking about it and they also downloaded a CD). Very atmospheric music.
A wide range of tastes I think, from classical to rock, but I do enjoy choral music, and have sung in choirs. The choir I sang in longest was a madrigal group which was a lot of fun, although we did do the occasional more serious piece including sacred music. I canāt say that music is the biggest thing in my life, but it has been a not insignificant one at certain times.
The author Louise Penney is brilliant! Iām currently reading the most recent in her Inspector Armand Gamache series. Carrying on now with this interesting thread but I had to give a shout out to Ms. Penney.
Thatās the one!! I knew it was a series but couldnāt find anymore to order. Where did you buy them from?
Iāve bought them in new and used bookstores all over, actually, but now I go to my local book seller and she orders the newly published ones for me. Itās such a great series.