I recently went to the Cathedral to see The Beatles by Candlelight. It was amazing in so many ways. The setting was special, to see hundreds of candles lit in front of a stage and the main lights off, was spiritual. The band and singers were good too. They were not pretending to be The Beatles but singing and playing the music with their own twist to it. A girl singing with them was exceptionally good and made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck with some of her singing. I was particularly impressed with her rendition of Imagine by John Lennon. Most of the audience were elderly like me. I saw the real Beatles back in the 60s when they came to Lincoln. I saw them on stage but didn’t hear any songs they sang as I, along with every other girl in the audience, screamed from start to finish. Possibly some of the other women were having the same memories. Bearing in mind that most people were in their 70s it was astonishing how many were singing and dancing in the aisles. Not just mouthing the words and swaying their hips to the rhythm but loud singing with gusto and manic jiving and swinging. Walking sticks and Zimmer frames put to the side. It is wonderful to see the Cathedral with such enthusiastic liveliness. It brought to my mind a U2charist service I went to in the Cathedral many years ago. A U2Charist is a communion service, or Eucharist, accompanied by U2 songs instead of traditional hymns and sometimes as part of the service music. John Saxbee, who was the Bishop of Lincoln at the time, was so carried away by it that he was dancing in the aisles too and persuading everyone to join him. This exemplifies my faith. My faith makes me want to sing and dance in the aisles and my belief is that God would also like to see us doing that so much more. So how about getting out your favourite music and singing and dancing and thanking God that you can do so.
This month’s book is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It is written as though by the dog Enzo.
God Bless
Maureen Kendall