"Transendence"

Day Four
7/19/2010
Northampton to Ely

Today was move day. Our three day sojourn in Northampton and its environs have ended and our pilgrim journey continues northeast to Ely. Ely is in an area known as Fenland or “The Fens.” These lowlands extend north to “The Wash”, the shallow basin that drains into the North Sea. Once entirely covered in marshland laced with slow rivers and tributaries, the area features occasional high points, or fen-islands, that remained dry amidst the flooded swampland. The island on which Ely was founded is the largest of these.

St. Etheldreda (read more about her at www.elycathedral.org) founded a monastery here in 673. In the eleventh century work began on the present church building for the monastery, which would be designated a cathedral for the newly organized Diocese of Ely a century later.

From the cathedral’s website: The monastery at Ely was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. Ely suffered less than many other monasteries, but even so, statues were destroyed together with carvings and stained glass. St Etheldreda's Shrine was destroyed. The Cathedral was refounded with a Chapter of eight canons in 1541 as was the Kings School. Robert Steward, the last Prior of the monastery, became the first Dean.

Like most cathedrals, Ely has had many renovations. Towers have fallen (due to unstable land) and been rebuilt. Chapels have been added, destroyed and rebuilt. One transept side fell, and was not rebuilt- the remaining scarred wall remaining a cautionary witness to architects and builders.

All of this is easily learned from books, websites and pamphlets. And despite all of this learning nothing fully prepared us for what we would see and feel upon entering this marvelous cathedral. Built to awe, inspire, teach and transform, the space is simply breathtaking. I found myself unable to fully take in all that my easy were seeing.

We entered the space and sat at the crossing, the choir waiting for instructions from our hosts. As nervous energy ebbed we began to look around at our surroundings. Eyes widened and mouths gaped at what would be our musical home for the next week. The space began to transform the choir, and voices trimmed to awed whispers as the rehearsal began.

The first notes of the rehearsal filled the cathedral with beauty befitting the space. This choir, these kids and adults that we know so well, became something else in their music. They have sounded good before, even great, but this afternoon and evening they were transcendent. It seems impossible that this is just the first offering of the week. Transformative space, transformative music, transformative faith all have conspired to make this choir an instrument of transformation themselves. Visitors paused during the music and lingered during evensong instead of departing with the tours, even turning to one another and whispering “They’re good!”

The day has drawn to a close, and we are settled into a new rhythm here at Ely. Tomorrow will bring a more thorough tour of the cathedral and more time to get to know our host town. For now we rest.

God’s peace.

-Jonathan