Today
was interesting. Because my planner is out of pages I wasn't able to
plan today on paper. Nevertheless, late Thursday night I was able to
contact Father Matthews again and plan an interview with him for this
morning (Friday). So 8:30 saw me attending their morning prayers
service, and Father Matthews seemed happy to see me (“Is it Ben or
Benjamin? I like the name Benjamin...”). He had me sit in the
stall next to him and showed me when to speak the verses in Psalms
and recite the prayers for the fifteen minute service, and the only
other person in the chapel was another woman who also helps run the
church. I had been to a similar meeting before, but I think this
time it was better because Father Matthew treated me like a friend,
not just another visitor. After it was over, we made our way back to
Father Matthew's office and started what would end up being an
hour-long conversation.
Father
Matthews is a very thoughtful, careful, and yet simple man, and I
think he relished the opportunity to share his life and feelings
about the church and Christianity with someone else. Our
conversation lasted a bit more than an hour, and although I really
liked listening to him, I will have to do better about guiding the
conversation next time toward the topics that are most important for
my study. For most of the interview I think I was just a little too
happy to be interviewing :-P Before we started the interview I wrote
this about him while he was in the other room finishing off an email:
Father
Matthew is the real thing. I feel that if he had lived half a
century ago he would have been equally comfortable and suited for the
calling as a priest in a traditional Christian church. His clear
singing voice for the ancient hymns, his amiable way with people, his
sense of humor that manages somehow manages to be both dry and warm
at the same time, and his sincere concern toward his parish uniquely
qualify this man for his position in the Church of England. At age
44 and standing at around 5’10”, his receding grey hair and
penetrating eyes give him the undeniable look of a leader even while
his manner retains a distinctly common touch.
Although
I was surprised to hear him swear once or twice during our
conversation (and perhaps I shouldn't have been), overall he seemed a
very good and sincere man. He isn't terribly pleased with the status
quo in his church, with numbers declining each year and society as a
whole drifting away from regular church attendance. I will always
remember the ways he spoke when he talked about his son (“the apple
of my eye”, as he put it), nor the way that he described how lost
he would feel if he didn't believe and trust in God.
As
we walked out at the end of the interview he turned to me and said
with a smile, “Now it's time for me to go and play the piano. Yes,
I'm taking piano lessons – that's what happens when you reach your
mid-life crisis and need something to do!” I laughed and returned
that my mom had started taking Spanish classes recently, now that she
had more time on her hands, and as he opened the front door he told
me that I needed to come back and that he would find some other
individuals for me to interview who were older members of the church.
I was very happy to say yes!
The
rest of the day can be summed up like this: three Avatar episodes
with Richard, scripture study, a lesson with the missionaries and a
wonderful black woman named Carol, dinner, choir practice, and latin
dance party at Kennington
Oh, and here are some recent photos :)
Muslim Mosque I saw in the neighborhood by the Indian Market
father matthews sounds like a neat person. i hope your interviews are going well!
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