Today the children vested and sang for the last time in Europe. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Bavo in Haarlem, which sits just outside of Amsterdam, was--despite the language barrier--a moving and touching service. Some of it was familiar: the processional and recessional were sung to the "Old Hundredth" tune (the tune we sing our doxology to most of the year), and the rhythms of the Nicene Creed and the Lord's Prayer were similar enough to ours that it was clear what was being said (and some Dutch words sound very much like their English counterparts!).
The young priest, who was preacher, cantor, and thurifer, welcomed the Charleston crowd in English, and at the end of his sermon, he was kind enough to recap his Dutch for us. He pulled an important line from each lesson (which were the same you heard at St. Philip's today!), explained a little about each, and gave the most important message of his sermon: "Be rich with God."
The children sang the prelude, offertory, communion anthem, and postlude--plus the young men of the St. David Choir sang the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. The priest thanked them at the end of the service, marveling that they were still able to sing so beautifully at the end of their tour, and noting that they were using those beautiful voices to show their love of God.
Though some families had to leave right after the service, those who were able to stay were free to explore Haarlem or Amsterdam for the rest of the day.
On our last day together, we will visit a fishing village in Volandam. Tuesday we journey home!
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