Angels in a chapel

Today we had women's chapel in Cash Chapel.  It’s a little chapel across the road from college, built in memorial for a young man who died in the war.


One of the interesting things about this chapel is the seating.  There are two rows on either side of the chapel and you sit facing each other.  This was a little strange at first because I was unsure where to look.  Sometimes it seemed awkward during the singing to catch someone's eye, but I've decided now that I like it.  There's something lovely about facing each other to sing, particularly when the words are about encouraging each other.  It also makes you more mindful of what you’re singing and that you’re singing it with so many other people.

Not only this but the sound was wonderful.  The echo provided a wonderful acoustic to make our voices swell and sound like a real choir.  Some even said we sounded like angels.  It leaves me wondering what it would sound like with just men singing in there (one of the men’s split chapel groups was in there last term), or with both men and women singing together.

There’s another the other thing about the seating in Cash Chapel.  As it is a memorial chapel there is a seat reserved for Cash.  And the way this is done is buy cutting out a seat in one spot of the wooden bench.    I think that’s a lovely way of having a memorial for someone.