A 'creative hush with God' in the Cowan Chapel at Union Church
Compline makes space for a 'sweet peace' before the week begins
Chip Bailey plays the fiddle to welcome visitors to Cowan Chapel for Compline. Credit: Whitney McKnight
Hello, Dear Reader!
This Sunday’s Seen and Heard is later because I wanted to feature something that only happens on Sunday evenings, and I hadn’t thought about it last week so that I could take photos then and run it later. So here it is.
If you think you might enjoy a “creative hush with God”, as Cantor David Duffee refers to it, or just some time for peaceful contemplation set amongst quiet chanting and live music, Sunday evenings at 6:30pm in the Cowan Chapel at Union Church, 200 Prospect Street, in Berea might be what you’re looking for.
The Reverend Kent Gilbert, pastor of Union Church explains:
The format is for a cantor (the cantors are on a monthly rota) to sing a call to meditation, then the first line of the Psalm chosen for that Sunday. Those in attendance sing along. Music and words are provided.
Then there is about a 10 minute pause for quiet before the same pattern is repeated. This is followed by an antiphon (repeated melody with a descant), accompanied by several instruments, and lastly, an a cappella benediction.
Compline at Cowan Chapel is done for 2024, but will begin again with the first Sunday of January 2025.