American Church in London and Camden Market

American Church Camden Mkt

I’ve been wanting to visit Camden Market for a good while now.  Crowded, busy, off-beat, unique stuff, off-beat people.  So today my friends Stephanie and Susan and I paid this place a visit.  I should have taken pictures of the stuff.  Lots of quirky short skirts & dresses for a younger set.  To me the most interesting booth was the one where women’s skirts and jackets had been made from men’s suits with lots of oddly angled seams and gaps filled with lovely men’s ties. 

After scoring two rings and a number of interestingly patterned over-the-knee socks, we walked back down Camden High Street looking for the Blues Kitchen, a new restaurant/bar which was said to serve soul food and live jazz seven nights a week.  Too early for the jazz, my friends had Lynchburg Lemonade (the establishment is of their stock of bourbon) and I settled in to a Long Island Tea.  When we arrived the brunch menu was just finishing up and none of it looked particularly soulful – mainly just regular breakfast stuff – so we waited a few minutes until they started to serve their regular fare.  Disappointment!  No black-eyed peas!  The menu seemed more Cajun than soul, but it was very enjoyable just the same.  We ordered a bunch of appetizers, including corn fritters with mango salsa, blackened shrimp, seasoned sweet potato wedges, chili (more like pulled pork with beans) with tortilla chips and artichoke dip with tortilla chips.  Gotta have some more of those sweet potatoes!

Backing up to this morning, let me tell you about my new church.  Until about 6 weeks ago I had been attending a nearby Methodist church which I loved – wonderful people, ministers, and a lovely old pipe organ played beautifully by the organist, a student at the Royal Academy of Music.  But one thing was missing – no standing choir; only one that gathered for special occasions. 

I had known about the American Church in London ever since I came here, but wanted to go to a British church to meet and worship with the local people.  Well there are three fairly close churches in my area:  St Mary’s (the happy-clappy church), St Marylebone’s (choir is all professional singers), and Hinde Street Methodist.  Enjoyed visiting St Mary’s, but I’m happier in a non happy-clappy church.  Loved the gorgeous music and the service at St Marylebone’s, but don’t think I could talk them into paying me for my choir contributions.  So I settled in at Hinde Street where I found great friends and fellowship.

Then in googling to see if I was missing out on knowing about other local churches, I read some about the American Church.  The web site said that the choir was mostly volunteer with one paid professional for each of the four voice parts.  I reckoned that if they had professionals they must undertake some challenging music, so one Sunday I visited.  The choir director made a plea for more choir participation.  The music was lovely.  The hymns were familiar.  (Some of the Methodist hymns were familiar, but for those unfamiliar ones, following in the English hymnal can drive an American crazy; even when you get a hymnal with the music, the music is on one page and the words are on the other).  The service was familiar (except no communion every Sunday).  So I came to choir practice that Wednesday and started singing in their choir right away.  The hymns are traditional, but we often sing a couple of praise-type songs during the service.  The quality of the anthems the choir does is wonderful, some American, but much of it traditional English or classical.  Today we did a wonderful piece with the strange name, “Wash Me Throughly,” by Samuel Wesley, whose haunting melody and sorrowful lyrics I certainly hope to meet again.

Backing up even more, witness my walk to church.  Such a lovely, sunny morning with just the right amount of cool in the air.  Thinking I should take a picture of the lovely day, then thinking I don’t need to dawdle because I’ll be late for choir practice, I finally give in and decide it’s worth being late to take some pictures of my walk.  Fun store with gorgeous impractical dresses – the Diva Corset, and the sky, the sky, the sky!  And … that amazing BT tower, a skyline landmark.  And … the street flowers are out.  And the church, last rebuilt in the 50s I think, on a site where many churches have stood previously.  In fact it is said that when they were last rebuilding, they found the grave of the man who wrote the hymn, “Rock of Ages.” And that's as far back as I'm going on this day of church and Camden Market.