Large, heavy doors. A tall, airy space. Spectral dots of light. A welcome peace.
It was the Compline service at Christ Church, an Episcopal congregation at 84 Broadway, and by the time I chose a seat, barely visible in the sparse candle light, I sensed that the peace had welcomed me in return. There was no pressure to make conversation with fellow service-goers; indeed, all of us remained quiet, knowing the silence itself was sacred. A fog of aromatic frankincense hung in the air, gently holding the candles’ glow.
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By the time the service began—scheduled for 9 p.m. each Sunday when Yale is in session—a near-total sense of calm had set in, like a light snow freshly fallen. Then the wind began to blow: disembodied voices filling the air with smooth hymnal tones.
If it’s your first visit, you may wonder what you’re supposed to do at this point. The answer is nothing, or anything. You might pray, meditate, think, not think, remember, dream. You might reflect on your relationship with yourself, or your god, or your loved ones. The service invokes a ritual that dates back to the 300s, I’m told, in which monks would sing their final prayer of the day, and it involves songs, or “chants,” from pre-medieval times.
Inspired by a popular Compline service at Saint Mark’s Episcopal in Seattle, Christ Church’s then-choir master Rob Lehman initiated the local version around 1998, hoping the short (it’s only 20 minutes), effortless (you just have to show up) and ecumenical (everybody’s welcome) service might better engage young New Haveners. A little less than 20 years later, the Compline service is now regionally known, reverend and Christ Church’s rector Stephen C. Holton said, with people of all ages coming from as far as Fairfield County. Whatever their reasons for attending, Holton said, he wants the experience, which he describes as “an ancient way of praying together in a contemporary context,” to be beautiful, welcoming and accessible.
Some would argue that, even compared with the otherworldly setting, the chants are the main attraction. They’re sung with great care by a small choir, a group of six to eight individuals who are a part of the larger Christ Church Choir. From a hidden, second-floor loft in the church, they sing English and Latin prayer chants.
At exactly 9:20 the night of my visit, the singing stopped. There was a click like a lamp turning off followed by the polite sounds of the small choir departing their hidden loft. The candles flickered, the frankincense lingered. The crowd held for a moment, then the blanket of stillness began to peel away as, one by one, people stood and walked toward an exit. There was no rush to leave right away, and some of us didn’t, as if trying to soak up as much of the experience as we could.
Until the next Sunday.
Compline Service at Christ Church
84 Broadway, New Haven (map)
Sundays at 9pm (when Yale is in session)
www.christchurchnh.org/…
Written by Amanda Donovan. Photographed by Dan Mims. This updated story was originally published on February 2, 2017.
