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Goodricke SCR Catholic Mass

Dave Spence and a Protestant’s perspective

One bright, Sunday morning in June I awoke to the awful realisation that I had slept through my alarm. “Oh, no!” I thought,“It’s 10 o’clock, I’m too late for the service at Heslington Church! What should I do?”. Then a cunning plan came to mind. “I know, I’ll go to the Catholic Mass, at Goodricke SCR — it doesn’t start until eleven.” And so, I ventured daringly into the otherwise unknown region of Catholicism. Being an Anglican it was something I had never done before, yet I was strangely eager to find out what Catholics did on Sunday mornings.

The first thing to strike me was the sheer number of people that filled into the room. It was quite full, but not cramped. As I know quite a lot of the Catholics on campus, they were quite surprised to see me at their Mass, knowing that I am a Protestant. Yet this did not stop them welcoming me and making me feel relaxed and comfortable. The atmosphere was very warm and welcoming.

The music was completely unexpected. I had always imagined Catholic Mass to be somewhat similar to a High-Anglican Eucharist. Instead, I was singing hymns such as ‘Sing it in the Valleys’ and ‘Holy, Holy, Holy …’ to the sound of guitars and a keyboard! The music group was excellent and really carried each song. I almost felt the urge to clap my hands in time with the music, but just about managed to control myself.

The order of the service was somewhat similar to the Anglican Rite A but had a different Eucharistic prayer to any used by Anglicans, and other liturgical differences could be found. The sermon was short but thought-provoking. About ten minutes on how, if twelve of Jesus’ disciples could change the world, then so can we.

Overall, I found it a very enjoyable experience, somewhat like a low-church Anglican service, but with Catholic theology. Tea and biscuits were available after the service, and the Chaplain announced that More House would be available for us to relax and read the Sunday papers in the afternoon.

To sum up, it was excellent. I was, as a Protestant, made to feel at home and welcome. A very good service with warm, friendly people. What more could you want?

Dave Spence

Last modified: 25th November 2005