Rochester candlelight pilgrimage

Yesterday, just before 7.30pm, members of my church and several others from the Diocese of Rochester, gathered inside Rochester Cathedral coming through the disabled entrance. There were about 20 of us, a fairly large group for this kind of Lenten tour. After mingling, at 7.30 the Chapter of Rochester Cathedral, with a verger (there, as he put it, "because Chapters do things like leave doors unlocked), welcomed us and we began out peripatetism. It was a pilgrimage of sorts for ourselves, while along the way were explained to us the pilgrimages of the past, as the Chapter combined historical comments on the building and its environs with the spiritual side of things both accidental and deliberate in its construction. Just a few interior lights were on and prior to descending to the crypt, we were given candles to carry which we proceeded to light(in plastic holders, to stop wax dripping on us). As we reached the high altar, the final station on our journey outside and in the magnificent building, we handed the candles back and stepped into the sanctuary. Here the carpet had been rolled back to reveal a circular mosaic of the Zodiac, with black marble streaked with a flash of white at the centre. Not very Christian one might think, but the reason it was here was because in the stained glass window at the centre, the head of the cruciform, was Christ the King, looking down on the pattern. Therefore, it sends a clear message that its not the seasons and the stars that affect our destiny, but the one behind them all that created them. The black marble with its fleck of whiteness was akin to the moment of creation out of chaos. There were many other fascinating titbits, from frescoes to the architecture. We sung in the crypt "Seek ye first" and we rounded off the evening singing "Be Thou my vision" at the high altar. We had a little bit of conversation after it all had finished (around 9.15pm) and then departed very much refreshed in our selves by this excusrion.