This morning, Andrew and I woke up at home, got up, had some breakfast and then went to Church. As I said on twitter…

Getting ready to go to @stgeorgebelfast with @belfastwriter – the only “normative” thing to do on Sunday morning. @churchofireland

— M Carchrie Campbell (@gyronny) May 13, 2012

We arrived at St George’s just before two friends from Changing Attitude Ireland and they joined us in the pew. Throughout Mass it was clear that the LGBT community is welcome in the church. I knew I was welcome in St George’s, now I am finding out that Andrew continues to be surprised and pleased at how he is welcomed and valued there too. Among the hymns we sang were Blessed John Henry Newman’s Firmly I believe, and truly, God is Three and God is One. Also, O Jesus I have promised to serve thee to the end. The hymn before the prayer of consecration was my favourite, Let all mortal flesh keep silence.

It is in the silence of our hearts, that we find and listen our God. We find that He loves us, whole, complete, and sinners as we are. In the peace and quiet of St George’s today I felt the love of God, something which was rather absent from the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Dublin yesterday.

After lunch, we returned for the Northern Ireland Maritime Service of Thanksgiving and Commemoration of those who have no known grave but the sea, which was attended by H.M. Lord Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, Dame Mary Peters, D.B.E..

This was particularly poignant for me this year as I now have a connexion to the Battle of the Atlantic through my husband. Andrew’s grandfather, Alexander McFarland served on M.V. Victor Ross, which was torpedoed and sunk by U-boat U-43. The simple service had music from Sumsion which I remember singing in Ripon, and even remember trying to learn the accompaniment on the organ. I’ll let you listen to it as sung by the choir of Ely Cathedral.