Day 10: Wells Cathedral, Bath Abbey, and the Roman Baths

21 January 2018

Today began with a bus ride from Salisbury to Wells Cathedral. Once we arrived, we entered the cathedral for an Anglican Eucharist service. The service began with a welcome, a hymn, and a few prayers, which were no different from the usual Methodist services at Duncan Memorial Unites Methodist Church. Then, the choir sings a prayer followed by another spoken prayer; the choir was different because it was only young girls versus a group mixed with college students and older men and women at Duncan. Before the sermon, there was a New Testament reading, another hymn, and a gospel reading with sung responses. This was different because there was a lot of formality with the Gospel book, as we all had to face the book as it was being processed down to the middle of the cathedral. After the sermon, we recited the Nicene creed, said another prayer, and sung another hymn before the Eucharist began. When everyone took communion, I decided instead to just receive a blessing because I was not comfortable drinking out of the same cup as everyone else. One last prayer and hymn ended the service.





After the service, we headed to Bath, England. We grabbed a quick lunch and then walked over to Bath Abbey. The Abbey was famous for being the location where the first king of England, Edgar was crowned. It was cool to see all of the history that was packed into this one building, including the many memorials, tombs, and stained glass windows that all had different meanings and significances. Some of my personal highlights included the windows that depicted Jesus’ life and the crowning of King Edgar. I also loved seeing the fan vaulted ceiling and the organ. I found myself super invested in the self-guided tour because it made everything so interesting. 











A quick walk across the street took us to the famous Roman Baths. Back in the 1st Century, the Romans created England’s first spa resort. There were many different features to this spa including a hot spring, some walkways, and the Great Bath in the middle of the building. It was cool to see how England was able to preserve the Baths so well considering they were over twenty centuries old. There were also many different statues and archways that were not as well preserved, but were still cool to see given the history conext of them. We also got the chance to taste some of the water from the Baths. The water was really warm and tasted metallic; most of us who drank it did not like the taste at all because it lingered on for a little while afterwards. Overall, while my interest in Roman history isn’t too deep, the experience was still a fascinating one. 












Our day ended with dinner at the hotel, which was less formal than usual but nevertheless very good. Through some kind of miracle, the NFC and AFC Football Championships were being broadcast in England, so I was able to end my night watching my least favorite team (The Patriots) win the AFC Championship. Well, I guess I’m rooting for the Eagles in the Super Bowl when I get back home. 

- Jacob Stech

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