A friend sent me a rather amusing video of "Silent Monks" performing the Hallelujah chorus.
What I like about this is the level of complexity and preparation that followed on from a simple idea, drawing out a joke over a few minutes with laughter increasing along the way.
I happened to be talking with someone about ordination in the Church of England after the Christ Church evening service. And how bizarre the pre-ordination retreat was in the Diocese of York. The Anglo-Catholic guys had this sort of weird macho drinking thing going during the retreat, where they would gather at night with scotch and then get up early for morning prayer in the way that I think of college athletes having a game after a night out. The strange part was that they got together for drinking sessions during the two days of the retreat that were silent. Sort of "pass me a tumbler" with hand signals. The silent days were the best part of the retreat...
Any experience of silent monastic communities out there? --- I actually like these sorts of retreats sometimes if they are simple and not giving the impression that one is extra holy when not talking.
