“A Frail Travelling Coincidence” : The Extra-Liturgical Assembly in Philip Larkin's “The Whitsun Weddings”

Strict definitions of the liturgical assembly limit it to the eucharistic gathering. More expansive approaches recognize some of the characteristics of “assembly” so defined—shared intention, shared space, shared memory, sending out—in non-eucharistic gatherings of worshiping communities. This article considers a possible extension towards accidental and not intentionally liturgical gatherings. It proposes that the integrity and significance of shared experiences, shared hopes, and orientation towards a future that lies beyond the gathering deserve serious consideration. To that end, it provides as a central study the train journey that is the subject of Philip Larkin's poem, “The Whitsun Weddings” (1958). Partly based on fact, and partly on imaginative reconstruction, the poem meditates on the lives of a dozen newly married couples who board at various stations, but share the last hour of the journey, before disembarking in London. Obvious cautions apply in extending the concept of “assembly” to this event. If they are respected, however, terms for valuing some of the increasingly prevalent forms of extra-ecclesial gathering may begin to emerge.