Merry Christmas from St. Paul's Vicarage, London!Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
The Christmas Spirit of London
The holiday season in London has been one of mixed emotions for me. It is my first Christmas away from home which is always a hard thing to get used to. I catch myself a lot thinking about "what my family and friends must being doing right now" and day-dreaming of the Sweedish meatballs, St. Olaf Christmas music, and lutifisk that are staples in my family's holiday tradition. I have come to realize that one cannot fully appreciate and cherish the holiday traditions of their family until they come into a situation where those elements are no longer the norm. I have given up trying to explain the "concept" of lefsa to the English. They simply can't percieve how somthing so sweet can go with the main meal and try to serve it as a desert. How do you get yourself to laugh on Christmas? Try getting a proper Englishman to roll a piece of lefsa at the dinner table. I promise you will be laughing for hours!
In an attempt to get myself out of the "feeling sorry for myself because I am not at home for Christmas" mood, I have specifically been looking for new traditions that the English in London cherish in their Christmas Holiday. Firstly, I have discovered the interesting cake thing called a "Mince Pie" that is the bread and butter of any English Christmas meal. English grocery chains such as Sainsbury's and Morrison's PACK their shelves with these little pies and one couldn't get away from them even if they tried. I have eaten Mince Pies at church, on the street, at school, in people's homes, before concerts, after concerts, and even for desert AFTER desert. Yes, Mince Pies are taking over Great Britian. I have yet to find out about the joys of Christmas pudding, however. Many Londoners, I have come to observe, make a huge fuss about WHEN to serve the Christmas pudding, namely BEFORE or AFTER the Queen's address. Thus far, in my official count, families who serve their pudding after the Queen's address are out numbering families who serve it before. Although, this carefully orchestrated study has yet to be completed. I will let you know the results once they become available.
The final thing that I have come to observe about Londoners and how they celebrate Christmas is their absolute fascination with Christmas caroling. I think I should open up a business on the side called "Eric's Christmas Caroling Shop". In it, I would just hire singers to sing Christmas songs for people to stop by and listen. I would make more money than Bill Gates! Lou, one of our parishoners, works at a Youth Drop-in Center in a section of Camden called Somers Town. She takes some of their clients out and goes Christmas caroling as a fundraiser for their yearly activities budget. After one afternoon of caroling, they came back with two thousand pounds ($4,100)! The church gets into the caroling spirit as well by allowing various groups to come in and have "special carol services". One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time was watching Father Nicholas try and lead 150 railway workers in a carol service. It was a sight to see!
I have also been involved with this caroling frenzy as I have been taking my 35 kids in the St. Michael's Primary School Gospel Choir to different places around London and singing Christmas favorites. I got the chance to direct these kids in the great lobby of the British Museum which was incredible! I will never forget some of the children's faces as they sang. These kids have had an enormous impact on me in how they project the Christmas spirit. Although about 20 of the 35 children are Muslim, they still convey joy and warmth in a remarkable way. It continues to remind me how much the Christmas spirit unites us on many fronts.
In a city where community can be hard to find, there is somthing about this time that changes the way everyone lives and works here. Perhaps it can best be described in my experience with an elderly man as I was tromping up Camden Road with a Christmas tree for St. Paul's Church on my shoulder. The man (who spoke very little English) turned his head to me and gave me a big smile. "Merry Christmas to You!", he said. I turned, smiled back, and also wished him a merry Christmas. For only these few days, Londoners seem to actually be "looking up" and smiling at each other. People are stepping a little out of their boundaries and actually acknowledging others' presence as they smile to each other. This to me is a powerful example of the joy of Christmas. May you, this season, be able to see how this spirit influences both yourself and your surrounding community. Merry Christmas!
In an attempt to get myself out of the "feeling sorry for myself because I am not at home for Christmas" mood, I have specifically been looking for new traditions that the English in London cherish in their Christmas Holiday. Firstly, I have discovered the interesting cake thing called a "Mince Pie" that is the bread and butter of any English Christmas meal. English grocery chains such as Sainsbury's and Morrison's PACK their shelves with these little pies and one couldn't get away from them even if they tried. I have eaten Mince Pies at church, on the street, at school, in people's homes, before concerts, after concerts, and even for desert AFTER desert. Yes, Mince Pies are taking over Great Britian. I have yet to find out about the joys of Christmas pudding, however. Many Londoners, I have come to observe, make a huge fuss about WHEN to serve the Christmas pudding, namely BEFORE or AFTER the Queen's address. Thus far, in my official count, families who serve their pudding after the Queen's address are out numbering families who serve it before. Although, this carefully orchestrated study has yet to be completed. I will let you know the results once they become available.
The final thing that I have come to observe about Londoners and how they celebrate Christmas is their absolute fascination with Christmas caroling. I think I should open up a business on the side called "Eric's Christmas Caroling Shop". In it, I would just hire singers to sing Christmas songs for people to stop by and listen. I would make more money than Bill Gates! Lou, one of our parishoners, works at a Youth Drop-in Center in a section of Camden called Somers Town. She takes some of their clients out and goes Christmas caroling as a fundraiser for their yearly activities budget. After one afternoon of caroling, they came back with two thousand pounds ($4,100)! The church gets into the caroling spirit as well by allowing various groups to come in and have "special carol services". One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time was watching Father Nicholas try and lead 150 railway workers in a carol service. It was a sight to see!
I have also been involved with this caroling frenzy as I have been taking my 35 kids in the St. Michael's Primary School Gospel Choir to different places around London and singing Christmas favorites. I got the chance to direct these kids in the great lobby of the British Museum which was incredible! I will never forget some of the children's faces as they sang. These kids have had an enormous impact on me in how they project the Christmas spirit. Although about 20 of the 35 children are Muslim, they still convey joy and warmth in a remarkable way. It continues to remind me how much the Christmas spirit unites us on many fronts.
In a city where community can be hard to find, there is somthing about this time that changes the way everyone lives and works here. Perhaps it can best be described in my experience with an elderly man as I was tromping up Camden Road with a Christmas tree for St. Paul's Church on my shoulder. The man (who spoke very little English) turned his head to me and gave me a big smile. "Merry Christmas to You!", he said. I turned, smiled back, and also wished him a merry Christmas. For only these few days, Londoners seem to actually be "looking up" and smiling at each other. People are stepping a little out of their boundaries and actually acknowledging others' presence as they smile to each other. This to me is a powerful example of the joy of Christmas. May you, this season, be able to see how this spirit influences both yourself and your surrounding community. Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Christingle and the French
This past week has been very exciting as it marked the begining of a new relationship with the Parish of St. Pancras in Camden Town and the Parish of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris. This church relationship started about 10 years ago when it was announced that Eurostar would build a high-speed rail line from London to Paris and use the St. Pancras Railway Station as it's staging point. On Tuesday, 10 parishoners from St. Vincent de Paul traveled from Paris to London in 2 hours and 4 minutes on this brand new Eurostar line. They were greeted by a group of parishoners from St. Pancras and Father Nicholas extending a welcoming smile and handshake. What an exciting moment!
We packed a full day in with our French guests. I had the privliage of taking them to St. Michael's Primary School during a school assembly. The kids had learned simple French greetings and were very enthusiastic about talking in French. One of the French parishoners was a primary school teacher in Paris and was overjoyed to see all the kids so excited about learning French! The priest from St. Vincent de Paul knew very little English, but communicated very well with the kids in funny facial expressions and with another person translating. We then took the group of visitors to the St. Pancras Hospital where Owen and Father Malcolm explained the hospital chaplaincy ministry that our congregation does. The hospital even allowed our group to enter one of the Psychological wards where we talked with different patients. I think it was a very big eye opener for our parish friends.
The two congreations are remarkably similar. They both equal around 300 worshipers and are very urban parishes. They are both struggling with how to combat homelessness in their local communities and are committed to alchohol and drug prevention ministries. Both parishes are also struggling with the continuing preasure of secularism and dwindling resources. All of these things draw the two churches together in a very intimate way. What an incredible experience it was to listen to the sharing of joy, challenge, and hope these people shared with one another.
The evening ended with a service of thanksgiving that was both in English as well as French. The CEO of Eurostar, Bishop of Edmonton, Mayor of Camden, rail workers, and parishoners all packed Old St. Pancras Church for the event. In a tremendous gesture of unification, the Catholic preist of St. Vincent de Paul even shared the Eucharist (against normal Catholic doctrine) with his fellow Church of England counterparts. All of this touched me, but, perhaps the most remarkable image I will take away from the evening was when the two parishes gathered around their preists on either side of the sanctuary in a blessing. The two priests said prayer intersessions together- each in their respective languages with the bishop blessing them at the end. Finally, after concluding with the Lord's Prayer, the two priests happily shook hands and exchanged gifts. There was then an instant roar of enthusiasim and parishoners from the two sides immediatley came together in a wash of laughter, handshakes, and greetings. It was a night when two cultures that have historically been seperated by geographical, political, and economic barriers came together in a spirit of hope for the future. What an incredible privilage it was to be a part of such an event.
While the French were busy touring the sites of Camden, Father Nicholas was called away to do a Christingle celebration with the kids of St. Mary's Primary School (which is connected with St. Mary's Church, one of the churches in the St. Pancras Parish). Since Owen, who is based at St. Mary's, was tied up with other things Father Nicholas asked me to come along and be "moral support". "You won't have to do a thing", he said. "Just come and watch." I then accompanied him to St. Mary's where I sat down in a pew and waited for the service to start.
For those of you who aren't familar with a Christingle, I can fill you in. A Christingle is a little decoration, stemming from the Moravian tradition, that comprises of an orange, a candle, a red ribbon, and four jelly beans with toothpicks. The candle is placed in the orange which represents Jesus being the light (candle) of the world (orange). Four jelly beans on toothpicks are poked on opposite sides of the orange symbolizing the four seasons and the "fruit of the earth". Finally, the red ribbon is wrapped around the entire orange symbolizing Christ's love for the world. The making of Christingles is always done with children during the season of advent to celebrate and anticipate the coming of Christmas (the birth of Jesus- the light of the world). Many church schools in England still celebrate this tradition and have Christingle festivals.
The Christingle festival at St. Mary's, I could see, was not seen as "old fashioned" at all and was becoming packed with people. Ten minutes before the service began, Nicholas motioned for me to come into the sacristy. He was absolutley beside himself. Communication had broken down between him and the school officials. Nicholas was expecting the School Headmistress to hand him a planned order of worship. Instead, she handed him a sheet of paper with three bullet points:
1. Tell Christmas Story. Factor in carols we have been practicing (a list of about 15 carols) throughout the story as appropiate. Make sure ALL carols are sung.
2. Tell what a Christingle is
3. Blessing
I have never seen Father Nicholas so beside himself- he was even shaking! He tried to sketch out a plan of how he was going to tell the Christmas story with all the carols but just couldn't seem to draw things together. With two minutes left before the service began, I finally decided that I could come up with somthing. We quickly agreed that he would do the begining and end parts and I would be in charge of telling the Christmas story. I quickly scanned the list of carols the teachers wanted to sing, came up with a rough structure in my head, drank a quick glass of water, and said to myself "God help me!" I then headed out infront of 400 people (300 children) and told somthing that resembled the Christmas story. I don't think I have ever been so pumped up on adrenaline in my life.
To my surprise, the service actually went quite well. Afterwards, Father Nicholas turned to me and said, "Well, maybe we should take our act out on the road!" This moment was certainly a time where I learned confidence in myself. I have been thrown into situations that have needed to be solved with "on the fly" solutions before, but never one this huge. One can never be fully prepared in this line of work. You always have to be willing to put yourself out there, even when you don't feel you have it all together. God does, I have learned, appear in unexpected places. Especially in this instances such as this one, I have gained appreciation for him never giving up on me.
We packed a full day in with our French guests. I had the privliage of taking them to St. Michael's Primary School during a school assembly. The kids had learned simple French greetings and were very enthusiastic about talking in French. One of the French parishoners was a primary school teacher in Paris and was overjoyed to see all the kids so excited about learning French! The priest from St. Vincent de Paul knew very little English, but communicated very well with the kids in funny facial expressions and with another person translating. We then took the group of visitors to the St. Pancras Hospital where Owen and Father Malcolm explained the hospital chaplaincy ministry that our congregation does. The hospital even allowed our group to enter one of the Psychological wards where we talked with different patients. I think it was a very big eye opener for our parish friends.
The two congreations are remarkably similar. They both equal around 300 worshipers and are very urban parishes. They are both struggling with how to combat homelessness in their local communities and are committed to alchohol and drug prevention ministries. Both parishes are also struggling with the continuing preasure of secularism and dwindling resources. All of these things draw the two churches together in a very intimate way. What an incredible experience it was to listen to the sharing of joy, challenge, and hope these people shared with one another.
The evening ended with a service of thanksgiving that was both in English as well as French. The CEO of Eurostar, Bishop of Edmonton, Mayor of Camden, rail workers, and parishoners all packed Old St. Pancras Church for the event. In a tremendous gesture of unification, the Catholic preist of St. Vincent de Paul even shared the Eucharist (against normal Catholic doctrine) with his fellow Church of England counterparts. All of this touched me, but, perhaps the most remarkable image I will take away from the evening was when the two parishes gathered around their preists on either side of the sanctuary in a blessing. The two priests said prayer intersessions together- each in their respective languages with the bishop blessing them at the end. Finally, after concluding with the Lord's Prayer, the two priests happily shook hands and exchanged gifts. There was then an instant roar of enthusiasim and parishoners from the two sides immediatley came together in a wash of laughter, handshakes, and greetings. It was a night when two cultures that have historically been seperated by geographical, political, and economic barriers came together in a spirit of hope for the future. What an incredible privilage it was to be a part of such an event.
While the French were busy touring the sites of Camden, Father Nicholas was called away to do a Christingle celebration with the kids of St. Mary's Primary School (which is connected with St. Mary's Church, one of the churches in the St. Pancras Parish). Since Owen, who is based at St. Mary's, was tied up with other things Father Nicholas asked me to come along and be "moral support". "You won't have to do a thing", he said. "Just come and watch." I then accompanied him to St. Mary's where I sat down in a pew and waited for the service to start.
For those of you who aren't familar with a Christingle, I can fill you in. A Christingle is a little decoration, stemming from the Moravian tradition, that comprises of an orange, a candle, a red ribbon, and four jelly beans with toothpicks. The candle is placed in the orange which represents Jesus being the light (candle) of the world (orange). Four jelly beans on toothpicks are poked on opposite sides of the orange symbolizing the four seasons and the "fruit of the earth". Finally, the red ribbon is wrapped around the entire orange symbolizing Christ's love for the world. The making of Christingles is always done with children during the season of advent to celebrate and anticipate the coming of Christmas (the birth of Jesus- the light of the world). Many church schools in England still celebrate this tradition and have Christingle festivals.
The Christingle festival at St. Mary's, I could see, was not seen as "old fashioned" at all and was becoming packed with people. Ten minutes before the service began, Nicholas motioned for me to come into the sacristy. He was absolutley beside himself. Communication had broken down between him and the school officials. Nicholas was expecting the School Headmistress to hand him a planned order of worship. Instead, she handed him a sheet of paper with three bullet points:
1. Tell Christmas Story. Factor in carols we have been practicing (a list of about 15 carols) throughout the story as appropiate. Make sure ALL carols are sung.
2. Tell what a Christingle is
3. Blessing
I have never seen Father Nicholas so beside himself- he was even shaking! He tried to sketch out a plan of how he was going to tell the Christmas story with all the carols but just couldn't seem to draw things together. With two minutes left before the service began, I finally decided that I could come up with somthing. We quickly agreed that he would do the begining and end parts and I would be in charge of telling the Christmas story. I quickly scanned the list of carols the teachers wanted to sing, came up with a rough structure in my head, drank a quick glass of water, and said to myself "God help me!" I then headed out infront of 400 people (300 children) and told somthing that resembled the Christmas story. I don't think I have ever been so pumped up on adrenaline in my life.
To my surprise, the service actually went quite well. Afterwards, Father Nicholas turned to me and said, "Well, maybe we should take our act out on the road!" This moment was certainly a time where I learned confidence in myself. I have been thrown into situations that have needed to be solved with "on the fly" solutions before, but never one this huge. One can never be fully prepared in this line of work. You always have to be willing to put yourself out there, even when you don't feel you have it all together. God does, I have learned, appear in unexpected places. Especially in this instances such as this one, I have gained appreciation for him never giving up on me.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A Birthday with Our Lady of Walsingham and Admiring Camden Town Art
The craziness of the Advent season led me to really enjoy my stay at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The village of Walsingham is a population of barley 500 people and sits out with the grazying sheep 175 miles north of London. The shrine itself takes up about half of the town with it's residence halls, church, conference center, and offices. The shrine prides itself on being as "high church" as possible. I respected their quest in this venture as they wanted to express each and every act of worship well and with purpose. This sense of doing tasks with purpose stemmed to how they ran every element of worship during the whole weekend retreat. The retreat was called "Adoraemus", meaning "new life". It was for anyone ages 18-30 and about 50 participants showed up for the "pilgramage". It surprised me how many different areas of England everyone represented as almost every area was.
The usual schedule was very lax and would go in a pattern as follows: 1. go to morning worship, 2. have lunch, 3. go to the pub, 4. afternoon study, 5. go to the pub, 6. have dinner, 7. go to the pub, 8. have evening worship, 9. go to the pub again. There was only one pub in the village that was called "The Bull". It was a nice, quaint little place right in the town square. As you would walk in, you would think it any other normal small village pub...... until you saw all of the pictures of past Shrine priests and icons of saints on the walls. Yes, this was no ordinary pub- this was a "churchy" pub. Thus, my afternoons and evenings in Walsingham were usually spent "drinking down a pint", looking at the pictures of Jesus on the wall, and having deep theological discussions.
These discussions would include lessons for me (the only Lutheran in the entire village which gained me the nickname "Martin") in high-church practices of the Church of England. For example, on the first evening we all gathered in the Shrine Church for an Advent Carol Service to mark the begining of Advent. It was an absolutley beautiful service filled with candle light and more familiar hymns. It came to the end of the service which I thought I had down pat- Eucharist, Lord's Prayer, Blessing, Benediction, done. I triumphantly was speaking the Lord's Prayer when I suddenly realized that everyone else had dropped out. In the more Eastern Orthodox tradition (which the Church of England borrows some traditions from) the last part of the Lord's Prayer (For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever etc..) is not said. Thus, I did an entire solo of the more western addition to the Lord's Prayer completley by myself with everyone looking at me blankly. And if that weren't enough, as soon as the priest said the blessing I got out of my chair and walked down the isle thinking it was time to go. Everyone suddenly started kneeling again! I quickly lunged for a kneeler as I turned around and saw the priest pick up this huge frame of a GIGANTIC communion waffer with little flames shooting out of the sides. He then proceeded to take this huge star-bursty thing and wave it around infront of the congregation while the organ played a "Star Wars" type theme. I was very perplexed.
I was told afterwards that this star-burst thing was actually called a Monstrance. It is used to signify Christ physically being here with us. The Monstrance is quite important in major feasts as it is the culmination of Christ in the Eucharist and Christ in the body. A very interesting thing to have learned, even if it was through embarassment. And so, my brithday became a day of really "being" in the stillness of this village and learning new worship traditions in a pub that had Jesus portaits hanging on the walls. Needless to say, it will be a birthday I will never forget!
This evening I went to the opening of an art exhibit that is being held in the sanctuary of St. Michael's. The exhibit incorporates 16 local artists all making pieces based on the theme "shelter". This theme was picked by the group who is putting on the show to reflect the fact that the event is a benefit for the Winter Night Shelter of Camden. The Winter Night Shelter starts in Janruary and runs through March. Each church in the area is assigned one night in the week to house a certain number of homeless residents. It is a very amazing idea as a fundraiser and it certainly seemed to go well tonight. Even though it was a dreary and cold December evening, over 150 people came to see the pieces. It was fantastic to see where each artist took this theme and how the show really spoke as a collective unit. December is proving itself to be a challenging month. I can now see why people in our parish have problems with seasonal depression. The sun sets here at around 3.30pm. It takes events like this art exhibit to really shine light where there is a lot of darkness.
The usual schedule was very lax and would go in a pattern as follows: 1. go to morning worship, 2. have lunch, 3. go to the pub, 4. afternoon study, 5. go to the pub, 6. have dinner, 7. go to the pub, 8. have evening worship, 9. go to the pub again. There was only one pub in the village that was called "The Bull". It was a nice, quaint little place right in the town square. As you would walk in, you would think it any other normal small village pub...... until you saw all of the pictures of past Shrine priests and icons of saints on the walls. Yes, this was no ordinary pub- this was a "churchy" pub. Thus, my afternoons and evenings in Walsingham were usually spent "drinking down a pint", looking at the pictures of Jesus on the wall, and having deep theological discussions.
These discussions would include lessons for me (the only Lutheran in the entire village which gained me the nickname "Martin") in high-church practices of the Church of England. For example, on the first evening we all gathered in the Shrine Church for an Advent Carol Service to mark the begining of Advent. It was an absolutley beautiful service filled with candle light and more familiar hymns. It came to the end of the service which I thought I had down pat- Eucharist, Lord's Prayer, Blessing, Benediction, done. I triumphantly was speaking the Lord's Prayer when I suddenly realized that everyone else had dropped out. In the more Eastern Orthodox tradition (which the Church of England borrows some traditions from) the last part of the Lord's Prayer (For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever etc..) is not said. Thus, I did an entire solo of the more western addition to the Lord's Prayer completley by myself with everyone looking at me blankly. And if that weren't enough, as soon as the priest said the blessing I got out of my chair and walked down the isle thinking it was time to go. Everyone suddenly started kneeling again! I quickly lunged for a kneeler as I turned around and saw the priest pick up this huge frame of a GIGANTIC communion waffer with little flames shooting out of the sides. He then proceeded to take this huge star-bursty thing and wave it around infront of the congregation while the organ played a "Star Wars" type theme. I was very perplexed.
I was told afterwards that this star-burst thing was actually called a Monstrance. It is used to signify Christ physically being here with us. The Monstrance is quite important in major feasts as it is the culmination of Christ in the Eucharist and Christ in the body. A very interesting thing to have learned, even if it was through embarassment. And so, my brithday became a day of really "being" in the stillness of this village and learning new worship traditions in a pub that had Jesus portaits hanging on the walls. Needless to say, it will be a birthday I will never forget!
This evening I went to the opening of an art exhibit that is being held in the sanctuary of St. Michael's. The exhibit incorporates 16 local artists all making pieces based on the theme "shelter". This theme was picked by the group who is putting on the show to reflect the fact that the event is a benefit for the Winter Night Shelter of Camden. The Winter Night Shelter starts in Janruary and runs through March. Each church in the area is assigned one night in the week to house a certain number of homeless residents. It is a very amazing idea as a fundraiser and it certainly seemed to go well tonight. Even though it was a dreary and cold December evening, over 150 people came to see the pieces. It was fantastic to see where each artist took this theme and how the show really spoke as a collective unit. December is proving itself to be a challenging month. I can now see why people in our parish have problems with seasonal depression. The sun sets here at around 3.30pm. It takes events like this art exhibit to really shine light where there is a lot of darkness.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Performing on Stage and the Cold Weather of Advent
Last Saturday, the Parish of St. Pancras had a parish-wide Dinner/Dance which was a fundraiser for the Shrine of Walsingham. For those of you who are not aware of Walsingham, this shrine is a special place. There has been a Shrine to Mary the Virgin in this little village since the 4th century. The Shrine was demolished as the Romans came through- but was rebuilt in the early half of this century using images from coins of the era. The Shrine continues to be an important site for European Christians to make a Pilgrimage. I will have the opportunity to visit this place this coming weekend which I am very excited about (I will be there for my birthday no less!).
The Church in Walsingham is fundraising for a restoration of the shrine and more residence halls to house pilgrims. Our parish decided to hold this dinner, dance, and raffle and see how much money they could come up with. Over 90 people showed up to St. Paul's Church in Camden Square for the event. Father Nicholas wanted to make sure that this was as formal of an event as possible and wanted all of the wait staff (namely the pastoral assistants and church wardens) to wear black and white. I had the privilage of fitting into Fr. Nicholas's old tux which came with the very traditional English boe-tie (one that had to actually be tied!). "We'll turn you into a proper Englishman yet!", Nicholas kept saying.
A part of this whole ordeal, the priests asked Owen and I to perform a type of Cabaret before the dancing would begin. I redid some pieces that I sang from my recital this summer and did some classic American songs as: "Wade in the Water" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Owen and I finished with the famous Fred Astair /Ginger Rogers duet "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" which we rewrtote the lyrics to in representing me being from Minnesota and Owen being from Cardiff (Wales). I have never sung at a function where they give you a standing ovation after every piece! What an audience it was! Both Owen and I got many compliments, but perhaps the best compliment came from Shiri'n who immigrated here from Iran. "Your songs made my night!", she said. "It was good to see your true heart!"
After the performance, we had a dance of disco music (Father Nicholas is crazy about Disco). It made me take pause to see how everyone got up and danced. It didn't matter how old you were, how young you were, or whether you were black, white, or indifferent- you danced! Perhaps the highlight of the dancing was seeing Gladis (but everyone calls her "Glad" because she is so bubbly in her personality!), a woman of 84 outdance pretty much all of the young guys! It was if she left the cloak of age back at the dinner table and showed her true colors. No one could keep Glad from dancing the night away- and what an inspiration it was.
The next morning, my tired and achy self got out of bed and preached a sermon at St. Michael's. It was Christ the King Sunday and the gospel was that of Jesus up on the Cross and talking with the two criminals. I must say, I found the Church of England's choice of scripture for the Christ the King Sunday odd at first- but then it made sense to me. How backwards is it that our "King" actually suffered and died to the injustices of this world? I think we need to be reminded of that fact more often. So, I think it was a perfect passage for the day.
St. Michael's Church is going through a very hard time with finances. It , out of the four churches which make up the Parish of St. Pancras, is the poorest. In general however, we are truly starting to see how the rising cost of living in the United Kingdom is affecting the poor. More people are being put on the streets because they are being kicked out of their homes to make way for newer, and higher income housing. Job wages are stagnent in London at the moment, so people are left with very horrible situations. No where can this be better seen then at St. Michael's Church where the majority of parishoners are immigrants.
This Autumn, we have been having a parish-wide stewardship campagin to try and raise money for needs across the four churches. Out of the average of 65 people who attend St. Michael's every Sunday, 9 have commited pledges of meager monetary gifts. Because St. Michael's has been such a drain on the parish wide resources- esspecially in the past 6 months- drastic measures are having to be taken. Because of this, St. Michael's has decided that they are going to turn off the heat entirely to the church.
This last Sunday, I looked at the thermometer in the Sacristy. It read 9 degrees Celcius. That is about 38 degrees fahrenheit of wet, bone chilling London cold. Seeing your breath as you give a sermon is quite interesting- let me tell you. I am particularly worried for some of our elderly members as sitting in a chilled church on a Sunday morning is probably not the best thing. However, people are resilent here. Even though there is great fear about how this church will relalistically afford it's mounting bills this winter, there is still a unifying energy that will never cease.
So, I ask you this Advent season to pray for the people of St. Pancras- esspecially for the members of St. Michael's Church. Pray that they may continue to find a spirit that will rally them together. Pray that God may help and comfort this financially troubled church and seek to embrace it with love.
I sometimes laugh when I think of this parish raising funds for another organization. I don't think you could find a better example of the poor supporting the poor.
The Church in Walsingham is fundraising for a restoration of the shrine and more residence halls to house pilgrims. Our parish decided to hold this dinner, dance, and raffle and see how much money they could come up with. Over 90 people showed up to St. Paul's Church in Camden Square for the event. Father Nicholas wanted to make sure that this was as formal of an event as possible and wanted all of the wait staff (namely the pastoral assistants and church wardens) to wear black and white. I had the privilage of fitting into Fr. Nicholas's old tux which came with the very traditional English boe-tie (one that had to actually be tied!). "We'll turn you into a proper Englishman yet!", Nicholas kept saying.
A part of this whole ordeal, the priests asked Owen and I to perform a type of Cabaret before the dancing would begin. I redid some pieces that I sang from my recital this summer and did some classic American songs as: "Wade in the Water" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Owen and I finished with the famous Fred Astair /Ginger Rogers duet "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" which we rewrtote the lyrics to in representing me being from Minnesota and Owen being from Cardiff (Wales). I have never sung at a function where they give you a standing ovation after every piece! What an audience it was! Both Owen and I got many compliments, but perhaps the best compliment came from Shiri'n who immigrated here from Iran. "Your songs made my night!", she said. "It was good to see your true heart!"
After the performance, we had a dance of disco music (Father Nicholas is crazy about Disco). It made me take pause to see how everyone got up and danced. It didn't matter how old you were, how young you were, or whether you were black, white, or indifferent- you danced! Perhaps the highlight of the dancing was seeing Gladis (but everyone calls her "Glad" because she is so bubbly in her personality!), a woman of 84 outdance pretty much all of the young guys! It was if she left the cloak of age back at the dinner table and showed her true colors. No one could keep Glad from dancing the night away- and what an inspiration it was.
The next morning, my tired and achy self got out of bed and preached a sermon at St. Michael's. It was Christ the King Sunday and the gospel was that of Jesus up on the Cross and talking with the two criminals. I must say, I found the Church of England's choice of scripture for the Christ the King Sunday odd at first- but then it made sense to me. How backwards is it that our "King" actually suffered and died to the injustices of this world? I think we need to be reminded of that fact more often. So, I think it was a perfect passage for the day.
St. Michael's Church is going through a very hard time with finances. It , out of the four churches which make up the Parish of St. Pancras, is the poorest. In general however, we are truly starting to see how the rising cost of living in the United Kingdom is affecting the poor. More people are being put on the streets because they are being kicked out of their homes to make way for newer, and higher income housing. Job wages are stagnent in London at the moment, so people are left with very horrible situations. No where can this be better seen then at St. Michael's Church where the majority of parishoners are immigrants.
This Autumn, we have been having a parish-wide stewardship campagin to try and raise money for needs across the four churches. Out of the average of 65 people who attend St. Michael's every Sunday, 9 have commited pledges of meager monetary gifts. Because St. Michael's has been such a drain on the parish wide resources- esspecially in the past 6 months- drastic measures are having to be taken. Because of this, St. Michael's has decided that they are going to turn off the heat entirely to the church.
This last Sunday, I looked at the thermometer in the Sacristy. It read 9 degrees Celcius. That is about 38 degrees fahrenheit of wet, bone chilling London cold. Seeing your breath as you give a sermon is quite interesting- let me tell you. I am particularly worried for some of our elderly members as sitting in a chilled church on a Sunday morning is probably not the best thing. However, people are resilent here. Even though there is great fear about how this church will relalistically afford it's mounting bills this winter, there is still a unifying energy that will never cease.
So, I ask you this Advent season to pray for the people of St. Pancras- esspecially for the members of St. Michael's Church. Pray that they may continue to find a spirit that will rally them together. Pray that God may help and comfort this financially troubled church and seek to embrace it with love.
I sometimes laugh when I think of this parish raising funds for another organization. I don't think you could find a better example of the poor supporting the poor.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Rest and Fresh Air in Saltburn
I am now writing from a lovely house in the Saltburn countryside owned by the Breen family, my friend Maren's (another ELCA volunteer) host family. I decided to take a short holiday away from the chaotic and busy nature of London and come here to relax for a few days. It has been very good to get away and have time to think and explore the beautiful English landscape. Saltburn is a small little village on the Northeast border between England and Scottland. It is a sleepy seaside town of 5,000 people who take life at there own pace.
With it being close to the 3 month marker of my adventure here in England, I have been thinking about where I have been and where I still have to go. I think there are some solid things that I have learned about myself which I more or less didn't expect. The first one is being confident in a large, worldly city and not being afraid. God has really pushed me in this direction of learning sucessfully not only the culture of a new country, but also learning the language and culture of an inner city ghetto. It takes a lot to not be overwhelmed by it all and to be able to break up all of the activity into chunks that can be sucessfully processed.
With the curve of learning culture, God has encouraged me to build confidence in meeting and relating to people. Infact, as of now, I think this piece of my job I like most of all. I love to go over to people's homes and hear their stories. There are SO MANY stories to be heard and to be told. It gives me courage and hope not only in myself, but in humanity when I hear of all the struggles that people have persevered through in Camden.
As with each thing to be proud of, there is also a new hurtle to cross and an opportunity to grow more. I feel like those challenges have presented themselves a lot over these last few days while I have had time to be on holiday. The biggest thing that I have realized more than anything is the fact of London making me more tense and highstrung in my everyday life. There are many things in my personality that I think lead to being more of a "tense" person. However, I have really begun to notice, esspecially since I have been in the slow-life of Saltburn, the realities of how the stresses of London affect a person in their behavior and faith.
Thus, when I go back to London tomorrow, it will be time to start thinking about opportunities to breath and truly be able to "listen to God". One thing I admire so much about the slowness of life in this community is their ability to really "be" and to "listen" to what God is doing in their lives. I feel like I don't have the time in my job to really "be". Of course this is the difference between big city and small village life and I don't expect to carry on the life of Saltburn in central London completley. However, I think that we all could learn a thing or two about this slow paced life of a village. Perhaps we would be more healthier in the long run.
Thus, as Thanksgiving approaches for the citizens of the United States, I will give thanks for many things in my life. I give thanks for the way that God has challenged me and changed me over these few months and where my faith will take me and challenge me in the coming year. I give thanks for my family and friends who have supported me through this entire journey. I give thanks for the church and all of the things it has done to promote justice, peace, and the gospel in this world. I give thanks for the people of Camden and all that they have taught me about living life. Finally, I give thanks for a world, though imperfect and conflicted, that still harbors hope.
With it being close to the 3 month marker of my adventure here in England, I have been thinking about where I have been and where I still have to go. I think there are some solid things that I have learned about myself which I more or less didn't expect. The first one is being confident in a large, worldly city and not being afraid. God has really pushed me in this direction of learning sucessfully not only the culture of a new country, but also learning the language and culture of an inner city ghetto. It takes a lot to not be overwhelmed by it all and to be able to break up all of the activity into chunks that can be sucessfully processed.
With the curve of learning culture, God has encouraged me to build confidence in meeting and relating to people. Infact, as of now, I think this piece of my job I like most of all. I love to go over to people's homes and hear their stories. There are SO MANY stories to be heard and to be told. It gives me courage and hope not only in myself, but in humanity when I hear of all the struggles that people have persevered through in Camden.
As with each thing to be proud of, there is also a new hurtle to cross and an opportunity to grow more. I feel like those challenges have presented themselves a lot over these last few days while I have had time to be on holiday. The biggest thing that I have realized more than anything is the fact of London making me more tense and highstrung in my everyday life. There are many things in my personality that I think lead to being more of a "tense" person. However, I have really begun to notice, esspecially since I have been in the slow-life of Saltburn, the realities of how the stresses of London affect a person in their behavior and faith.
Thus, when I go back to London tomorrow, it will be time to start thinking about opportunities to breath and truly be able to "listen to God". One thing I admire so much about the slowness of life in this community is their ability to really "be" and to "listen" to what God is doing in their lives. I feel like I don't have the time in my job to really "be". Of course this is the difference between big city and small village life and I don't expect to carry on the life of Saltburn in central London completley. However, I think that we all could learn a thing or two about this slow paced life of a village. Perhaps we would be more healthier in the long run.
Thus, as Thanksgiving approaches for the citizens of the United States, I will give thanks for many things in my life. I give thanks for the way that God has challenged me and changed me over these few months and where my faith will take me and challenge me in the coming year. I give thanks for my family and friends who have supported me through this entire journey. I give thanks for the church and all of the things it has done to promote justice, peace, and the gospel in this world. I give thanks for the people of Camden and all that they have taught me about living life. Finally, I give thanks for a world, though imperfect and conflicted, that still harbors hope.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
What it is like to Loose a Friend and be 2,000 miles Away from Home
I have delayed a little bit on this post in order to put my thoughts together properly on what has happened this week. Last Saturday, I recieved an email from a friend which told me that Katherine Olson, another dear friend of mine from St. Olaf and camp, was murdered when going to a job interview in Savage, Minnesota. Her body was found in the trunk of her car parked in a nature preserve not far away from the perpetrator's house. This was the first murder to occur in the community of Savage for over 25 years. What a blow it is to have it be one of your friends.
To say the least, this last week has been one of anger, sadness, shock, and challenge. Ironically, it was Harvest Sunday at St Michael's this last week. So while I was dealing with this tragedy within, the whole focus was about thanking God for the gifts he has given us. It actually proved to be very meaningful as we sang "Now Thank We All Our God" and "For the Beauty of the Earth". Life is a gift that we cannot take for granted at any cost. It only takes a horrible thing like what happened to Katherine to remind all of us just how fragile life can be.
The people of this parish have been wonderful and supportive. I have recieved amazing letters and words of encouragment from people of all walks of life. It has shown me how we all relate to one another in this unique community. No one is for themselves and no one stands alone here. For when one person mourns, the community mourns. It affects all of us.
It took me a little while to realize this and figure out what my role should be in this process. We all have our expectations of what a pastor or priest should be in a community. Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations and expected that I could carry out my duties here perfectly even when I was strongly grieving. This, ofcourse, was not the case and I became frustrated in my own human faults. It wasn't until I really started to open up to the staff here at the parish that I began to realize I am not superhuman. People of the ministry wrestle with the same issues as people of the parish and no one should expect them to be any different.
I barely got through the praryer petitions last Sunday without breaking down when I got to the names of the recently departed. Afterwards, I became so frustrated with myself for showing my emotions to the people of the congregation. Nicholas reassured me, however, that it was a good thing. "People need to know that you are human too" , he said. Now that I look back on it, I couldn't agree more.
As with many things, I have realized that I need this parish just as much as this parish needs me. I would not be where I am with my thoughts right now if I didn't have the expression of love and support from the people that I work with every single day. The people become so much more than your co-workers and parishiners. They become your strength and your family.
Even though I will be struggling with this event for a long time to come in my own right. This tragedy has opened my eyes to the very nature of community and hope. Even though I do feel very far away from my family and friends at home right now, I am not alone. I am with my family here. For that, I say thanks be to God.
To say the least, this last week has been one of anger, sadness, shock, and challenge. Ironically, it was Harvest Sunday at St Michael's this last week. So while I was dealing with this tragedy within, the whole focus was about thanking God for the gifts he has given us. It actually proved to be very meaningful as we sang "Now Thank We All Our God" and "For the Beauty of the Earth". Life is a gift that we cannot take for granted at any cost. It only takes a horrible thing like what happened to Katherine to remind all of us just how fragile life can be.
The people of this parish have been wonderful and supportive. I have recieved amazing letters and words of encouragment from people of all walks of life. It has shown me how we all relate to one another in this unique community. No one is for themselves and no one stands alone here. For when one person mourns, the community mourns. It affects all of us.
It took me a little while to realize this and figure out what my role should be in this process. We all have our expectations of what a pastor or priest should be in a community. Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations and expected that I could carry out my duties here perfectly even when I was strongly grieving. This, ofcourse, was not the case and I became frustrated in my own human faults. It wasn't until I really started to open up to the staff here at the parish that I began to realize I am not superhuman. People of the ministry wrestle with the same issues as people of the parish and no one should expect them to be any different.
I barely got through the praryer petitions last Sunday without breaking down when I got to the names of the recently departed. Afterwards, I became so frustrated with myself for showing my emotions to the people of the congregation. Nicholas reassured me, however, that it was a good thing. "People need to know that you are human too" , he said. Now that I look back on it, I couldn't agree more.
As with many things, I have realized that I need this parish just as much as this parish needs me. I would not be where I am with my thoughts right now if I didn't have the expression of love and support from the people that I work with every single day. The people become so much more than your co-workers and parishiners. They become your strength and your family.
Even though I will be struggling with this event for a long time to come in my own right. This tragedy has opened my eyes to the very nature of community and hope. Even though I do feel very far away from my family and friends at home right now, I am not alone. I am with my family here. For that, I say thanks be to God.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Three Part Night
Last Thursday, Fr. Nicholas and I went out in the evening to do some visiting of people in the parish. We originally were only going to two people's houses (one for a visit and one for dinner). The first person we were planning to visit was a woman from Cambodia named Georgette. She tragically lost her baby during pregnancy (she was five months pregnant) and had just gotten out of the hospital.
Now Nicholas is a wonderful and bright man, but when it comes to directions he really doesn't have a clue. The trick is, you see, that when you are a priest you play the game and refuse to let on that you actually DON'T know where one of your parishiners live. So around this apartment building we went while Nicholas patiently studied the door number of each door and continued to mumble "I just know it is around the corner.." Finally, when we came to Flat #11, his eyes opened up with joy. "This is it! I remember now!" He then confidently knocked on the door. As soon as the person came to the window, Nicholas mumbled "shoot.....this isn't the right house..." It turned out to be one of the older woman of St. Paul's Chuch named Naiomi. I tell you one thing though, if anyone doesn't miss a step when they know they have made a mistake it is Nicholas. As soon as Naiomi opened the door, Nicholas burst out "Hello Naiomi! We were just in this part of town and decided to drop by for a little bit!" I couldn't believe it, a priest who actually lied! We both kept up the act for 45 minutes as we had tea with Naiomi. What a great time!
We finally figured out where Georgette lived and visited her for another hour. I can't find the words to describe how hard it was to comfort this young woman who felt worthless inside. It is hard to imagine the pain that a woman must feel after such an episode. I really didn't know what to say the entire time we were there. It certainly was much more of a listening ministry more than anything else.
We then headed out on the tube and went to a young Equidorian couple named Jenny and Kurlie. They both entered the country as refugees and Nicholas helped them earn their citizenship. They have three wonderful daughters and a son who were very fun to talk with. We watched a movie of their oldest daughter's 15th birthday party. And when I say birthday party, I mean EXTRAVAGANZA. In Equadorian cutlure, when a female turnes 15, it means that she has past from the world of being a girl to being a woman. Thus, it is a very big deal and this family went all out. They first had a mass at St. Michael's where there were 15 "bridesmaid" and "grooms man" type people for the ceremony. Father James (who was doing the mass because Nicholas was on Summer holiday for this event) blessed a pair of high-heel pink shoes that the daughter later put on to symbolize the "entrance into womanhood". After the mass, they then went to a venue nearby and danced the night away with 180 people! I don't know what I would do if that were my 15th birthday!
After watching this movie for two hours (both parents had to pause it and point out every single person that was present to Father Nicholas), we had dinner and went home. I got home at midnight. A long but good night in the parish of Old St. Pancras.
Now Nicholas is a wonderful and bright man, but when it comes to directions he really doesn't have a clue. The trick is, you see, that when you are a priest you play the game and refuse to let on that you actually DON'T know where one of your parishiners live. So around this apartment building we went while Nicholas patiently studied the door number of each door and continued to mumble "I just know it is around the corner.." Finally, when we came to Flat #11, his eyes opened up with joy. "This is it! I remember now!" He then confidently knocked on the door. As soon as the person came to the window, Nicholas mumbled "shoot.....this isn't the right house..." It turned out to be one of the older woman of St. Paul's Chuch named Naiomi. I tell you one thing though, if anyone doesn't miss a step when they know they have made a mistake it is Nicholas. As soon as Naiomi opened the door, Nicholas burst out "Hello Naiomi! We were just in this part of town and decided to drop by for a little bit!" I couldn't believe it, a priest who actually lied! We both kept up the act for 45 minutes as we had tea with Naiomi. What a great time!
We finally figured out where Georgette lived and visited her for another hour. I can't find the words to describe how hard it was to comfort this young woman who felt worthless inside. It is hard to imagine the pain that a woman must feel after such an episode. I really didn't know what to say the entire time we were there. It certainly was much more of a listening ministry more than anything else.
We then headed out on the tube and went to a young Equidorian couple named Jenny and Kurlie. They both entered the country as refugees and Nicholas helped them earn their citizenship. They have three wonderful daughters and a son who were very fun to talk with. We watched a movie of their oldest daughter's 15th birthday party. And when I say birthday party, I mean EXTRAVAGANZA. In Equadorian cutlure, when a female turnes 15, it means that she has past from the world of being a girl to being a woman. Thus, it is a very big deal and this family went all out. They first had a mass at St. Michael's where there were 15 "bridesmaid" and "grooms man" type people for the ceremony. Father James (who was doing the mass because Nicholas was on Summer holiday for this event) blessed a pair of high-heel pink shoes that the daughter later put on to symbolize the "entrance into womanhood". After the mass, they then went to a venue nearby and danced the night away with 180 people! I don't know what I would do if that were my 15th birthday!
After watching this movie for two hours (both parents had to pause it and point out every single person that was present to Father Nicholas), we had dinner and went home. I got home at midnight. A long but good night in the parish of Old St. Pancras.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Stonehenge, Students from Stanford, and the Simple Message of a Russian Hymn
It has been a little over a month since I arrived in London, and I decided that I needed to GET OUT of London for a day. So Owen, Amanda, and our friend from St. Michael's named Edward journeyed by train to Salisbury and then beyond to the rolling acres of Stonehenge. I did not realize how aching I was to get out into the countryside. When you are around people yelling, car horns, smelly busses, and hectic traffic all the time, being out in the English countryside seemed like paradise. First off, it just astounds me as to how ancient this rock formation is. I learned about the "barrows"- ancient burial sites that are found all around Stonehenge and all over the Salisbury Plain. The first of these burial sites were put in around 2,000 years ago. Archeologists believe Stonehenge to be around 3,500-4,000 years old. That means that when these "ancient" burial sites were made, Stonehenge was ALREADY ancient as it would have been roughly 1,500 years old already. It is very hard to grasp your mind around.
After our morning at Stonehenge, we came back to Salisbury and spent the rest of the day admiring the town gardens and the Salisbury Cathedral. The Cathedral was splendid as was the men and boys choir who sang for Evensong. Ironically, they sang a piece by Sammuel Welsley which I had sung before in Cantorei with Dr. John Ferguson in my sophomore year at St. Olaf. It was very interesting to hear an english interpretation of the piece. Also in the Cathedral, we met a large group of university students from Stanford who were spending a term of study in England. Their course was ironically on English history and culture. From talking with them, they had hit all of the major sites and sounds of England and were on their way to London. In my casual watching of them, it definetly posed the question in my mind to how much English culture were they exactly experiencing? In a group, they acted distinctly American and were very comfortable in that. Ofcourse, being in a group of students is a wonderful experience. My life was very much changed after going to Italy and Germany with an Iterim group at St. Olaf. But how much does a course actually really teach you about current culture? Do you ironically need to get outside of your university comfort group to really understand another way of life? How willing are most people in doing this? It is interesting to think about.
Yesterday, I was invited over with Owen to the house of Natalia. Natalia works with me at St. Michaels School as a teaching assistant and music guide. She is from Estonia and moved over with her son and mother to the UK twelve years ago. If anyone would fit the image of a loud, confident, and boisterous Russian, Natalia would be the one. To be honest, the week had been a hard one and Owen and I were very tired and perhaps not in the best of moods to go visit someone. It also takes a lot of energy to speak with Natalia as you have to slow down your speach and really listen to her broken English. However, being that it would be rude to turn down the invitation so late, we went anyways. Our conversation at the table with Natalia and her son Sergio was one of faith, misery, challenge, and hope. Here was a 65 year old woman telling her story of how she beat the odds of being an immigrant woman who headed a family, being homeless, and having cancer. It was somthing that I have seen so many times here, but this time truly struck home with me.
Natalia was a music teacher in Estonia and is still working on getting qualified in the UK. Her love of music rings through her so much, it seemed to reach out and grip all of us. "Music makes us live!", she proclaimed time and time again. After dinner, she literally lifted me out of my chair and plopped me infront of the piano. "Play somthing that is special to you!", she stated. I shared a camp song that my youth pastor Tom Hunstad would always sing called "Dance with Me". I don't know if it was the fact that I told her Tom had died of cancer or of my horrible playing that made her eyes water, but she was very moved. Owen then played a few hymns that were special to him afterwards. After a brief pause for tea, I asked Natalia to play somthing dear to her. The short statured woman looked like she was 10ft tall when she started to play. The song was an Estonian style hymn that she heard before she went into sugery for her brain tumor. The piano hadn't been tuned for probably 10 years and was frightfully out of tune, but for Natalia's playing...it didn't matter. The lyric Russian melody of the piano was a stunning prelude to her singing the Estonian text. All of the tiredness in me was swept away as I was transcended by this beautiful piece. At the end, I asked her what the lyrics meant in English. "Simple", she said. "God's beautiful love is for you and me". How we all should be reminded of that simple fact time and again.
After our morning at Stonehenge, we came back to Salisbury and spent the rest of the day admiring the town gardens and the Salisbury Cathedral. The Cathedral was splendid as was the men and boys choir who sang for Evensong. Ironically, they sang a piece by Sammuel Welsley which I had sung before in Cantorei with Dr. John Ferguson in my sophomore year at St. Olaf. It was very interesting to hear an english interpretation of the piece. Also in the Cathedral, we met a large group of university students from Stanford who were spending a term of study in England. Their course was ironically on English history and culture. From talking with them, they had hit all of the major sites and sounds of England and were on their way to London. In my casual watching of them, it definetly posed the question in my mind to how much English culture were they exactly experiencing? In a group, they acted distinctly American and were very comfortable in that. Ofcourse, being in a group of students is a wonderful experience. My life was very much changed after going to Italy and Germany with an Iterim group at St. Olaf. But how much does a course actually really teach you about current culture? Do you ironically need to get outside of your university comfort group to really understand another way of life? How willing are most people in doing this? It is interesting to think about.
Yesterday, I was invited over with Owen to the house of Natalia. Natalia works with me at St. Michaels School as a teaching assistant and music guide. She is from Estonia and moved over with her son and mother to the UK twelve years ago. If anyone would fit the image of a loud, confident, and boisterous Russian, Natalia would be the one. To be honest, the week had been a hard one and Owen and I were very tired and perhaps not in the best of moods to go visit someone. It also takes a lot of energy to speak with Natalia as you have to slow down your speach and really listen to her broken English. However, being that it would be rude to turn down the invitation so late, we went anyways. Our conversation at the table with Natalia and her son Sergio was one of faith, misery, challenge, and hope. Here was a 65 year old woman telling her story of how she beat the odds of being an immigrant woman who headed a family, being homeless, and having cancer. It was somthing that I have seen so many times here, but this time truly struck home with me.
Natalia was a music teacher in Estonia and is still working on getting qualified in the UK. Her love of music rings through her so much, it seemed to reach out and grip all of us. "Music makes us live!", she proclaimed time and time again. After dinner, she literally lifted me out of my chair and plopped me infront of the piano. "Play somthing that is special to you!", she stated. I shared a camp song that my youth pastor Tom Hunstad would always sing called "Dance with Me". I don't know if it was the fact that I told her Tom had died of cancer or of my horrible playing that made her eyes water, but she was very moved. Owen then played a few hymns that were special to him afterwards. After a brief pause for tea, I asked Natalia to play somthing dear to her. The short statured woman looked like she was 10ft tall when she started to play. The song was an Estonian style hymn that she heard before she went into sugery for her brain tumor. The piano hadn't been tuned for probably 10 years and was frightfully out of tune, but for Natalia's playing...it didn't matter. The lyric Russian melody of the piano was a stunning prelude to her singing the Estonian text. All of the tiredness in me was swept away as I was transcended by this beautiful piece. At the end, I asked her what the lyrics meant in English. "Simple", she said. "God's beautiful love is for you and me". How we all should be reminded of that simple fact time and again.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Where do we draw Boundaries on Ministry?
This week has been a very busy one with St. Michael's Day being on Saturday. The celebration was wonderful as we went out into the street and paraded around Camden Town! One thing I can say....I have never led 200 people down a street in a Cassick before!!
St. Michael's Day for me was also a painful reminder of the community this church is located in. We have a woman named Sara who has been with St. Michael's Church ever since Nicholas has been there. She has had extreme ups and downs in her emotions and has wrestled with depression constantly. St. Michael's Day was a low day for her and she came to the mass absolutley drunk. She shouted out things during the service and even attacked one of the church wardens because they wouldn't serve her more communion wine. She then hid underneath the altar in the chapel for a while so that no one could talk with her or reason with her. After a couple people finally got her out of her "huddle" position in the chapel, she came into the sanctuary and threw one of the largest fits I have ever seen. Sara started punching the altar, kicking down all of the flowers and candle sticks, and even throwing down the cross near by. Finally, the church had to throw her drunk and beligerant self out.
This event has really caused me to think about how much the church can possibly reach out. The congregation of St. Michael's has known for years that Sara drinks and has even enrolled her in psychological courses. She just isn't able to follow through.
St. Michael's Church is no stranger to this behavior either. Acouple years ago they had two gentlemen walk in from the street and start fighting each other with knives from the coffee/tea bar after the mass. There have also been problems with people coming in off the street and having sex on the altar!! Talk about disprespect. Sometimes I can't believe that the church continues it's outreach to these people. Don't we need a little respect and thankyou? Ofcourse, I have to remind myself that most people are very appreciative of the church's actions in this community. The question still rolls in my head though- are there lines to be drawn in ministry?
St. Michael's Day for me was also a painful reminder of the community this church is located in. We have a woman named Sara who has been with St. Michael's Church ever since Nicholas has been there. She has had extreme ups and downs in her emotions and has wrestled with depression constantly. St. Michael's Day was a low day for her and she came to the mass absolutley drunk. She shouted out things during the service and even attacked one of the church wardens because they wouldn't serve her more communion wine. She then hid underneath the altar in the chapel for a while so that no one could talk with her or reason with her. After a couple people finally got her out of her "huddle" position in the chapel, she came into the sanctuary and threw one of the largest fits I have ever seen. Sara started punching the altar, kicking down all of the flowers and candle sticks, and even throwing down the cross near by. Finally, the church had to throw her drunk and beligerant self out.
This event has really caused me to think about how much the church can possibly reach out. The congregation of St. Michael's has known for years that Sara drinks and has even enrolled her in psychological courses. She just isn't able to follow through.
St. Michael's Church is no stranger to this behavior either. Acouple years ago they had two gentlemen walk in from the street and start fighting each other with knives from the coffee/tea bar after the mass. There have also been problems with people coming in off the street and having sex on the altar!! Talk about disprespect. Sometimes I can't believe that the church continues it's outreach to these people. Don't we need a little respect and thankyou? Ofcourse, I have to remind myself that most people are very appreciative of the church's actions in this community. The question still rolls in my head though- are there lines to be drawn in ministry?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Pictures of London the Second!
My new German friends and me at the TimeFor God Conference
Julian, Father Nicholas, and Liz
St. Michael's Church with it's new roof!
St. Paul's Church
Me on top of the world at Alexandra's Palace
Pictures of London!
Me and Big Ben!
Amanda and I goofing around infront of the Parliment Building
The National Gallery
Camden Town!
The Markets
My house!Saturday, September 22, 2007
Communication and Lessons of being an American
This week I attended a Time For God Conference in Muswell Hill- a section of London about 30 minutes from Camden. Time for God is the organization that the ELCA sent me through in the United States. Time for God is actually responsible directly for my placement in the UK.
There were 20 volunteers at this prep conference and I was the ONLY American and the ONLY one who didn't have English as a second language. The group was quite diverse as there were people from South Korea, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Sweeden. When I first arrived and saw that everyone was getting into their "country language" groups, I thought it was going to be a very long and lonely week. However, I made a promise to myself that I was not going to shut down and be by myself. I was going to make every effort possible to engage everyone and not let language and culture differences seperate me from the rest of the group.
At first, people poked fun at my American accent and laughed at my "high fives" which all seemed to fall into the general stereotype of how Americans interact with each other. Although people were very nice, it was quite obvious that they had their ideas about what American's were like. I decided that I would try and break those stereotypes by joining the group in going to a local pub. With my presence, it forced everyone to speak English which went over better with some than others. However, this sentiment soon changed as we got into an amazing discussion about country stereotypes. I got a full description as to what multiple countries think of America. Perhaps the most striking aspect was everyone's agreement that American's always get what they want and never stop to ask questions as to what other people need. (This concept was brought out further a day later by a simple conference group game. Everyone wanted to be on my team! Ironically- my team won. Maybe this says somthing)It, infact suprised many of the volunteers that I was even curious and asking questions about their home countries.
The night at the Pub ended with an incredible conversation about homesickness. It took place between 2 Hungarians, a South Korean, a German, an Italian, and an American! It all of a sudden bridged different worlds together for me. Here I am coming from a context that is different from many of these other people, but the reason that I am sacrificing many elements for a year- a comfortable environment, family, girlfriend, close friends etc. is remarkably the same to the others. All of us are looking for who we are and who God is in the world. All of us are driven by a passion that there can be understanding and respect for things that are different. All of us are here to learn as well as help.
And so I learned that I am not alone in this whole thing. Sure, there is God and the ever deepening and challenging of my faith. But, there are also people that are different from me who want to be challenged and grow like me. There are strangers out there that you might pass by thinking that it is too hard to connect. But if you just let yourself be open to possibilities and give a little bit of time. Strangers can become amazing friends.
There were 20 volunteers at this prep conference and I was the ONLY American and the ONLY one who didn't have English as a second language. The group was quite diverse as there were people from South Korea, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Sweeden. When I first arrived and saw that everyone was getting into their "country language" groups, I thought it was going to be a very long and lonely week. However, I made a promise to myself that I was not going to shut down and be by myself. I was going to make every effort possible to engage everyone and not let language and culture differences seperate me from the rest of the group.
At first, people poked fun at my American accent and laughed at my "high fives" which all seemed to fall into the general stereotype of how Americans interact with each other. Although people were very nice, it was quite obvious that they had their ideas about what American's were like. I decided that I would try and break those stereotypes by joining the group in going to a local pub. With my presence, it forced everyone to speak English which went over better with some than others. However, this sentiment soon changed as we got into an amazing discussion about country stereotypes. I got a full description as to what multiple countries think of America. Perhaps the most striking aspect was everyone's agreement that American's always get what they want and never stop to ask questions as to what other people need. (This concept was brought out further a day later by a simple conference group game. Everyone wanted to be on my team! Ironically- my team won. Maybe this says somthing)It, infact suprised many of the volunteers that I was even curious and asking questions about their home countries.
The night at the Pub ended with an incredible conversation about homesickness. It took place between 2 Hungarians, a South Korean, a German, an Italian, and an American! It all of a sudden bridged different worlds together for me. Here I am coming from a context that is different from many of these other people, but the reason that I am sacrificing many elements for a year- a comfortable environment, family, girlfriend, close friends etc. is remarkably the same to the others. All of us are looking for who we are and who God is in the world. All of us are driven by a passion that there can be understanding and respect for things that are different. All of us are here to learn as well as help.
And so I learned that I am not alone in this whole thing. Sure, there is God and the ever deepening and challenging of my faith. But, there are also people that are different from me who want to be challenged and grow like me. There are strangers out there that you might pass by thinking that it is too hard to connect. But if you just let yourself be open to possibilities and give a little bit of time. Strangers can become amazing friends.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Comissioning, Ordination, and the Churches I am a part of
This week has been one of intense culture and church learning as I continue my involvment in this parish. Owen and I have now recieved our final assignments as to who is going to be in which church! I will be at St. Michael's and St. Paul's and Owen will be at St. Pancras and St. Mary's. Because of the uniquness of the congregations that we will be serving in, our jobs will differ a little from one another. Owen will be working a lot with St. Mary's toddler program and youth group as well as coordinate a winter night shelter that will be going on at the church from January to March. I will be working a lot with two schools connected with St. Michael's, lead a bible study for both St. Michael's and St. Paul's, and be connected in some way to the day shelter in the area.
Both of the churches that I am working at have a very interesting past history that I can share a little bit with you here. St. Michael's Church has been a landmark in downtown Camden since the late 18th century. It, like many of it's church counterparts in the area, was built in the Victorian era mindset that EVERYONE needs a church close by so that it will be easier for the public to retain a moral life. Consequently, churches were built in the area not because there was a need in the population, but because the Church of England deemed it necessary for the moral behavior of the city inhabitants. The Victorian Church of England got pretty far in this goal as there is still currently a pew seat for one of every seven people in the entire city of London. Even as the Church of England tries to attract new people in current years, it has become very apparent that there are just too many church buildings in the area for the communities to support. St. Michael's would have fallen onto the "abandoned list" if it had not been for the Reverend Nicholas who came and brought the four parishes of St. Michael's, St. Paul's, St. Mary's, and St. Pancras together. He also retooled the mission of St. Michael's as a church that reaches out to the poor and the hungry. Thus, the congregation of St. Michael's has drastically changed from that of very wealthy Victorian business men, to that of migrant workers, refugees, and people with mental illnesses. On September 29th, St. Michael's will be celebrating it's 10 year fundraising campaign of putting a new £500,000 roof on the church building. The church really looks impressive with it's great new looking spires from the street. Since the building is over 175 years old, it still needs huge upkeep. Now that the building looks new from the outside, it is the inside that needs attention. Plaster is cracking, the floor is worn, the great mosaics are peeling apart. This determined congregation is now setting it's eyes on a new restoration project for the inside. Many believe it won't happen for another 15 years, but this congregation is determined.
St. Paul's was a beautiful church that graced the greenery of Camden Square since the 1820's. It had an incredible 100 ft. high steeple/bell tower that could be seen for miles. This asset turned into a negative as it was one of the many targets for German bombing raids in World War II. Consequently, the building was destroyed and a "temporary" building was installed in 1954 that is still here today. The current building unforunatley doesn't recount any of the beauty of the church that preceeded it (though they were able to reuse some of the stained glass windows). As the area has changed in population, so has the congregation. Though unlike the congregation of St. Michael's, St. Paul's retains a large group of elderly who remember how the church once was and continue to hope to bring it back. This isn't likely any time soon as a new church building would cost well over £1 million pounds. For a congregation of 95, this is a huge task indeed.
This week also gave me the opportunity to be comissioned by the Archdeacon of London. We had a wonderful service here in the Vicarage with a lot of people from the four congregations attending. There is a wonderful sense of excitment and support that I know I will feed off of.
I was also part of an ordination of Father Malcom who has been studying to be a priest here for a long time. It was fascinating to see the culture difference and "high church" ways of the Church of England. Owen and I were called "Vemperbarers" who are in charge of holding onto the Bishop of Edmonton's holy staff and hat. Because of the very nature of these "holy" things, the church of England tradition is that we cannot hold them with our own bare hands, but with a glove/stole thing that I can't remember the name of. We also could also not hand them directly to the bishop, but through a priest or archeacon who was "closer" to the bishop. All in all it was interesting to see this whole process, as my Lutheran tradition has none of this.
It has been an exciting week indeed. More to come.
Both of the churches that I am working at have a very interesting past history that I can share a little bit with you here. St. Michael's Church has been a landmark in downtown Camden since the late 18th century. It, like many of it's church counterparts in the area, was built in the Victorian era mindset that EVERYONE needs a church close by so that it will be easier for the public to retain a moral life. Consequently, churches were built in the area not because there was a need in the population, but because the Church of England deemed it necessary for the moral behavior of the city inhabitants. The Victorian Church of England got pretty far in this goal as there is still currently a pew seat for one of every seven people in the entire city of London. Even as the Church of England tries to attract new people in current years, it has become very apparent that there are just too many church buildings in the area for the communities to support. St. Michael's would have fallen onto the "abandoned list" if it had not been for the Reverend Nicholas who came and brought the four parishes of St. Michael's, St. Paul's, St. Mary's, and St. Pancras together. He also retooled the mission of St. Michael's as a church that reaches out to the poor and the hungry. Thus, the congregation of St. Michael's has drastically changed from that of very wealthy Victorian business men, to that of migrant workers, refugees, and people with mental illnesses. On September 29th, St. Michael's will be celebrating it's 10 year fundraising campaign of putting a new £500,000 roof on the church building. The church really looks impressive with it's great new looking spires from the street. Since the building is over 175 years old, it still needs huge upkeep. Now that the building looks new from the outside, it is the inside that needs attention. Plaster is cracking, the floor is worn, the great mosaics are peeling apart. This determined congregation is now setting it's eyes on a new restoration project for the inside. Many believe it won't happen for another 15 years, but this congregation is determined.
St. Paul's was a beautiful church that graced the greenery of Camden Square since the 1820's. It had an incredible 100 ft. high steeple/bell tower that could be seen for miles. This asset turned into a negative as it was one of the many targets for German bombing raids in World War II. Consequently, the building was destroyed and a "temporary" building was installed in 1954 that is still here today. The current building unforunatley doesn't recount any of the beauty of the church that preceeded it (though they were able to reuse some of the stained glass windows). As the area has changed in population, so has the congregation. Though unlike the congregation of St. Michael's, St. Paul's retains a large group of elderly who remember how the church once was and continue to hope to bring it back. This isn't likely any time soon as a new church building would cost well over £1 million pounds. For a congregation of 95, this is a huge task indeed.
This week also gave me the opportunity to be comissioned by the Archdeacon of London. We had a wonderful service here in the Vicarage with a lot of people from the four congregations attending. There is a wonderful sense of excitment and support that I know I will feed off of.
I was also part of an ordination of Father Malcom who has been studying to be a priest here for a long time. It was fascinating to see the culture difference and "high church" ways of the Church of England. Owen and I were called "Vemperbarers" who are in charge of holding onto the Bishop of Edmonton's holy staff and hat. Because of the very nature of these "holy" things, the church of England tradition is that we cannot hold them with our own bare hands, but with a glove/stole thing that I can't remember the name of. We also could also not hand them directly to the bishop, but through a priest or archeacon who was "closer" to the bishop. All in all it was interesting to see this whole process, as my Lutheran tradition has none of this.
It has been an exciting week indeed. More to come.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Life and Death...all in one day!
When one talks about serving in the parish, it is easy to mention how diverse it is as far as daily activities. This was very apparent to me yesterday as Father Bruce asked Owen and I to sit in on a meeting where a couple was planning to get married. There was great excitment and joy as this couple (who is planning to get married in St. Pancras Old Church next year) starteded talking about their upcoming wedding. It was very interesting to see the traditions of the Church of England regarding a wedding ceremony. Most of the traditions like "presenting the bands" (where the names of the two people getting married are presented to the congregation and community three months in advance to give the community a chance to say if they shouldn't get married) happen from a legal stand point just as much as they happen from a ceremony standpoint. Some lawyers even go through the process of making sure that the Church of England practices were done correctly, otherwise the marriage could be considered void in court. Although this is very unusual, it does happen.
After discussing the wonderful and exciting process of getting married in the UK, Owen and I visited a family with Father Nicholas who was mourning the recent death of their 46 year old sister. She died from cancer. The challenge with this case was that Nicholas had never met this woman or even seen the family before. It was thus the task of the three of us to sit down with the older sister and brother and draw a wholesome picture of who this woman was. The family was obviously working class and found it hard to come together with everyone working to make ends meet. They all looked very tired and worn. The family had even just recovered from the death of the grandmother 2 years ago and now were laid with this situation. I could see the anger and great sadness come from the sister and brother of this deceased woman. "Why did God take her at such a young age?!" she cried.
Today, Owen and I helped out at the funeral of the woman. Nicholas preached an incredible sermon- probably even more incredible to Owen and I because we knew he didn't know this woman from a hole in the wall. I recieved lots of comments from the family that his message was well appreciated. The other challenge of planning a funeral service for someone who you don't know is to incorporate different aspects of the person into the service. The sister was quite forward that this woman loved to dance and loved the "Chicken Dance" of all songs! Thus, Father Nicholas (rather reverently) allowed the "Chicken Dance" to be played after he preached! Thus, I can now tell you I have been to service where the special music has been the "Chicken Dance!" What a site!
All of this has definetley emphasized the fact of how much diversity there lies in the job of a priest. In one day, you can be celebrating life and joy with a young couple wanting to get married, and then mourn with a family who just lost a loved one. The priests here at St. Pancras take there job and challenges with a honor and joy that I have never really seen before. What a lesson they can teach all of us about flexibility and grace.
After discussing the wonderful and exciting process of getting married in the UK, Owen and I visited a family with Father Nicholas who was mourning the recent death of their 46 year old sister. She died from cancer. The challenge with this case was that Nicholas had never met this woman or even seen the family before. It was thus the task of the three of us to sit down with the older sister and brother and draw a wholesome picture of who this woman was. The family was obviously working class and found it hard to come together with everyone working to make ends meet. They all looked very tired and worn. The family had even just recovered from the death of the grandmother 2 years ago and now were laid with this situation. I could see the anger and great sadness come from the sister and brother of this deceased woman. "Why did God take her at such a young age?!" she cried.
Today, Owen and I helped out at the funeral of the woman. Nicholas preached an incredible sermon- probably even more incredible to Owen and I because we knew he didn't know this woman from a hole in the wall. I recieved lots of comments from the family that his message was well appreciated. The other challenge of planning a funeral service for someone who you don't know is to incorporate different aspects of the person into the service. The sister was quite forward that this woman loved to dance and loved the "Chicken Dance" of all songs! Thus, Father Nicholas (rather reverently) allowed the "Chicken Dance" to be played after he preached! Thus, I can now tell you I have been to service where the special music has been the "Chicken Dance!" What a site!
All of this has definetley emphasized the fact of how much diversity there lies in the job of a priest. In one day, you can be celebrating life and joy with a young couple wanting to get married, and then mourn with a family who just lost a loved one. The priests here at St. Pancras take there job and challenges with a honor and joy that I have never really seen before. What a lesson they can teach all of us about flexibility and grace.
Monday, September 3, 2007
The energy of Camden
It is now been close to a week since I landed in Heathrow Airport. What an amazing week it has been indeed! Father Nicholas, the rector at St. Pancras was there to meet me and help me get back to the Vicarage with all of my luggage. We took the express back to Paddington Station, and then a taxi (I have now ridden in a famous London taxi!) to Camden Square where the Vicarage is. I am still getting used to cars driving on the opposite side of the road. Many people told me that you have to make sure that you look in BOTH directions before crossing the road, because London traffic won't stop for you. In the United States, we automatically look left before crossing the road (even though we should always look BOTH directions). In London, you need to make sure that you look RIGHT as well, otherwise you could be in trouble with another vehicle.
I have also met my housemates for the year: Julian, Liz, and Owen. Julian and Liz are recently married and are paying rent to the perish at a reduced rate. Julian thus serves as the house coordinator or "house president". He makes sure that we have all the community things we need and that everything in the house goes smoothly. Both Julian and Liz are extremely musical which is very exciting! Julian plays jazz guitar and violin (I want to hear him play some jazz things on his violin sometime soon!) He also has a company that composes and records jingles for various companies in London. Liz is a trained opera singer and has just taken a job as program manager with one of the halls in central London (hopefully this will mean some good deals on tickets!) Owen, the other pastoral assistant, is from Wales. He is a wonderful fellow with a great sense of humor. He was also in a choir at his university which just got done with a tour. It has been great to compare musical interests with everyone- we certainly have a musical house!
Camden is the most diverse place I have ever been in. The crazy thing about the character of the town that I have never seen in the U.S. before is the way that the poor and the rich literally live side by side. On the street that our Vicarage is on, you have one side that is filled with million pound villas and on the other side is lower income housing! The different people that you will see walking down the side walk is staggering. You will first see maybe a nicely dressed buisness man, then a trendy european youth, then a muslim cleric, then a older resident who has been living in London for 70 years, and everyone in between! The church services reflect this diversity as well. For example, there was a whole group of newly arrived immigrants from Equador that came to a service on Sunday. Most of them didn't speak a word of English, but the welcoming nature was incredible.
As I start this "first" week of offical work, I will be meeting a lot of people and learning a lot of new things. I am absolutley certain that this place will most strikingly turn my world upside down.. hopefully for the better. Pray for me as I enter into this new world and stay tuned for further updates!
I have also met my housemates for the year: Julian, Liz, and Owen. Julian and Liz are recently married and are paying rent to the perish at a reduced rate. Julian thus serves as the house coordinator or "house president". He makes sure that we have all the community things we need and that everything in the house goes smoothly. Both Julian and Liz are extremely musical which is very exciting! Julian plays jazz guitar and violin (I want to hear him play some jazz things on his violin sometime soon!) He also has a company that composes and records jingles for various companies in London. Liz is a trained opera singer and has just taken a job as program manager with one of the halls in central London (hopefully this will mean some good deals on tickets!) Owen, the other pastoral assistant, is from Wales. He is a wonderful fellow with a great sense of humor. He was also in a choir at his university which just got done with a tour. It has been great to compare musical interests with everyone- we certainly have a musical house!
Camden is the most diverse place I have ever been in. The crazy thing about the character of the town that I have never seen in the U.S. before is the way that the poor and the rich literally live side by side. On the street that our Vicarage is on, you have one side that is filled with million pound villas and on the other side is lower income housing! The different people that you will see walking down the side walk is staggering. You will first see maybe a nicely dressed buisness man, then a trendy european youth, then a muslim cleric, then a older resident who has been living in London for 70 years, and everyone in between! The church services reflect this diversity as well. For example, there was a whole group of newly arrived immigrants from Equador that came to a service on Sunday. Most of them didn't speak a word of English, but the welcoming nature was incredible.
As I start this "first" week of offical work, I will be meeting a lot of people and learning a lot of new things. I am absolutley certain that this place will most strikingly turn my world upside down.. hopefully for the better. Pray for me as I enter into this new world and stay tuned for further updates!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Tomorrow is the big day
It is now the end of orientation in Chicago. What a marathon it has been! My world this week has been a combination of sitting, listening to speakers, eating, and sleeping....oh and some exploring of Chicago too. Even though there has been a lot of frustration with sitting, I still have appreciated the long list of information. I would rather have more information than less. It also has been kinda wierd as a lot of topics such as saftey or gender issues are vastly different between various countrys. I think it can be agreed upon that saftey issues I have to worry about in the UK are not the same issues that my roomate has to think about in Kenya. Still, a lot of the presentations clump us together. Oh well, I still feel like I am prepared as much as I can be. What orientation has been essential for is building community among other people who are going to our countries. There are so many cool people going to the UK! One girl is even working about 10 block from where I am at. I would never have known that if I hadn't spent a week here and gotten to know others. God has truly blessed all of us here and it has been a gift to share our thoughts and fears of international living with each other. Prayer has been somthing I have really worked on this week and I have found it really grounding. I really feel God's presence right now and am excited to see the challenges and joys of London. The bottom line is that I am here to learn this year-probably the most vital part of the ministry. I have slowly realized that my going to do this ministry is almost more for me that it is for the people I will be there with. What an incredible amount of love, patience and faith I feel I have the chance to develop abroad! Mission work DOES NOT mean (at least to me) going to go and "christianize" this world. Instead, I will be there in the ministry of presence and partnership. It will be a "give and take" every day. All of us are really excited to embark on this journey. It is time to get out of this LIMBO of orientation and get on that flight to London! It is time for the learning and partnership to begin!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The journey is starting...almost
It is now 10:45pm Saturday, August 18th and I am done packing for my year long endeavor to London, England. Pretty good I might say. Tomorrow is the big day when I leave for Chicago and start a week of orientation. I ACTUALLY leave for London on the 27th. This evening I said goodbye to my girlfriend, Abby, a very emotional time indeed that is a prelude to saying goodbye to the parents. I will be comissioned at my church (Westwood Lutheran Church) tomorrow AND sing a trio with my bother and father at the service. Crazy huh?! It is also crazy that it has now finally hit me that I AM going to London for a year. I know that before these big events in your life, you talk and talk but never truly believe that you are really going until the night before. That has arrived for me most definitely! I have such an incredible mix of emotions that I don't know where to begin in describing how I feel. It certainly is a new feeling that I haven't quite felt before in my life. No matter, I probably will feel many new things in these incredible months. I ask that God help me and guide me through this crazy transitional time and grant me safe travels this coming week. Hang on folks, it's going to be an incredible ride!
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