Ramblings from Red Rose

I'm Moving Again!

2008-02-12T11:26:00.000Z

My dotmac account will expire in less than 30 days and I don’t want to pay the £70 annual subscription rate, so I’m moving to Wordpress. You may find my blog there:

http://ramblingsfromredrose.wordpress.com/

New Website!

2007-07-21T14:10:00.000+01:00

I have created a new website. You can find it here:

http://web.mac.com/will.grady/

See you there!

At Week's End

2007-07-14T16:26:00.000+01:00

Savannah,
for you Jesus Christ came into the world;
for you he lived and showed God's love;
for you he suffered death on the Cross;
for you he triumphed over death,
rising to newness of life;
for you he prays at God's right hand:
all this for you,
before you could know anything of it.
In your Baptism,
the word of Scripture is fulfilled:
‘We love, because God first loved us.’

I'm sorry that I dropped blogging after Monday. Savannah's baptism ran late into the evening on Monday, Tuesday we dealt with getting some of the family to the airport and getting the car MOT, Wednesday Jen, Michael, April, and I left for the Cotswold. It got busy.

Savannah's baptism was beautiful. So many were involved, and while it did last almost an hour and 40 minutes, I Trinity, Mellor, Wilpshire, and Langho all attended. Yvonne Pearson and Paul Davis took time away from Methodist Conference. Phil briefly appeared from sabbatical to lead the baptismal service. Jen's sermon was fantastic, and as soon as I get it "digitised" I will post it on my website. Michael and I presided at communion. Phil, as I said, led the baptism, but when it think everyone there had a great time. Folk from Bamber Bridge, came to part that is my favourite part of the service, I spoke the words above to Savannah, and cried as I got to the "all this for you, before you could know anything of it". She was looking right at me when I said that. Then I surprised her as I dropped the cold water on her little head. Phil said that she gave him a look that shouted, "Help me!" She got over it quite quickly, and I took her around the church. Finally, Jen, Michael, April, and I answered the questions about raising and nurturing her in the Christian faith. The whole service was beautiful.

April, Jen, Michael, and I had a great time in Oxford. We visited the cathedral where John and Charles Wesley were ordained (Christ Church) and the Bodleian Library. We also saw some of the points around the university that inspired C.S. Lewis's story where Lucy walks through the wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. On the way home, we visited Coventry Cathedral, where the Germans bombed the original church. The diocese chose to build a new one beside the old rather than rebuild. They kept the ruins as a monument to peace and reconciliation.

Today, we have spent the day playing with Savannah (mom and dad took care of her for the past three days) and resting. Everyone leaves us on Monday, so we have a final day with everyone.

Ordained of God

2007-07-09T10:12:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was a fantastic day! It was everything I could have hoped it would be. The weather was great (not really a factor since we were inside, but the sun shone through the stain glass above the altar), my friends and family were there, as well as work colleagues. Yvonne (my superintendent) gave the welcome at the opening of the service as the superintendent of the Blackburn Circuit. The cathedral made for a wonderful venue, even if it was an Anglican cathedral - making it a little more formal than many Methodists would like! Organisation before hand left a little to be desired, but the President of Conference (Martyn Atkins) reminded us to be gracious if little things went wrong.

Jen and I walked in with the other ordinands in silence, taking our place in the choir stalls. We followed the liturgy in the Methodist Worship Book, which was beautiful, but still strange for Methodists over here. I had heard of some past ordinands that always thought the service out of place for them, but it suited me. After the sermon, they called us up one by one to face the congregation. The President ask, "Are they worthy?" and the congregations responded loudly, "They are worthy!" I remember April looking at me as she said it. It was a beautiful moment. Each ordinand in turn walked up in front of the President to kneel. I remember my heart beating faster and faster as it got closer to my turn. It happened quite quickly, but I met Jen in front of the altar and I knelt down, while the President, the Bishop of Chile (world church representative), and Jen laid hands on my head. It was a quick, but meaningful moment. Then I took my place with the other ordinands. The next part I was not expecting to be so moving when it happened, so I was caught off guard by the moment. A past vice-president presented us our ordination bibles (our only certificate) and said, "receive this Bible as a sign of the authority committed to you this day to preach the word of God and to celebrate the sacraments." She looked me in the eyes as she said this. Tears came in my eyes as I watched. After we were all ordained, the presidents announced we are ordained, and the entire congregation applauded. The communion was next, and each ordinand came to the altar with their family. It was beautiful as we knelt together in front of the altar. Yvonne offered the chalice to us.

After the service, we went to the crypt for a short reception. Folk from Bamber Bridge were there and we got the group photo. Yvonne came down and she placed my new stole around my neck (that is not a part of the tradition here like it is in the United Methodist Church). Then the whole family came back for pizza at the Manse.

Back Home

2007-07-06T16:33:00.000+01:00

Wow! What a week! I had a great time, and wish that I had started blogging earlier in the week to give an overall impression of the week. Well, at least you have the blog from yesterday and today - two out of five isn't bad. And you can always look on my colleague's blog (the one I mentioned yesterday). This morning began like many last-day-of-retreat. Packing, cleaning out the room, handing in the key, and the sense that something is ending. Of course, we almost carry on like this is just another day - still talking about the same things, still waiting for session to begin. It is a little different in our case as we will still see each other on Sunday morning at the reception into full connexion, and then I will see a few that evening at ordination (all 60 of us aren't ordained at the same place). So it wasn't so much "good-bye" when we left, but see you on Sunday. That makes for what my friend Jen calls a "fuzzy good-bye". And of course, we all work for the connexion, so it is possible to stay in touch!

The morning session touched on the subject of sustaining yourself. It was very helpful in the sense that our leader, Ruth, reminded us that CPD (the Methodist "rule book") says take at least 24 hours where you do not work - so if we need more, take it. And we don't have to include shopping at the supermarket. I think that was helpful. I have recently taken the view if Savannah is happy, then I take the time to be with her (I can get a lot of time usually where she isn't happy). She also told us that CPD suggests that we develop a hobby. I haven't taken much time to do that. I don't know if I want to focus on photography or learning to use all this functionality on the computer or pick up an instrument. The problem with the latter two would be that I would be using them with a goal in mind to use them in worship. She only touched briefly on finding friendships - something I have been on a soapbox for a while. It is difficult to find friendships as a minister and I am very careful about friendships with church members because of the issues involved. She seemed to be in favour of them as long as the boundaries are set. That's difficult. Even more, most of the folk in my church are a good bit older than us. Overall, the lesson was very helpful. Also, during the session, she said something that spoke to me about my own church members - no matter how crazy they drive me, I still want them there with me this weekend. (Pictured, our leaders, L-R: Lucille, Steve, Ruth, and Paul).

The final communion service was beautiful. They set up a nice display (pictured left) with our tiles (the ones mentioned yesterday, pictured right) surrounding the communion table. I think what hit me most was when the preacher, Lucille, said, "You only have two more 'go-to-beds' before you are ordained." It hit me, I am really going to be ordained on Sunday. Seven years of work - not really ending, but one stage ending. Then came the most moving part of the week. Steve stood at the front with the three other leaders and read the name of each ordinand. As our name was called, we stood. Steve read my full name (a long story because people over here just stumble over it). I can't explain the feeling, but it was a holy moment. The last two worship services, I haven't wanted them to end. I didn't want the week to end. At the same time, I knew it was time. My grandmother likes to say at the end of a visit, "If hasn't been said by now, it's not going to be said." I think she same applied here. There really was nothing more to do, and the next step is reception into full connexion and then ordination.

The family is gathering now. April's parents, my cousin Tori, and my aunt Anne have all been here since Monday. Dad, mom, my uncle Jim, and Tori's daughter Kendall arrived today. Jen and Mike will be here tomorrow. It all seems as if everything is converging. Well, I need to go because I am a little lost with the time. My week has been so regimented, that I don't now what to do next. So I better make sure I am prepared!

On the Verge...

2007-07-05T19:18:00.000+01:00

...of a new blog! I am reinstating the blog! Savannah's coming into the world took precedence over blogging, but I am back. I write this from Nantwich, Cheshire, where I and 50+ other ordinands have gathered to prepare for our ordination this Sunday. We won't be all together at the same service (only a few others I met here will be ordained with me at Blackburn Cathedral), but it has been great getting to know other folk from around the connexion. I knew only one very well (Derek Oldham from my old circuit) and one other fairly well (Gareth from the North Lancs Under 5s group). Other than that, everyone was new.

It has been a great retreat. I have loved this week more than I thought I would. It has been a great time to sit and reflect, and be out of the circuit. I hate that it will have to end tomorrow (though I can't wait to see Savannah and April again!). Tonight's communion was led by connexional evangelist Steve Wild, who led the service in the Primitive Methodist tradition. The retreat leaders served it to us in our seats, kneeling in front of us. Moving, and of course disturbing because we feel uncomfortable being served in that way. Overall, the week has been a great balance of free time and sessions.

I am going to continue blogging for at least the next few days. Mom and Dad arrive in the country tomorrow. Jen and Mike come on Saturday. The ordination events continue on Sunday and Savannah's baptism takes place Monday night. It will be busy, but I also want those who can't come to be able to read about it online.

I met another blogger, who posted a link on his site to mine. He has some interesting thoughts on what's going on, so I recommened a visit to his site. His name is Dave and here is the link: http://42.blogs.warnock.me.uk/ Hope you enjoy!

I may write later on tonight - depends on how late I finish up!

Savannah Day Two

2007-01-24T23:58:00.001Z

Day Two of little Savannah’s life finds her even cuter than she was yesterday – if that’s possible. She had a rough night with learning to breastfeed. She seems a little lazy, which means she may be taking after her dad. April said the night passed without much sleep as she and the midwife worked hard to get Savannah to ‘latch on’. When she finally did after much work, Savannah fell asleep! But by the end of today when I left, she seemed to get the hang of it.

Cards and email are flooding in, delighting April and me, even if Savannah knows nothing of it. She is a much loved little girl. Savannah also got her first visitors today. The first was Loraine, who attends Wilpshire Methodist, but also works there at hospital. Not long after, Mike & Pauline from Bamber Bridge called in and finally my superintendent Yvonne stopped by. I don’t know how impressed Savannah was, but April and I were glad to have some folk drop by.

I am alone at home now, and I can’t wait for April and Savannah to come home. I miss them both. I wake up excited at about 5:45 AM but quickly realised that I would be able to see her until the afternoon (dads are only allowed in between 11 AM and 8 PM). The doctors have given no indication about when April is ok to leave, but it can’t be soon enough for me!

Happy Birthday, Savannah Niamh!

2007-01-23T21:14:00.000Z

What an amazing day! It began with a crisp, clear winter day – one like we haven’t seen much this winter. April and I got up early to leave for Royal Blackburn Hospital. At 9:15, the midwife took us to the operating theatre to prep April for surgery. The strangest feelings came over me. Both of us felt like we have been waiting for this for song long that it didn’t seem real. Then for me, I felt like I was in line for Space Mountain at Disney World – I keep wondering, ‘Do I really want to do this?’, accompanied by those feeling of panic! Of course, there were also the feelings of great excitement – neither of us could wait to meet her!

So, at 9:52 AM, Savannah Niamh (pronounced Neve) came into the world, a little shell-shocked, but soon wrapped in a blanket. At first, we saw her just after she was taken out of April – ok, kinda gross. The midwife then did all those things that midwives do after the birth (I don’t know about half of the test or checks they did), including measurements (54 cm or 21 ¼ inches) and weight (2.6 kg or 5 lbs 12 oz). She was so tiny! I don’t think I was prepared for how tiny she would be – neither was the midwife when the estimate she was told was nearly 8 lbs. I stood by the midwife, watching her – too scared to even touch her. I took a few pictures of her while the midwife continued her exam. Every once in a while I would reach out my finger to touch her, only to take it back quickly. April was still on the table while the surgical team finished her up. Then the midwife asked if I wanted to take her over to April. I did, but still scared, I tentatively picked her up. My eyes welled up immediately – I couldn’t believe she was mine. April and I both cried together as Savannah’s little eyes looked around. She actually looked like she was listening to me. She stayed awake for all of those first minutes. She appeared hungry, as she was making sucking noises. She got tired of waiting on mum, so her fingers found her way into her mouth. Everyone working at hospital has been terrific – we could ask for more.

No memory will ever overcome holding my daughter for the first time, watching her little eyes staring up at me, and then taking her over to April. She is the most beautiful little baby. It was so nice to hold her in my arms this evening as she slept on my chest. I finally had to leave, walking out of hospital to a light snow. Just a peaceful way to end the day.

Countdown: 7 Days

2007-01-16T12:35:00.000Z

Just one more week to go! It seems like it has been forever when we think back to all the events that we have covered in just the last nine months. From the Second Mile Team’s time in Great Britain, the trip to Greece (with the ill-fated flight of Alitalia – I STILL HAVEN’T GOT SO MUCH AS AN EMAIL ON MY LUGGAGE), finishing in South Ribble, moving to Blackburn, starting a new circuit, Christmas, and finally in the home stretch – all of this when April has been pregnant. Even though we will be unable to attend, we are glad that she will be here for Jen & Mike’s wedding (4 February). She won’t have a clue about it, of course. April and I are also waiting on word from our other seminary friends, Brandon and Jennifer. Jennifer is expected to give birth this week. Also, Sarah and Brian – I haven’t heard from them, either. Wow, births and marriages – big week for Duke Divinity’s class of 2004.

Since April and I are not telling the name of the baby, we have simply referred to her as ‘baby’. We found if we used her name even around the house, we would nearly slip and give it away. Then this past week I got an email from our friends who still live in Durham, Warren and Kim. Warren, knowing my favourite orthodox saint, Athanasius the Great (4th c., that’s his picture), named her ‘little Athanasius’. So, that’s what we have been calling her: she became our child so that we might become parents.

A Midnight Visitor

2007-01-01T22:56:00.000Z

Last night, not long after the Big Ben chimed the New Year, I saw a little movement around the fireplace. He hung out for a while in the fireplace before disappearing behind the wall. While he sat underneath our gas fire, I snapped this picture of him. April didn't see him, but when she awoke I showed her the photo. She is not impressed! As I am posting this, we can see his little head pop in and out. We don't know if he is a 'sentry' and there is more or if he is a 'loner'. Our property steward will come over in the morning to see the issue and we will probably have to ring Ribble Valley Borough Council. April wants this sorted out as soon as possible!

Thoughts on the Final Day of 2006

2006-12-31T20:09:00.000Z

The clock is counting down the final hours of 2006 as I type. Of course, it’s just past noon on the east coast, but here in the UK we have just four hours left in the year. I have never been a big fan of New Year’s Day because with all the excitement of Christmas (and my birthday), I have hated seeing December go away. For some reason, on this day I always think back to the final day of the 1900s. I remember getting ready for work that morning and watching the Today Show on NBC, thinking of the final hectic day of work which would be the most over-hyped day ever with all the Y2K mess. Nothing happened at the bank that year.

April and I have had a busy, but wonderful third Christmas in England. Advent was short, but we managed to fill in three prayer services. You can read about them on my Flickr account here. Christmas seemed busier with Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday. I had the usual morning service, followed by “A Christmas Miscellany” at Mellor’s “Christmas Around the Tree”. The day ended with my favourite moment of the year with ‘Midnight Mass’ at Wilpshire. We ended the weekend on Monday morning with a 9:30 AM service at Langho and an 11:00 AM service at Wilpshire. Even though it makes for a hectic day, I love the tradition of Christmas morning services here. To me, I think that’s the way it should be. We made it home in time to watch Serenity (via the webcam) open her gifts. She was quite funny and overwhelmed by Santa. She showed us the plate of cookies she left for him and shouted “He at them and he left one!” (which she ate!). We had lunch with a great family from our church. The rest of the week has been easy, as we travelled to Wales. You can see our pictures here.

I don’t know what form the blog will take in the future. I haven’t written in a while because I am not sure if I will continue it. My superintendent warned me that she was ‘Goolging’ her church’s name to locate their new website and my blog popped up. I never intended it for folk in the UK, but for folk back home (not that I have been specific about anyone over here, though). So, I am going to think about it and post my decision later.

Advent Sunday

2006-12-03T20:21:00.000Z

Today officially begins the season of Advent. It’s weird when it is nearly ten days after Thanksgiving (even over here I notice). Anyway, worship went well this morning. Not as well as last week, but I was at Wilpshire again for the second straight Sunday, so I was able to bounce off of what I said last week. I am continuing to press the need for a fresh way of looking at worship. I found out earlier this week that I have got some people thinking already about how we can move forward with worship. Still, I get a lot of ‘good sermon’ comments, which really don’t tell me much, but don’t know how much of this will turn to true change.

After church, April and I ate lunch with the curate of St. Gabriel’s Anglican Church (Adrian) and his family. They have two children, who entertained us and their young boy (3) took a liking to April. We hadn’t been in there 5 minutes when he wanted to show her his Bob the Builder drawing board. He and his wife are a few years older and it’s nice to have church people our own age. We discussed life in the church, living among church members, and how to draw more people into the church. He has had a lot of involvement with Alpha, and he is helping to encourage Wilpshire to get it started in our area. We have started a good relationship.

Yesterday, April and I did something we have wanted to do since our first Christmas in England (it’s hard to believe this will be our 3rd!): we went to the Dickensian Christmas Festival in Grassington. The Yorkshire Dales village transforms into a Victorian Christmas Fayre, complete with costumes, shoe shiners, town crier, and lots of stalls. It was an enjoyable day, even though the weather turned on us. The whole village gets involved and must take a lot of work. This is their twenty-fifth year.

This week begins one of my busiest since I arrived in Blackburn. Things like the Mellor Ladies Fellowship Christmas Dinner have been planned – that’s on Tuesday. Then there are things like staff meeting, churches together meetings, and some more spiritual things like Advent services. I will write about that as the week goes on.

Where are the Men in Church?

2006-11-30T21:00:00.000Z

What will it take to get men back in church? I went to Leyland Methodist Church (in my former circuit) to find out. Phil, the minister there, sent me an email earlier this week saying that a representative of Christian Vision for Men would be there to talk about what the organisation did. Out of the 6 million or so dedicated people attending church, less than 1 million are men (I think that was the figure). Part of the problem is that the perception of church that men have is that it is for wimps and women (or worse, considering the scandals that have hit the church in the last years).

The question is, how do you overcome that image? The speaker, a Baptist minister from Bath, provides an alternative plan to introduce ‘blokes’ to Christianity that approaches them in a way that they can be reached. It centres around getting guys together rather than trying to reach them one-on-one. For instance, guys talk to each other side-by-side rather than face-to-face, especially when they don’t know each other well. If you want men to talk, they would prefer to be doing something rather than just sitting there (like taking a walk). The starting point is doing something fun (sports, building, etc.) then moving into discussing Jesus (they suggest one off events with a speaker). After that, you move into courses like Alpha and finally into the church. Yes, it is a long process – he says that it on average takes 5 years and hearing the gospel 30 times. The benefit comes into how it gets families into the church and relationships with Jesus: if the children come, they pull 3½% bring their families; that goes up to 17% with the mother; but with fathers, if they come to Christ then 93% of their families will follow. I didn’t get to go to the second part tonight, but I hear they will put all their information online (see website above).

Also this week, I have really seen God move this week. We had a great service on Sunday. Everything clicked, and someone said they never saw so many people listening to what the preacher said. I had a good message, and I hate saying these things because I feel like I sound arrogant. Still, God was there! He continued to work last night at Lammack, where I led an ‘interest meeting’ (that sounds terribly boring) on Disciple Bible Study. I am passionate about small group Bible study, and I think Disciple is the best out there that looks at the entire Bible. I felt my passion truly came through, and we will start with a full group of twelve in January. There was a buzz and excitement to begin that rubbed off from me to them! My vision is to see God move in everyone in the Blackburn Circuit by changing people into disciples through studying the bible in small groups. I told them I might as well start at the top and look to get everyone in the circuit in Disciple!

A Tribute to Mike Shula

2006-11-27T19:05:00.000Z

In 1984 college football took a hold of me. It was always in my blood, I suppose, but that year South Carolina went on a tear to reach a 10-2 record. Living in the state of South Carolina, one was either a Carolina or Clemson fan. Being a transplant to the state, I didn’t know who to choose but my dad’s partner in his accounting firm was a USC grad who used to take me to some of their games. With the excitement building in the state with USC’s run to the top of the polls, much to the chagrin of my dad (an Alabama grad), I became a Gamecock football fan.

All of that changed on Labor Day 1985, even before the demise of South Carolina who went back to their perennial 5-6 seasons, I watched a young Alabama quarterback take the offence down the field in the final minutes of the game after Georgia blocked a punt. Mike Shula led Alabama back to win 20-16, and on that drive I was forever an Alabama fan. Unlike my dad, who grew up in the heyday of Alabama in the 60s and went there in the 70s when ‘Bear’ Bryant still walked the sidelines, I watched Alabama skirt the edges of glory when I grew up. That year was magical to me, from that drive in Georgia, to crying when they lost to Penn State, to Van Tiffin’s last second field goal to beat Auburn. At the centre of it, I thought that Mike Shula was the greatest quarterback in the world, and in my sixth grade mind I couldn’t understand why he went to coaching in the NFL and wasn’t chosen in the first round of the draft.

Watching Alabama football got painful after a few years (late 90s, the Mike DuBose years), but I couldn’t help but be excited when my football hero from my youth was named the head coach at Alabama four years ago. He took over a team on probation, had a coach bolt from them, and another coach that got caught at a strip club. This was not the dream job that it once was. Anyway, Shula stepped in and for what he was given, he did well (a 10-2 season with a Cotton Bowl victory in 2005).

Today, Mal Moore, the Athletic Director at Alabama, fired Mike Shula after a 6-6 year. Alabama eats coaches, and this one deserved better than he got. I am no expert (heck, I chose USC over Alabama [long story] and then went to Duke – not a football school), but Shula had Bama on the way up. They should given him two more years when his very young team would have matured. They didn’t give his website the rest of the day: now, if you type in http://www.mikeshula.com/ it directs you straight to rolltide.com.

To Mike Shula, I hope you continue coaching, and one day you meet Alabama in the National Championship and you win! I sat in the stands at Williams-Brice stadium in Columbia, SC, as a USC student and cheered for Alabama, so I will continue to pull for Alabama, but because of your touchdown drive that made Alabama football’s history come alive for one 11 year old.

South Carolina Wins!

2006-11-25T21:39:00.000Z

After the poor showing for Alabama last week (who all year have shown similarities with South Carolina in that they both move the ball only to stop short at the goal line), April and I were finally able to cheer. Both Alabama and South Carolina had not beaten their in-state rivals the four previous years – Alabama went away with more of the same, but South Carolina managed to beat Clemson, 31-28. Give SC credit – they tried to lose. They tried hard. From throwing an interception at the end of a drive that could have sent them into halftime up 21-14, to intercepting Clemson and almost scoring a touchdown only to have the ball knocked out. Anyway, none of that matters now. South Carolina will definitively have a winning season – even if they lose in the bowl.

I plan to announce the game results at Wilpshire in the morning service tomorrow. It won’t mean a thing to them, but they will get a kick out of listening to me talk about it.

It would have been interesting for Alabama and South Carolina to have played this year - it could have been a field goal festival!

Greetings from York and Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T14:24:00.000Z

I am taking the day off since I would be doing so in the United States. The best way to have a day off is to get out of the Manse, even though April is still working and couldn't come. I chose to come to York because they have this neat Yuletide York website that said there are two Christmas Fayres going on, and I have been celebrating Christmas since late October anyway (you can see a post from last year that describes this obsession!). York is one of our favourite cities, anyway, and I can't get enough of the medieval atmosphere.

My day didn't start off too well as I got on the bus (I figured rather than drive I would catch the bus to the train station and train in - it's actually cheaper this way). I began to pay my charge and while the bus driver was telling me the cost, he pointed somewhere just below my nose so that I could pay. When I looked down his hand had more or less moved, so when I looked I saw a coin tray and proceeded to deposit my£1 coin in the slot that had a£1 coin marker. Well, that was the wrong thing to do! He said, "I said put it here [pointing to some depression right on the outside of this slot]. Now I have to take it to bits." I'm not kidding. I said, "Sorry, I didn't see." He responds, "Now I have to take it to bits!" in a quite agitated states. I apologised again and said that I simply didn't see. He got quiet. I said, "Is there anyway I can help you?" "No," he said, "I have to take it to bits." Well, I apologised again, and he had already started driving off. "I will be glad to go and explain and apologise to your supervisor for what I did." He ignores me. I stand there for a few more seconds and then walk to a seat thinking what a moron that guy is. When I arrived at Blackburn Bus Station, no one got off the bus - it continued on to Bolton, but I was scared to move so when no one else did for fear of getting told off again ("You got off now? Now I have to take the whole bus to bits!"). He got off the bus and returned a couple of minutes later, so when he opened the door, there I was again. I apologised again, to which he said nothing. So I responded, "Look, I am sorry that you can't make any money with your dream job of being Blackburn's biggest weenie and you had to take a job that you feel is beneath you, but you don't have to take it out on me." OK, no I didn't say that. I just wrote down his driver number that he had pinned to his shirt like a toddler in a Sunday School class. Here's to you, Bus Driver #96630. Actually, I find most transportation workers as being those who hate their job. Not all! Some have been very nice, but they seem to work under the impression that they shouldn't have to interact with people. Even in Germany when April and I visited there some two years. In Wittenburg, this bus driver seemed to feel it waridiculousus that someone would get on his bus that would only speak English! This is the birthplace of the Reformation, and he never encountered someone who didn't speak German and wanted to know how much to pay him???? Then there was the time that Jen Harner, April, and I went to London. On the way back to Preston, we stayed in Satan's coach - it was so HOT! We finally asked the conductor (?) if he could turn it down. He responded with an incredulity that anyone could imagine that the heat was too high and that person might need it cooler!

Anyway, my day picked up when I entered the train station to buy a Coke Zero. The friendly Asian man (that's Asian as Americans would probably say middle eastern. Which is strange, because I remember this Cosby Show episode where the little girl Olivia was berated by Denise and Dr. Hugstable for calling a person 'Chinese' instead of Asian-American. 'Asian-American' can hardly be descriptive for a different groups of people that span from the Pacific to thMediterraneanan - anyway, I am way off topic) This friendly Asian man behind the counter started asking me if I was from America, he asked where, and it was all around a much nicer conversation than the previous one with the Bus-driver suffering from some kind of job crisis. My train ride to York went along without incidence except that the tube of Wine Gums I bought had way too many black currant ones in it (they are gross).

Arriving at York, I wandered around the first Fayre, called St. Nicholas's. It was nice, but then again not much different than most fayres I see around England. The website said that there are supposed to be carolers strolling around, but I didn't see any. Maybe they will be out there this afternoon. Then I went to the other Christmas Fayre held at the medieval house called Barley Hall. Now this was more of what I was hoping for! All the stall owners were dressed in medieval period costumes and selling medieval (replica? is that how you describe it?) wares. I doubt that the place (though dusty) was as clean as it was in the 1000s-1500, but still it was a lot more interesting than what they had at the other one. I chatted with a guy from a group of medieval musicians about music of that time period and bought a Christmas CD of medieval music. Then I headed to York Minster for the 12:30 PM communion service. We commemorated the life of St. Clement, for it's his feast day, and the gospel reading was one from Luke which Jesus tells us not to take the seat at the top of the table, which made me feel a little bad about feeling morally superior to the idiot on the bus.

At lunch, the mom and daughter duo heard my accent and quizzed me about where I am from. They also wished me a Happy Thanksgiving (they met some other Americans somewhere). After lunch, I went back to the medieval fayre to buy the CD I wanted, and I was stopped by another medieval merchant curious about my accent. Then he and some other marketers asked me about living in Blackburn (with the high Asian population) and about President Bush, who has enough trouble of his own with the Democratic Congress. We all hoped for a quick end to the war in Iraq.

That pretty much brings you up to date with where I am. I am headed back out to see what else is going on in York and then hit the Evensong service back at the Minster before training it back home. For those of you still unable to believe that I actually posted two days in a row, I told you I would write more!

Not Alone

2006-11-22T15:53:00.001Z

April and I have been a part of a House Group since coming to the Blackburn Circuit. House Groups are more common at Wilpshire than at many other churches I have seen in Great Britain (which, honestly, isn’t a whole lot, but I get the general feeling that people who come to church are quite happy to do so, but please don’t ask them to share about their faith). The group we met with last night started just before I arrived, and they represent some folk who truly do want to share they faith with each other and grow spiritually. And they have a desire to see the church grow, as I found out last night. We had a fantastic discussion. They quizzed me on my vision for the church. They talked about how they saw the church now. They want to know how a church that has so insulated itself can ever reach out to anyone outside the church.

I have often sat at the front of the church and I, too, have wondered how the church can change. Many go simply because that’s what they have always done. It’s what is expected of them to do. Change is difficult for many of them, and they can’t see the need for it. Those in leadership roles see themselves as caretakers more than anything else. The objective is to keep things running as they always have. There is little planning for the future, and the evangelism program involves mostly hoping that others will come in – or hoping that they will get the right minister who will bring in people (within the framework that has already been set, of course!) Yet, I found that there are others out there who think differently, and they mostly ‘sit’ on their own. What I mean is they don’t seem to talk about their perceptions, their hopes. So, nothing changes because, well, the ‘stay the course’ folk are better organised (there may be a similarity to the political situation in the United States and the pummelling the Republicans, but I am not going down that road).

So over the past 18 hours or so, I have come to find a short-term vision. Gather the folk who want to see change together and let them hear each other. Part of it is that they don’t know that there are others who feel the same way! Those in this group who feel the church will never change can look at a couple of events that will force some sort of change. One of the things I said I am doing now is biding my time. By summer 2007, the choir mistress and her husband will have moved away when he retires. That opens up the question: what will become of the choir? I have an excuse that will move us to think about what direction we will take in worship (the choir mistress herself mentioned this in the last church council meeting – she said that may bring a worship group – and it was great because I didn’t have to say it!). It won’t be me to force the issue. There are a couple of other things that will happen that will allow me to ask questions that won’t be as threatening as if they appeared to be ‘coming out of the blue’. Of course, I need to have an alternative plan when the time comes. It has hit me today that I need to be working on this short term vision of gathering folk together to push for a real change.

A Baby Story

2006-11-17T21:43:00.000Z

Earlier this week April and her class from St. Michael with St. John over the Pennines Primary School took a trip to the Lancashire Museum in Preston. She said that it’s actually a great museum. In the two years we lived in (or at least near) Preston, we never ventured there. It just never crossed either of our minds to try it out. Anyway, her class is studying World War II and the tour guide took them wanted the class to hear what an air raid siren would have sounded like. Well, the siren was loud (of course – it wouldn’t have been much use otherwise), but it was louder than expected. When it sounded out, April felt her stomach convulse (or something like that). Evidently the baby didn’t like what was going on and curled into a ball or something. April said it felt like a contraction almost and could only imagine the baby trying to duck for cover (which would have made for good survival skills had she been in England during the Bombing of Britain). The baby and April are fine.

Speaking of babies and April’s future role as a mother, I found a blog article online (I don’t remember how – I was directed to it as I was looking for reflections on the lectionary passage for the week) that talked about a woman early in her pregnancy and her fight to not become one of them. By ‘them’, she means one of those people that everyone expects to ‘gush’. I thought about April and how many expect her to gush over every little thing that happens to her. April isn’t that much of a gusher to begin with. Now, if you catch her in the moment, then she does get excited, but it stops soon after. Some of it is exciting – like when the baby kicks, when she gets baby clothes (which has actually has got old now that she has so much, it’s not the same) or when she grows out of her trousers (actually, that wasn’t so exciting for her). Still, for April to glow about it, you have to catch her in the moment, because after it happens, April moves on. I think we were both caught off-guard by the loss people feel over the ‘drama’ that is a girl getting fatter.

In other news, today I attended the dedication of the new Cuerden Church School in Bamber Bridge. Other than an awkward conversation with one person, I had a great time (well, even that wasn’t bad – just weird). I walked into each of the classrooms and enjoyed the surprised looks on the children’s faces as they saw me walk in. One class all tried to talk to me at the same time. Another class was under a stern warning not to talk at all, so they just snuck a wave to me. A few thought I had gone back to the United States and were really surprised to see me! It wasn’t a long service, but still a lot of fun. I had seen the folk from the church a couple of weeks before, but many from the school I hadn’t seen. April was the topic there, too. They also asked if she is getting bigger. Of course the warnings came pouring in. Sylvia (a Bamber Bridge member) and Mark (my successor) took great pleasure in telling me how my time will no longer be my own for 20 years.

Oh! And I just noted that my last post was my 100th! So, here is number 101!

Christmas Fayres and Baby Showers

2006-11-12T18:59:00.000Z

OK, I think I am barely averaging once a week, and to those who still loyally read, I do apologise. I would like to say that I will promise to be better, but I don’t need the extra guilt.

Anyway, this has been a good week. April had her first Baby Shower on Friday. This will likely be her only one, as baby showers are an American tradition. My former American colleague from South Ribble (Ellen) organised it and taught the British women about the ‘American baby thing that Ellen is having [them] do’ (as Kathleen, also from South Ribble, described it to me). She had a great time. It was mostly folk from our old circuit. I got out of the house and headed to Leyland to hang out with Phil, whose wife Maria helped Ellen organise everything. He and I had a great time also. It gave us the chance to catch up. We talked about the ministry, and it was just an encouraging night for me.

Yesterday, I participated in the ‘coffee morning crawl’. It’s kind of like a pub crawl without the alcohol, which might make Bric-a-Brac stalls, tea, biscuits, and cake more interesting. Langho had an Autumn Fayre in the morning and then Lammack (another circuit church) had a Christmas Fayre in the afternoon. It was good to talk to the folk at Langho and get to know them better and to meet some new folk at Lammack. Still, there aren’t a lot of people my age running around Christmas Fayres.

Today I led worship at Langho. I wrote a good sermon, but I need to work on it. It read better than it preached. I might use it again in a couple of weeks if I can get the bugs out of it and steer it more toward the other church’s situation. This afternoon I officially kicked off Advent preparations. It’s a little later than I would have liked, but we had a great meeting and got some great ideas for three mid-week Advent services we will hold in December on Thursday evenings. I planned around them ‘The Lost Messages of Christmas’. Week One will be ‘Produce Fruit in Keeping with Repentance’, hosted by St. John the Baptist. Week Two follows with ‘Do Not Be Afraid’. We end with Week Three, ‘With God All Things Are Possible’. The services will focus on providing a quiet space with a short, led meditation and the rest of the time will include prayer stations or whatever they feel led to do.

This week looks more of the same. If anything exciting happens, I will write.

Hyning, Official Opening, and All Saints

2006-11-05T20:14:00.000Z

My week began with the end of my holiday, but as I mentioned, I didn’t move straight back to work in the circuit. I headed to the southern part of the Lake District, just north of Carnforth. Twice a year, the Under 5s (that’s those in their first 5 years of ministry, not first 5 years of life) take up residence in the Our Lady of Hyning Monastery for 24 hours. The hospitality of the Bernadine nuns who live there is always top notch. They do a great job, and many even remember me from previous visits. One of the nuns, the one in charge of the kitchen, tries to force more food down on me. She seems to have pegged me as the one who will always have seconds (I think it has to do with my being an American, and the impression folk have here is that Americans eat a lot). The time way was very restful. Ken, our probation secretary, led some sessions on the Psalms. We divided into groups and wrote our own. It’s harder than you think. We also did the talking through how things are going. It’s good to be open and honest about how things are going at the church.

Ordination Update: I spoke with Stephen to find out where I am in the ordination works for this summer. I didn’t receive a packet from the connexion a month or so ago, and Derek (from my old circuit) rang me up in something of a panic because I wasn’t on the list. Stephen (chair of district) says that he confirmed that the connexional office made a mistake, but as of yet I still don’t know where I will be ordained. Stephen is pushing for Southport, where Derek will be ordained.

Getting back to work in the circuit has moved forward better than it has after most holidays, I think, in part, because of the two extra days at Hyning. I am still trying to get to know my three churches, difficult with three communities. I simply don’t see them as often as I did when I had two churches. Friday night, one of my stewards from Wilpshire hosted the Sunday School for a Bonfire Night Celebration. He burned a lot of old garden rubbish, along with a bunch of other stuff. Actually, tonight is the official Bonfire Night (a celebration of the foiled plot to blow up Parliament in the early 1600s) – as I write this, I hear fireworks going off.

Yesterday, April and I celebrated our sixth anniversary – by going to Bamber Bridge! Yes, our former church officially opened their new building. We sat with our old staff team and dedicated the building for the work of God. It really was great to be back with so many friends. I didn’t feel connected to the new building – it was beautiful, though, but I have no memories of it. The Bamber Bridge folk feel right at home, which is fantastic. I never worried about them, but before going in, I think they were a little cautious. Through all this, I felt ok that it wasn’t me up there leading the service. I mean, there is a part of me that wishes I could have been the one to lead them in, but even though I don’t know my three churches very well, I feel like I am where I belong. Stephen (again, chair of district) recognised April and I, telling me at the dinner following the service that he felt that we needed to be thanked for what we did during those 18 months of ‘homelessness’. I appreciated that, and Stephen usually senses those things very well – it’s one of his strengths as the chair of district.

Today, we celebrated All Saints Day at Wilpshire. Many Methodists don’t do that over here (a perceived idea of it being ‘too Catholic’), and I find that most appreciate it when introduced to it.

Finally, I am watching the news coming out of the US – election coverage for Tuesday, but more so the fall of Evangelical leader Ted Haggard. My prayers are with him, and his family.

The Yorkshire Dales and a Service of Light

2006-10-29T19:35:00.000Z

Update: if you read the blog before the morning of 30 October, I left out the links that I mention. I have updated them so that if you click on the words highlighted or underlined, you will go to the website it mentions. For instance, to see our bed & breakfast, you can click ont the words 'Our B&B' below.

Today is the last day of our holiday – well, actually April has one more day off and then a teach work day. For my part, I leave tomorrow for Hyning Monastery for an Under 5s retreat (this is for those in their first five years of ministry). It’s an overnight retreat, and I will be back on Tuesday. Not exactly time off, but not straight back to the ‘grind’.

We spent the first few days of our week in the Yorkshire Dales, stopping over in the village of Aysgarth. Our B&B was not far from the famous Aysgarth Falls, probably the most famous waterfalls in the dales. Many movies have been filmed there, including the fight seen between Robin Hood and Little John in the Kevin Costner version. It’s just a beautiful area, and not at all far from us. For me, the Yorkshire Dales are much better than the Lake District, but then again, I guess it is all up to personal preference. Not far from Aysgarth, we visited Masham (pronounced ‘Massam’), where there are two local breweries (Theakston and Black Sheep) that specialise in what is called ‘real ale’ (see the link for more). There’s actually a family connection, as both breweries descend from a 19th c. brewer (again, see the links if you are interested). At Theakston, we met the chairman of the board on our way out. He must have heard our American accents, but we think he may have been less interested when he found out we live in Lancashire. Still, it was cool to meet him. Over at Black Sheep, they have a fantastic bistro/bar that reminded us of the bars/bistros that we ate at in Durham and Columbia. And the food was fantastic. Of course, it wasn’t all beer tours. We called in on a former residence (or prison, rather) of Mary, Queen of Scots, Bolton Castle. If you want to see our tours, click here for our photos.

The rest of the week was pretty washed out. The weather turned bad. I mean, really bad. We came home Wednesday afternoon and it really didn’t stop since then (the rain, that is). We hid out in the house for most of the week, taking day trips around the area. Friday we went to the Americanised mall, the Trafford Centre. I wanted to see what it was like, and even more so the Christmas decorations – yes, they have already been put up. It was beautiful, and it felt a little bit like home (not just the decorations, but the mall itself).

Finally, today we moved closer toward All Saints Day. We attended a ‘Service of Light’ for children who had died – both before and after birth. We entered Aidan’s name on the registry and her name was read out with the other children. It was a moving service, and a way for us not to forget her even while we expect her sister to come in February.

Update Before HalfTerm

2006-10-20T20:29:00.000+01:00

Since I continue to be told that I haven’t been blogging, I thought I would post another. I know some get tired of seeing the same old blog that they have been looking at for days. I guess nothing is happening that I consider all that interesting – and if I don’t find it interesting, then I figure no one else will be, either!

The big news in the circuit – well, what should be – is that we will definitely fill the empty slot made vacant by one of our circuit ministers (Nick) next year. Actually, we are getting two! A district chair (roughly comparable to the United Methodist bishop) has four years left before retiring. Instead of staying as a district chair, he and his wife (also a minister) wanted to return to circuit ministry for their last appointment. They will share the duties between them, each working half time. I met them yesterday, and while I didn’t get to talk to them much, they seemed like a great couple. Our district chair, Stephen, thinks a lot of them. They have served in Scotland, which definitely is submitting to a call. There are simply not many Methodist Churches in Scotland, so the country is the district. My district is the size of a state country – this one goes from those little tiny islands near the artic circle to the England Scotland border! Not many people up there, much less Methodist churches!

Also, I met with the curate at an Anglican Church in my area today. We are quite close in age, and thought it would be good for us to get to know each other. We had a great conversation, and we hope to meet together more often. We went to the coffee shop at Whalley Abbey. Embarrassingly, I saw two of my church members there and I couldn’t remember one of their names! They didn’t mention it, so I didn’t either. I couldn’t figure it out! I felt terrible. Then we ran into more church members (I remembered their names) so it seems like if you want to get away where people don’t know, don’t go to Whalley (Adrian said there was little chance of anyone from his church there).

Finally, today marks the beginning of half-term for April. I also begin holiday on Monday. This time a year ago we were preparing to fly to the United States. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already!

Global Leadership: I've Been a Bad Blogger

2006-10-06T19:43:00.000+01:00

OK, so I haven’t blogged in a while and my loyal readers have taken notice! I do apologise. A lot has been going on, and either I haven’t been able to blog or I haven’t felt like it.

The baby has really started moving. I never posted that we are going to have a girl, and April and I have chosen to keep her name a secret until she is born – and we may not give the name out until then! Of course, we still have those time where we forget that April is pregnant at all! So much else is going on that and she can get quiet for most of the day. April gets tired easily, but other than that she is doing well.

Church has been going on. I have already had my first Church Council meeting (at Mellor), my first funeral (also at Mellor, where I also buried the gentlemen), and my first contentious meeting. All turned out well in the end. I am getting the hang of it, and today the folk here are starting to feel like ‘my members’. Today was my day off, and as I was leaving for an outing to Sawley Abbey (see picture), my next door neighbour (and steward at Wilpshire) drove by to talk to me about her morning. It was OK – I mean, yes, it was my day off, but I still felt like, ‘Yes, I am her pastor’.

The best thing about the past two weeks has been the Global Leadership Summit I attended in Stafford. It was sponsored by Willow Creek, and I did not have a good feeling going in (I have some issues with Willow Creek, which did appear: Bill Hybels last lecture focused on the church’s primary message as Substitutionary Atonement – the cross and resurrection mean much more than that). But, most of the speakers were fantastic. I especially connected with Pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Church in Honolulu. He spoke to me where I needed to hear. It was a great two days away with some good folk from my circuit.

Now that I am back on the blogging trail, I will start to post more often. Thanks to all my fans for reading!

Fatherly and Pastorly Feelings

2006-09-16T23:04:00.000+01:00

Throughout April’s pregnancy, I have admitted to feeling somewhat disconnected with the baby. Some of that may be due to our earlier pregnancy in which we lost our baby, and definitely some of it is due to all the changes we have gone through over the past month. Adjusting to a new area, three new churches, and separating from two old ones has left me feeling like I am floating through my weeks. Often, I go for a while where our baby doesn’t even enter my mind. My first Friday back at work (1 Sept.) with my first service looming ahead, my mother-in-law rang. We talked about April being back at work and I think my starting a new church. She, like April can do, switched subjects on me abruptly with, “Are y’all excited?” My response: “About what?” (In part, I wasn’t sure if I was excited about beginning a new church – I was more scared at the time – and I didn’t want to answer that!) This was the wrong response, as she assumed that all my thoughts were consumed with the baby. I tried to back peddle, but hanging up, I knew I had to explain to April what happened before she talked to her mom. April did a better job than I did about expressing my worries about the upcoming weekend, which was consuming my thoughts that day.

Anyway, I find that at weird times the baby’s life intersects with mine and I feel deeply connected to her. Oddly enough, it didn’t happen at the scan on Wednesday. I was fascinated by the technology and seeing the picture, and I loved seeing the baby’s skeleton face stare back at us. It happened on Thursday night, right before April went to bed. She had her hand on her stomach and then called me over to feel something. She said it was hard and pointy, and she guessed this was the baby pushed up against her. She kept pushing down on her stomach. I became so concerned with what she was doing, so I kept asking her to stop as I was surprisingly scared that she was hurting the baby inside her! I haven’t a clue if she was or wasn’t hurting her (April maintains she was not), but it was all I could do get her to stop.

Tonight, it happened again in a different way as I read an article on MSNBC.com about a mother who had her throat slashed and her one-week old baby taken away (the mother is alive in hospital, but the baby has yet to be found). It’s not that I would not have felt bad for the mother had April not been pregnant, but it somehow felt more real. I remember a friend of mine that used to work at NBSC once said that before having children, news stories of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment made him think, “That’s a shame,” but after having children, these stories took on a much more personal dimension. I guess that’s something like I felt tonight.

In another way, just as I struggle to feel like a father and then feelings burst on the scene for a while, the same will happen in being a pastor. Today at the North Lancashire District Synod (something akin to the Annual Conference) I overheard a foundation training student talking to Kathleen (from South Ribble) saying that she chose the deacon route because she wasn’t feeling very presbyteral. I said I wasn’t feeling very presbyteral at the moment. But, feelings will still come in flashes. It doesn’t happen at the obvious times like when April and I went to Wilpshire’s Beetle Drive (that explanation will have to wait – suffice it to say it was a social event) when I was around my new congregation. It did happen briefly at the Alpha dinner on Wednesday evening when I sat with three of my church members and Nick, one of the other circuit ministers and we discussed a whole host of things. It happened briefly again at Synod today when our circuit got together to discuss the District’s priorities and five young people from our circuit joined our group and began discussing how they want to see worship move forward. Even more astounding was this was done when my old circuit was in plain view on stage in their own group.

I haven’t yet figured out how to hold onto these thoughts and feelings (either fatherly or pastorly). They seem to fly away before I can do much with them or channel them in a direction that will put them to use. Often, they get crowded out among my fears and other noises that drown out those feelings.

Beginning Again

2006-09-14T19:55:00.000+01:00

OK, so it has been a while since I have blogged, and I apologise to my regular readers. There has been plenty going on – namely my starting in my new post and all that comes with it. In addition, if that wasn’t enough in the way of change, April had her 20 week scan. And we are having a little girl! As always, there’s the caveat that it’s not 100%, but from what we could see, it is definitely a girl. Word is spreading around the United States and the United Kingdom. Maria Gough (Phil from Leyland’s wife) has started planning April’s first baby shower.

Everything else is slowly gearing up. My first service at Wilpshire (way back on 3 September) went very well, and I easily found my way in my first service in over a month. The people are friendly, and keep telling me that they know they need to change (though what they think it means they haven’t told me yet). I have been warned that getting rid of the pews will be a hot button issue (evidently, a former minister walked in and this was the first thing he said). This particularly church has some good things going for it, including a growing Sunday School with enthusiastic teachers. They have already sent me the entire outline for the upcoming year!

Langho is about a quarter of the size of Wilpshire, but also growing. They have a weekly preschool and the founder of that doubles as the Sunday School teacher (along with her husband). They were nearly closed a few years ago, but made the decision to change (they removed their pews). As with any small church, though, the people are stretched. Churches in England have such a hard time attracting new folk.

I preach at the final of my three churches this Sunday, Mellor. I will write about them as I find out about them.

This past Sunday afternoon, Stephen Poxon, our chair of district, led the Welcome service. He gave a fantastic sermon, despite calling us “Will and Grace”. He also said that we were from South Georgia. He had a rough time, and everyone gave him a hard time. There was a good number of folk from Bamber Bridge who came to the service, so it was a little like old home week among all the newness. They also told us that the new stain glass in the new building was installed – and promptly had a brick thrown at it. So, this weekend, BB will take their first service in the new building with a boarded up hole in the back of the sanctuary.

I am still trying to find my feet. I go between thinking I can handle this to being overwhelmed with all I have to do. Stephen again came to my aid (after giving an inspiring service) said at Under 5s this week (this is a group for ministers in their first five years of ministry) – well he prayed really – that Jesus be gentle to us, so that we may be gentle to ourselves. He also reminded us that if the churches don’t turn around in 6 months like we want it to, that’s ok. Anyway, I am still finding my feet in my churches, and in my prayer life.

I just realised how much I miss this. I really should blog more often.

A New Start

2006-09-01T22:07:00.000+01:00

I haven't posted recently. Not that I have been too busy or anything - just haven't felt like it. I had a lot of good intentions over the past month - reading, preparing for the new churches, and hopefully becoming reaquainted with God - but all of that fell through when I just sat down and watched TV or read on the internet. Still, I have made it to my first day in my new post - despite my failings, God is faithful. He has led me through preparing for my first Sunday at worship - well, at least, I am getting there. I walked down to the church. I hadn't been there (save a dinner, which we only stayed in one room) since my initial visit - when the 2nd Mile Team was here (late April). I became overwhelmed at all I have had to do. I still can't believe the responsibility that a minister takes upon her/himself. The verse God has been giving me comes from 1 Kings 3:8-9

And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?

Firstly, these are God's people, not mine. He has given me the priveledge of leading them, but since they are ultimately his, he won't leave me on my own. God has also given me a wonderful wife, who when she came home reminded me that I don't have to dive in, but it's ok to take some time to get to know them. I don't have to start changing things right from the start! And I can ease into it! God is faithful.

My first day back hasn't been that hectic. I guess the folk here at my new churches are letting me ease in. I had a call from a lady wanting to rent the hall - I confessed I didn't have a clue who to even ask about it yet! She was very understanding and let me get back to her next week after I figure out where I am. Being in a new situation, I am again hit with the novelty of an American answering the phone. People seem to have got used to Bamber Bridge/Trinity having an American. Now, it's all new again! I get to add to the surprise now by saying that I have lived in the country for two years already. My second phone call was from Phil from Leyland Methodist Church (I can officially drop the 'Turpin Green' now that Leyland Lane, the older of the two, has closed). He rang to welcome me to my new post on the first day. Of course, April and I had lunch with him and Sylvie (the deacon from Leyland) only yesterday, but I was glad to hear from him all the same.

April began her first day today, too. No kids today, but teachers reported. Before lunch yesterday, I went to school with her to help move furniture. As my new superintendent, Yvonne, pointed out - April wasn't satisfied with moving furniture in her own home, but needed some more. April felt the overwhelming yesterday, but I have to say it wasn't as much as I have seen her on the first day in the past few years. She's managing. Anyway, it was on to lunch with Phil and Sylvie. I always worry when I leave people, 'will we stay friends?' and it was comforting to be back with them, just like the four weeks had not seperated us.

April and I spent the last few moments of the old year by listening to the pre-game show of the South Carolina - Mississippi State game. They started the new season off right with a 15-0 win. Now we are left with Charlotte Church giving the Welsh a bad name with her new show.

Plenty of new starts. Thankfully, most are good.

Back Home from Holiday

2006-08-19T22:08:00.000+01:00

April and I arrived back from our holiday down south this afternoon around 4:00 PM. Most of our trip can be summarised with one word: rain. The fine folk at BBC Weather forecasted that for most of the week, and they were spot on. In some cases, they used the word torrential. On Wednesday afternoon after writing my last blog in the St. Ives Library, April and I made our way back to the harbour, where I heard some guy advertising boat trips to “Seal Island”. April mentioned this earlier in the week, so I asked her if it was worth £18. It was – she wanted to see some seals – and we boarded the boat. Now, we hadn’t intended to do this, so neither of us was dressed for what was to come. When we left the harbour, even the sun tried to come out a few times. Halfway to Seal Island, the bottom dropped. No one in the boat was dressed for rain with that lovely hint of cold that comes when the wind/rain soaked shirt sticks to one’s back (except the driver who had a heavy jacket with hood and a sweater underneath), but April and I were without so much as a rain coat – I didn’t even have a hood! When we finally reached Seal Island, where the day before 45 seals roamed, we saw only 2 pregnant seals. And they just lay there on the rock. This left me with the impression that there is a link between pregnancy and wanting to spend the afternoon in the rain.

The last bit of our week, we spent in the Cotswold. It’s an “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”, and in it contains those quintessential English villages that one imagines when thinking of England. Another reason we stopped there was its proximity to Oxford, the home of the great University where Methodism began as the Holy Club. There at Christ Church, John and Charles Wesley were students and in the cathedral, they were ordained. There was a lovely little plaque on the floor to commemorate it. We also saw the famous Dining Hall, where John, Charles and many others ate, but is more renowned for being the place where the Harry Potter movies were filmed. We ate lunch at the Eagle and Child, where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkein met with the other “Inklings” for a pint of beer and to discuss their latest writing projects. Usually, I hit a winner with the bed & breakfasts I choose, but I was bound to hit an average one at least once. The house was nice, and the owners were lovely (Christians, too, who had bible verses around the place), but it smelled like 1950s grandma, and decorated in the same fashion. Well, it was a place to stop over.

For our last visit today, we called in at Kenilworth Castle, the one time home of Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester and favourite of Queen Elizabeth. They had an exhibition that attempted to explain the relationship between these two, but the fact remains they never married. She remained the ever so-called “Virgin Queen”. April has been reading historical fiction that revolves around these two characters.

This is all just a brief overview of what I did this week, but why bore you with all the details? April is still doing well. She got tired easily, but she kept up a good pace. Riding a boat in the rain aside, the pregnancy has changed us little so far. She doesn’t join me for a pint anymore, but no weird cravings as of yet!

On Holiday: St. Ives, Cornwall

2006-08-16T10:18:00.000+01:00

April and I have left our new home in Lancashire to spend some time in the southwestern tip of England. Yesterday, we visited Lands End, which posts a sign that reads "New York 3147". I assume miles, but it could be kilometres. We had a great day yesterday, also visiting St. Michael's Mount. The weather has been windy and cool, but with some sunny spells. Fast forward to today and it's the weather that the British are known for: cold and rainy. It poured last night - harder than it usually does. It looks set to stay for the next three days. The days of 80 degree heat with plenty of sun (where we were all cursing global warming and wishing we had air conditioners) are a distant memory. Tomorrow, we head for the Cotswolds (an official "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty") and visit Oxford, home of the University and former homes of Lewis and Tolkein.

Last year at this time, we had just returned from our trip to Scandinavia. We got caught up in the mess of the food workers strike. This year, we are just glad not to be traveling by air at all! The news is still focused on the travel chaos created by the terrorists earlier in the week. We did hear this morning that at Gatwick airport a 12 year old, with no travel documents and no boarding pass, made it onto a plane with no problem. So, we are just glad to be going by car.

Will & April Come to Preston - A Song from Kath

2006-08-10T11:19:00.000+01:00

Before the BT-imposed broadband blackout, I mentioned that we received a couple of lyrical tributes and promised to post them. The first came at the Friday night going away party Bamber Bridge threw for us. Kath, the worship leader there, wrote this song for us. I don’t remember the tune name, but you can still enjoy it.

Will and April came to Preston
From across the USA
They’ve loved us and they’ve cared for us
But now they’re going away

CHORUS
Did you ever see, did you ever see
Did you ever see such a funny thing before?

Will is into football
But not the same as us
He’d think it rather cool
To understand the offside rule

April sells cosmetics
With her Body Shop parties
She helps us look more beautiful
But never ever tarty

When Will and April came to us
Our building was still standing
They watched the cross fall off the top
And helped in its landing

They brought their friends to see us
From the second mile team
They helped us see what matters
Then went away a little fatter

At the Thursday Carr St lunch
They are a very happy bunch
April craves for chocolate
But ends up with more hotpot

We worship in St Saviour’s hall
Will preached without a care
Until he switched the mike on
And joined the vicar’s morning prayer

And now they are leaving us
We’ll really really miss them
But they’re moving up to Blackburn
In the premiership division

Greetings from Blackburn - Our New Home!

2006-08-08T16:43:00.000+01:00

Thanks to British Telecom (BT), I have been unable to access the internet for the past week. This fast imposed on April and me has caused us to feel quite cut off from the outside world and driven us both crazy (OK, me more so than April, but April was cursing BT last night when she was trying to get the number to Pizza Hut). Around noon yesterday, we came back online. That explains my silence on this blog for the past week.

So, yes, April and I have moved into our new home. I get awfully attached to places, and the last day was intermingled with tears as I thought about everything the house represented. The movers started early, sending in the packers and they boxed up all our possessions (most of them donated to us two years earlier). My superintendent called in for what I can only describe as an awkward visit (I don’t really know why he wanted to say). Even though I learned how angry I was at him, I didn’t think it would affect our relationship once he returned from sabbatical, but things appeared awkward that whole last week. The movers had to make a second trip, so while everyone was out I wrote my successor a letter while waiting for them to return.

Anyway, the movers finally emptied the house, and I made the phone call I had been dreading – to Mike Bertram to hand over the keys. I walked him through the house, showing him what things needed attending before the new occupant arrived. The sign by the door (reading ‘The Manse’) had always been a joke – I hated that it advertised to anyone who walked by that it was a minister’s house (Mark wasn’t impressed with it either). So I asked if I could have it, so Mike gave it to me. It was fitting that Mike called on us our first day in the house (with our boxes posted 6 weeks earlier) and now he was there on our last. We both cried as we said goodbye.

When I arrived, the circuit property steward (Mike’s counterpart in the Blackburn circuit) was there with his wife (their called David and Judith). Yvonne Pearson, my new superintendent was also there, and brought us a lasagne dinner. April was already directing and giving out orders, trying to decide where we would put everything in our new HUGE house! It’s three stories (a loft, really, converted to a bedroom on the third floor) give fantastic views – from one bedroom we can see the spire of our new church at Wilpshire. Not long after, everyone left, and April and I were in our new place alone.

In the days since I have grown into acceptance of leaving one church and moving to a new place. I have the entire month to get used to the new area, and start work on 1 September. Although, April and I were invited for Chinese take away dinner with stewards from all three churches. I could get little glimmers of the tensions that may arise later, but it was a pleasant meal. Today, April and I had coffee with our next door neighbours – our house is attached to theirs. Both attend church at Wilpshire – she is a steward and he a local preacher. Also a pleasant morning, and I did get hints of the work to come. It ought to be interesting living this close to church members.

Saying Farewell to South Ribble

2006-07-31T07:18:00.000+01:00

I have known this weekend would come. On Friday night, I compared it to the Friends episode where Joey gets his first lead role in a TV show. He said to his friends, “The lead in my own TV series? I’ve dreamed about this for years! Why have I not been preparing?” I didn’t feel at all prepared – in fact, it never quite sunk it that it was happening. I guess there was a part of me that wanted to believe that it wouldn’t happen.

Friday night, Bamber Bridge threw a farewell dinner for April and me. The folk at Bamber Bridge know how to bring the food together. There was enough food for the 70+ people there. (No one did a full count. There wasn’t as many there as at the 2nd Mile potluck, but there were a number of folk on holiday.) Kath wrote us a song (which I will post later in the week). Audrey played some hymns on the organ, and the worship group lead in some contemporary songs (it took Kath some time to find some songs that I hadn’t planned for Sunday morning and Sunday evening). After the singing, Lesley J. (one of my stewards) lead a presentation called “This is your (English) life…so far…”. Evidently, Lesley contacted my dad, who, after a rush because of email problems, sent pictures of April and I from our rehearsal dinner presentation (luckily nothing to risqué!). It was odd seeing yourself dressed as Luke Skywalker (and my sister as Princess Leia) while sitting among the church members you’ve led. The stewards invited different people to talk about us. Mike told about the time when our washing machine broke and dumped water over the carpet. Derek taught us some more Lancashire (we didn’t understand a word he said – when he gets going, his dialect becomes so strong!). Lindsay spoke for the youth group, and presented us with a book of memories. Lesley R. summed it all up. Then it was my turn. I have thought of things that I would like to say, but I never wrote out a formal talk. Anything I might have said escaped me, and rambled. I don’t remember any of what I said – April said that I did great, and only once did I say something that didn’t make any sense. It was the result of trying to hold my emotions at a distance, but it broke out finally. And I admitted that I wish I could stay longer (the only time that I allowed myself to say that).

Sunday morning found me, and I still didn’t know what I wanted to say. April and I chose to make our announcement after Kath led our prayers of adoration. I have been silent on the blog about this: April is pregnant! No one seemed surprised, really, as we found out people had been speculating. I picked two scriptures: Isaiah’s ‘new thing’ and the Gentiles receiving the Spirit. I encouraged them to find where God’s Spirit was moving and join him, even if it was in unexpected places, and to close that part off we sang ‘Trust and Obey’. Then, I said another good-bye. I don’t remember much about what I said then, either. I cried through most of it, anyway.

For lunch, the staff team gathered at the Gough’s for a lunch. It seemed a little surreal – I can still remember Bob’s last year and couldn’t believe that this year it was my turn. For a gift, they picked up on something that I said in a staff meeting once about how I hated receiving gifts that had the poem ‘Footprints’ because it gives the impression that they can’t figure out what else to get me (‘Oh, he’s a minister – he will like Footprints!’) So, Sylvie parodied it and gave it to us. It’s hilarious. I will see if I can post it later.

That night was my farewell service. Even though April and I weren’t looking forward to it, it went really well – and it was lovely. Eric, from Bamber Bridge, videoed the service, so I will hopefully be able to post it to the US. April and I both said our final goodbyes. I created a slideshow, which didn’t work as well because the sound system didn’t pick up the music that well. Paul, the superintendent, gave a nice sermon and said some very nice things about us. After the service, John, our Development chairman, officially invited us back for the opening on 4 November. Then, we had our pictures taken, said more goodbyes, and then, it was over. I woke up this morning, and I no longer pastor in South Ribble.

The Parable of the Climbing Apparatus

2006-07-25T20:35:00.000+01:00

Today at my final circuit staff meeting, Kathleen led the devotions with a communion. We celebrated my last week as a part of the group and welcoming back Paul from his 14-week sabbatical (and having got married two weeks ago). Kathleen invited us to share our thanksgivings. I admitted to withholding my thanks to keep the emotion at a distance – I still don’t want to spend the whole week in one big ball of tears. This weekend will be hard enough.

I almost had to renege on my earlier swearing off of emotions when Phil gave his. He told us that sometime today his two children would receive a new ‘climbing apparatus’ (a ‘jungle gym’ or ‘swing set’). They would spend the day taking down the old one. He broke off and said that his daughter’s favourite phrase right now is ‘ungh-gh’. [What do you want for breakfast? Ungh-gh. Ok, fix it yourself. Ungh-gh.] She has been saying that a lot in thinking having to give up their current apparatus. He went on to explain that it’s exciting to watch his two kids be so upset over something, not realising that they were going to get something even better. He compared this to God, who holds the future in his hands, and no one can imagine what God has for us. He admitted that the future may not always hold something better, but that God was leading us. He said that he knew that some in the room were feeling as if some had to watch as things were being torn down and taken away from them at this moment (like his kids swing set), but hoping that we could trust God to lead us to better things.

It took me a minute, but I realised that he was encouraging me. He didn’t look at me the whole time, but when we walked to lunch he asked me if what he said was ok. I told him of course. Phil’s description of his two kids completely paralleled mine. It was the perfect ‘parable’ of the God who seems to tear apart our ‘climbing apparatus’ only to make room for better things to come in our life, hoping that God will open up new things for us.

And the Goodbyes Begin...

2006-07-23T17:22:00.000+01:00

They started on Friday at Cuerden Church School. April and I attended the ‘Leavers’ Service’ in the parish hall. Not only did we recognise Year 6 (5th grade age) for finishing primary school (the British reserve ‘graduation’ only for university), but three or four teachers/staff also leave at the end of this year. The school building itself leaves, too, as the school moves into the new building attached to the Methodist Church (I don’t know what will happen to the buildings on the Anglican property). And, of course, April and I leave. I opened the service with a prayer (Graham, the Anglican vicar, closed with a prayer). Before praying, I said my goodbyes, telling them how much I will miss them. I didn’t get to know all the kids, but many I could name. I attended the service last year, but don’t remember this affecting the emotions of the kids. We said goodbye a lot more this year. The school gave April and me gifts with the other teachers who leave at the end of the year. After the service I got to say goodbye to the child whose name I learned first nearly two years ago. It was a sweet moment, as she tried to push away the feelings (pretending that there was nothing wrong) before finally hugging me and telling me she will miss me.

This morning, April and I said our goodbyes to Trinity. Our official goodbyes take place Sunday night (30 July), but since the service will not be at Trinity (the circuit feared that it would not hold all the people there), Trinity wanted to have something for us. So, the church threw an after-service Jacob’s Join (i.e., pot luck). This would appear to be no big thing in the U.S., but after-service lunches are simply not done over here. Some people were concerned that no one would stay, but nearly everyone did – and for a while, too! Father Aelred (from St. Joseph’s) also came to say his goodbye and remarked that I had done more to bring Methodists and Catholics among our two churches than anyone he remembered. That surprised me, and I was grateful to hear it. I kept a distance emotionally – even though on the whole, this church I am less close to, but there are some individuals with whom I am very close – yet, I have a lot of goodbyes to say this week, and I will wear myself out if I don’t distance it a little. I still have my final staff team meeting on Tuesday, the final Bamber Bridge Coffee Morning, Bamber Bridge’s party on Friday, Bamber Bridge’s final service on Sunday, the Circuit farewell service, and then saying goodbye to the Manse a week on Tuesday.

I think I am looking forward a little more to the move this week. April and I talked earlier in the week about my feelings (I compared it to the stages of separation, I think – denial [I wanted to believe that in some sense, the circuits/churches would be the same], anger at my superintendent, and finally sadness). Having said all that to April, with the Tuesday night meeting in Blackburn, I think I am moving on to acceptance.

Visions of Blackburn

2006-07-19T07:39:00.000+01:00

Last night April and I visited our new circuit. When our chair of district, Stephen, took over the superintendency as a temporary post, he brought together the circuit leadership (staff plus circuit stewards) and a representative from each church. Last night this ‘Vision Group’ invited the whole circuit for a meeting to share what they had been working on over the past 10 months or so. There were over 50 people there, so it was a good turnout (Stephen and the new superintendent, Yvonne, were happy anyway).

The whole evening impressed us. This circuit has questioned its need to exist due to shrinking numbers, aging membership, and a growing Muslim population. I don’t know all the specifics, but it may be what many Methodists are feeling. I don’t take this to be a bad thing in every aspect – there may be plenty of churches (whether URC, Catholic, Anglican, or non-denominational) whose ministry is growing, so the question becomes is there really a need for Methodists to work to compete? Anyway, through this group, they have been revitalised and has seen a need for Methodism to continue. The question is how. They began with a presentation (outdated, now) of each churches strengths and weaknesses. The information was interesting insight into how the churches see themselves, but I wondered how in-depth the audit really investigated. I listened closely to the information on my three (Wilpshire, Langho, and Mellor). I don’t remember all the information, but one thing stood out for Wilpshire (my largest church). Under strengths, they named ‘Good membership – but not attracting new people’. Under weakness, they named ‘dry rot’, something I don’t remember, and ‘financial concerns’. Now, I never knew of someone saying ‘I am not attracted to that church because of “dry rot”.’ It seems they should have investigated the why and listed that as a reason. Still, the whole project was a good start.

Then Stephen presented the meeting with a list of goals under the vision headings that come out of the connexional vision: Worship, Learning/Teaching, Service, and Evangelism. The list named several projects that either have started or they have just started. I was excited to see Disciple listed on there under Evangelism. Under worship, they listed some new forms of worship, as this is a very traditional circuit. Interestingly, Stephen emphasised that every church need not implement all of them, but could perhaps focus on some and think of our churches as different centres of excellence. For instance, one could have a ministry to the retired, another to families and children, and so on. This is a different mindset from many churches who believe they need to be all things to all people, or in the case of one church I know very well, they just want to have a few things to say, ‘See! We are being church!’ without putting the resources and effort into seeing anything succeed.

The meeting looked at issues that all churches across the connexion are facing, how to be church in this changing culture. Gone are the days when the church was the centre of village/town life. Now they compete with other draws on people’s time, and even what we once thought we did well (spirituality) now people wouldn’t think they can find that in a church.

Pirates of the Caribbean

2006-07-17T22:59:00.000+01:00

For a night out April and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean. It wasn't as good as the first one. It had a SLOW start. I mean really slow with a complicated plot line. Still, just under midway through, Davy Jones appeared with his band of barnacle buddies and that saved the movie. It picked up and turned into a pretty good movie. I understand, though, why all the critics have been panning it. Still the plot, though complicated, held my attention and they ended it in such a way that made me anxious to see how the next movie will end. One thing I disagree with the critics is they said that the character of Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) wasn't developed. I don't think that true. I found it interesting that in the first movie when ever Jack did something 'piratey' and it looked like he was betraying his friends it would always turn out that he really had Will Turner's (and Elizabeth's) best interest in mind. In this one, he really was a pirate and Will had to get out of his own mess.

Lots of other things are going on. This weekend our superintendent, Paul, got married. No one is more relieved that the day is passed than New Longton minister Derek, who had the task of performing the ceremony (and the marriage interviews leading up to it). It was a great day, but it was a moment where I felt on the outside and my upcoming move felt more real. Before this week, I have been thinking about my leaving the two churches. This week I confronted leaving my circuit staff team. Anyway, I am still wrapping my mind around all this, so I will blog more about when I can make some sense of it.

Who is this Jesus?

2006-07-11T22:18:00.000+01:00

Tonight, I attended the evening performance of Cuerden Church School's play, 'Who is This Jesus?' It's a two night only event, though they did perform a matinee dress rehearsal. It appears that after the dress rehearsal they were no closer to figuring out who Jesus was, as it was a dismal rehearsal. The headteacher remarked to me that she wondered, 'Why are we bothering?' I didn't have box seats, so I sat at the back row with Mike and Pauline (my circuit steward and his wife who came to see their grandson) for a great view of the stage.

The kids in this play were the kids from the junior school, which means year 3 (2nd Grade) to year 6 (5th Grade). So there was no waving at mum and dad from the stage and they were all around less fidgety. Still, there was plenty of forgotten lines, barely audible voices, and lines delievered in monotone. One girl, trying to liven the performance, would stand stiff with her arms by her side, only to make some gesture with her hands whenever she would speak. After her line, her arms went rigid by her side again. When I found out last week who was to play Jesus, I asked the Year 6 teacher if he was living up to his role. She said, 'It's more aspiration, really. We are hoping he will assume the character.' So far, she said, no change. Actually, he is a good kid at heart, he just gets into trouble a lot.

Overall, the play had a good message (at least the parts I could hear and understand) - trying to some up for children in dance and song who is Jesus. The program stated that the authors wrote this because of a child's question, 'Who is this Jesus, anyway?' The kids performed it brilliantly. That is the staple of children's school and church plays: they make a muck-up of the rehearsal and shine on the night.

I am a Guide!

2006-07-09T22:38:00.000+01:00

Well, an honourary one. This morning I lead my last All-Age/Parade Service at Trinity. If I haven’t said anything about All-Age services, then I will explain now. There is no Sunday School separate from the worship service on Sunday morning. Usually, after a couple of songs and some prayers, the children leave. Adult Sunday School is virtually unheard of, giving rise to April and I having to explain that we are not childhood sweethearts just because we tell them we met in a Sunday School class. Once a month most churches (well, the protestant ones at least – I don’t think the Catholics do this), the children don’t leave for Sunday School. Everyone stays in. The format changes, singing less traditional hymns and a sermon that tries to reach at a level everyone can understand. The churches that have uniformed organisations (Boy Scouts and Girl Guides) add a flag procession and call it a Parade. At Trinity, we have the Girl Guides (like the US’s Girl Scouts), Brownies, and Rainbows. It has taken me a while to get into the groove of all-age worship (with or without parades), and I believe I still need a lot of work to do. My last two with Bamber Bridge I thought went well so I took different parts of the two of them and worked them into one.

Anyway, I have developed a good relationship with the Guides, having got to know the girls and the leaders. The leaders are good people, and a lot of fun. I think the leaders see me as their minister, despite their attendance on Sunday morning parade services. Trinity have had a shaky relationship with the uniformed organisations. Churches and ‘secular’ uniformed organisations often have an uneasy relationship. A lot of the kids don’t come, and that makes the church uneasy (thoughts of ‘is the church being used’, etc.). My point is that we open our doors to the Guides because we are offering hospitality. Part of that is to allow the building to be used, and in a new building like Trinity, people worry about the wear. So, in some churches there can be a little more ‘checking up’ and ‘pointing out mistakes’ than is necessary. Buildings wear over time, and I don’t want to see the building remain a shrine when our calling is to the community. This has taken some caution, and I have led the church in recommitting itself to the Guides, who at one point thought they were being pushed out. A lot of it was misunderstanding.

At the beginning of the service, Linda, the guide leader, came to the front and gave me my Guide Affiliate Member lapel pin and a donation to the church in the name of April and me. The Guides also gave us two beautiful glass goblets. It was a great honour, and I got to say my goodbyes to them. The leaders there run a fantastic group, and it’s my hope that Mark (my successor) can build on the connections they have with the church.

Exterminate!!

2006-07-08T21:53:00.000+01:00

Tonight BBC aired the final episode of the Doctor Who season. It featured history-making scenes of the Cybermen and the Daleks together! Also, Billie Piper played in what may be her final episode as the Doctor’s companion, Rose (the BBC didn’t kill her off, leaving open a return). Both of these archvillians of the Doctor are really creepy. The voice alone of the Daleks may haunt my nightmares, although the Daleks look like something a low-budget production would make. I am not really sure why I like the show – having only 45 minutes, they can appear to wrap up the story somewhat superficially, but by the end I always think they worked it out great! I don’t know

Not having watched Doctor Who until last year when BBC resurrected the series after 15 years, I was excited about the seeing both the cybermen and Daleks confrontation after last week’s episode, but the Rose-Doctor separation scene eclipsed it. I like Billie’s Rose character, and will hate to see her go. The way the Doctor screamed as Rose was sucked into the void between parallel worlds (OK, that part may be hard to explain) was so real, I thought for a minute David Tennant would never see Billie again. So, we have to get used to the new ‘companion’ for next year. I don’t like change, but I got used to the new Doctor (they had a change from last year).

Speaking of getting used to changes for next year. April and I made our way to Blackburn for the morning to visit our new home. We met David and his wife Judith, the circuit steward in charge of property (like what Mike does in South Ribble). April took measurements and announced her wish list a fantastic air of authority of a woman who knows what she wants. I explained that this is our first opportunity to really decorate our home. We rented our first 4 years of marriage, three of those in a one bedroom apartment where we had little room to breathe, much less decorate. Here at Bamber Bridge, we were only supposed to be here for a year, so everything was done for us and to a minimum (which they did a fantastic job considering). The house has three stories (the top being a loft). We choose our bedrooms and our studies. We picked out our carpet and vinyl for the bathroom (it is currently carpeted – we still don’t understand why the English like to carpet their bathrooms). My new boss, circuit superintendent Yvonne, called by to meet us there, too. She actually begins that job in September, but already works in the circuit. We talked about starting the Disciple Bible Study courses, and I told her I was willing to lead it this year. She told me she didn’t want talk, but had hoped I might say something. She doesn’t want to overload me in my first year. I told her Disciple was something I wanted to start, and was too important to leave. So, it sounds like I have my first job! We will meet later in the summer where we can discuss more work related things rather than Manse related things.

Whether Doctor Who or the Methodist Church, April and I face changes. The Doctor Who changes should be easier to handle.

Blackburn Preview

2006-07-06T20:52:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, I headed to Blackburn, my future home, to meet with Geoffrey. Geoffrey serves the Blackburn Circuit as a supernumerary minister (i.e., retired minister) who watches over the three churches that I will have: Wilpshire, Mellor, and Langho. In the past, the superintendent minister, in addition to his or her duties that go with that job, has also given pastoral care to my three. A year ago, the connexion needed the Blackburn superintendent to go elsewhere, so our chair of district, Stephen, has been the titular superintendent and of the three churches. In reality, the district duties don’t give him time to minister to the three churches, so he asked Geoffrey to look after them, and that he has done. Geoffrey is a fantastic guy, and I would believe that his reputation as a minister is well-deserved.

We gave me a ‘bird’s eye view’ of my three churches, giving me a short description of where they are and some of their strengths and weaknesses. I haven’t written much about my three future churches, for one, I really don’t know much about them and two, I am still coming to grips with leaving my current two churches. As I get to know them in the future, I will. Yesterday provided my first real opportunity to think about what I will be doing. All three have some exciting possibilities. Geoffrey said that he will attend Disciple Bible Study leader training. That excites both me and April, as we loved our two courses of Disciple we got involved with back at Epworth UMC (Durham, NC). The circuit plan to lead a course over the next year. I told Geoffrey not to judge the entire course on the leadership training. I had a great time at my Disciple leader training in Richmond, VA. I loved the food, the hotel, and most importantly, the people in my group. But the training itself was atrocious. All the leader did was read out of the course leader’s guide and then tell us to do the same. She did it all in a dead-pan, monotone voice.

OK, that last part had nothing to do with Blackburn. I still have some stuff to do with Bamber Bridge, though. I am in the middle of a church problem (too sensitive to say), so I am going out with a bang! I led my penultimate assembly at Cuerden Church School today. It was on gentleness. I had two year six pupils tell me they like me better than the other chaplain because all he does is talk a long time while I do activities. OK, so I am proud of it! I will try not to let it give me a big head. After the assembly, I went to the yard and played ‘tig’ (what they call ‘tag’) with some year 5 kids. Not exactly fair because they thought fun to have three people be ‘on’ (we would say ‘it’) and all three would tig me in succession!

The afternoon closed on a strange note. The phone rang, and somebody, ringing from a shop in Preston city centre, talking so fast that I couldn’t understand. He asked if I was a minister. I said yes. He said he needed spiritual guidance – he ‘used to be’ a drug user among other things I couldn’t understand. He wanted me to come to Preston city centre and meet with him. Of course, I had not intention of going, so I declined. I received the obligatory ‘you’re supposed to be a minister’ comment. I told him to go around to Central Methodist, which has a homeless centre. He said he was banned. Not able to convince me, he put the store clerk (I guess) on the phone. They seem to think I was worried about where they were located (not geographical, he repeated a number of times, ‘I’m not at the church – here you can ask [this person]’. I told the girl (I think it was a girl) that there were organisations in Preston who would help him. I wasn’t going to risk going in there. They finally hung up on me, and I rang the minister at Central, Ken, (also the probationer secretary). He told me that only one person had been banned. He said I made the right choice by not going to meet him (if the person was the same, which is likely).

Interesting that earlier today I mentioned on the phone to my dad that Jesus’ never promised us safety. In fact, Jesus promises that we will likely lose our life. I can’t say that I felt any inner urging for me to go. Perhaps it was covered over by my desire to get this guy off the phone. I don’t feel a lot of guilt over not helping him – just enough to make me write about this and wonder if there might be another way of handling it. Is there a point where if they have abused the resources available to them that I can take care in not putting myself in danger?

So, it’s a busy time in Bamber Bridge – still lots going on, and a lot to look forward to, and as much to think about, too.

Happy 4th of July! For Real This Time!

2006-07-04T21:06:00.000+01:00

I remember one 4th of July when I was elementary aged, and I was watching Wimbledon with my mom. She wondered what it was like to be in England on the 4th of July where it had no significance. It hasn’t exactly slipped up on us like Thanksgiving does. The United Kingdom isn’t completely oblivious to the fact that her former colony declared independence from her on this day. April and I have been able to celebrate amongst the indifference, though. I already posted about our Independence Day Fundraiser, which kept the 4th of July on our minds. Last night, we hosted four people from Penwortham Methodist. In February, Bamber Bridge held a promise auction for, yes, say it with me now…another fundraiser. Geez, I think I have spent the last two years raising money! Anyway, one of the lots that April and I put up for auction was called ‘A Taste of the South: Shrimp & Grits’. The winning person’s date with us coincided nicely as MSNBC.com wrote, in one of their 4th of July build-up articles, that Shrimp & Grits is one of the top ten foods that make America great. Since grits is such an acquired taste, and many outside the Southern US have never tried it, I was worried that our guests would not take well to them. But April did a fantastic job, giving us a low country style recipe that our English friends loved. They all ate the entire thing!

Still, today was a work day for me (and April, too – she is still in school!). We had staff (circuit ministry team) meeting. The Brits did come in and hug Ellen and me to wish us a happy 4th of July. After the staff meeting, I went straight to a funeral at Trinity followed by the committal at the crematorium. On the way back from the crem, BBC Radio 2 announced that it was American Independence Day and then played the Star Spangled Banner to wish us a happy 4th of July. Ironic that the Brits are all being so nice to us when the day revolves around us calling them a bunch of tyrants and trying to sever our ties with them. It’s great that we are all friends now!

Taking Jesus with Me

2006-07-03T12:45:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I lead worship at two very different congregations. The first was my own at Bamber Bridge. I reworked a sermon/service that I used at Trinity the prior week based on 2 Corinthians 5 and 6. I used as the jumping off point a time management course I attended at Duke. The instructor encouraged us to place claims on our time into one of four categories: (1) ‘urgent and important’, (2) ‘important but not urgent’, (3) ‘urgent but not important’, and (4) ‘not urgent and not important’. She encouraged us not to confuse urgency with importance, telling us to decide the importance of something rather than allowing others to impose urgency and importance on us. When we focus on things that are not important, then we don’t take the time for those things that are truly important. Eventually, important claims creep from the second category into the first to become urgent, and we don’t have the time to deal with them properly.

Anyway, my point was that Paul criticised the Corinthians for enamouring themselves with unimportant things (like fantastic spiritual experiences, secret knowledge, and fancy ways of talking) rather than the important things of the gospel message. So Paul returns to the basics with them, calling them to be reconciled to God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5.18-20). In my sermon I called those at Trinity and Bamber Bridge to look at why they were coming to church and ask themselves why they felt it OK to come every Sunday, yet take no part in any other activities (Trinity, in my view, finds itself at a deeper crisis point as I have a fair number who come to church, but have for one reason or another not become members – I can’t ask them to take any responsibility such as church officers. Adding to the problem, I have members at Trinity who are fine with the way things are and see no need to move the church forward – or, to be fair to some, are tired from what they see as past failures – but I didn’t get to that one in my sermon this time). My point to both churches is that if you like what happens on Sunday mornings, then how do you expect it to continue? Do you they expect to be a part of those who call others to the message of reconciliation? Have they been reconciled? I don’t know what happened at Trinity, but I did realise that I hadn’t explained at any time over the past two years how membership works. One person thought he or she was a member, but didn’t realise what membership in the Methodist Church meant (it can be confusing to Catholics and Anglicans who don’t have the same thing). At Bamber Bridge, I heard a good criticism from a member who mentioned that sometimes, people that have had the job for years don’t want to relinquish or tell the new folk they are doing it wrong. That’s fair, and maybe another sermon topic.

Later that night, I lead the service at Leyland Lane. There were only six people there, all lovely people. Leyland Lane are counting down the days until their final service 27 August. A much different congregation than my two. I didn’t know what to say, and I admit that I didn’t spend a lot of time in preparation. I knew I wanted to read the gospel text from last week, Mark 4.35-41, Jesus calms the storm. I started by telling them that I was in a similar position: I was counting down the days, too, for a change that I wasn’t ready to make. I felt like I was in a storm tossed by wind and waves. I rambled through most of my talk. I didn’t want to give empty platitudes of waiting for Jesus to calm the storm – that it will happen. I did mention that of course, and encouraged us all to look for those moments that may come days, months, years later where we finally realise that the storm has been calmed. But one thing I finally said that came to me in the service stood out to me, if not to anyone else. I have always thought it funny that reads, ‘And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.’ Despite the lack of faith, the fear – even still not understanding at the end of the story, the disciples had Jesus with them because they took him with them. I said that perhaps the message tonight, to them and to me, was to ‘take Jesus with us’ wherever we go. For me, at this changing time in my life, that is what is both urgent and important at the moment.

Happy 4th of July

2006-07-01T20:08:00.000+01:00

Well, that’s a few days early, I realise, but today the South Ribble Circuit celebrated Independence Day in style – all to raise money for Bamber Bridge development fund. Despite a fair in the town of Lostock Hall, England’s quarterfinal game in the afternoon (more on that later), and a number of folk out of town, we had a good day. I don’t know the amount of money we raised, but we had a lot of fun. All the churches got involved, and even dressed up in red, white, and blue. Not really too much of a stretch because the colours of UK flag are also red, white, and blue. This is what I told them that people did back in the US on Independence Day. The idea for an Independence Day celebration came last year when we had three Americans on staff (we are down to two this year), so they made an attempt at having a celebration like the ones in the US. Well, it works out the best we can. Last year and this year, they insisted on serving tea. No, not iced tea, but hot tea. Their English minds simply cannot fathom an event in which tea is not present. Ironic, because tea was a hot debate during the Revolutionary War. Last year, we named the session with tea ‘The Boston Tea Party’.

This year, we held our Second Annual Independence Day Celebration at the Monastery of St. Benedict’s in Bamber Bridge, next door to the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary’s. This was a much friendlier environment than our site last year at St. Saviour’s. Our relations with the Anglicans have not improved. I don’t know if I have posted much about the Anglican-Methodist relations in Great Britain, and now is really not the time, but there are no sentimental feelings of being sister denominations that feel the separations in the late 18th c (US) and the early 19th C (GB) was catastrophic. Maybe another post for another day (for now you can read my friend Sarah’s blog on her relations with the Anglicans here). Our relationship with the Catholics is much better, so they invited us to their part of Bamber Bridge. They also brought some of their own members to support the event.

We decked St. Benedict’s with red, white, and blue and some of the folk even found ways to bring in American flags. Most were sent from friends from the US. We hung a huge flag at the entrance on a tree. We had the tables lined with napkins bearing an imprint of the flag. Some did feel it appropriate to decorate their stalls with the British Union Colour, too, but I guess I can’t fault them for it. We grilled some fantastic hamburgers and sausages, threw horseshoes, threw balls at plates, ate melons, and bought bric-a-brac. I don’t know if this was American, but we had a great time.

As we thought, the place deserted around 3:00 PM. The England-Portugal game started at 4:00 PM. Of course, Independence Day isn’t the only thing that brings up bad memories for the English on this day. England lost on penalty kicks after time expired. I guess tomorrow will be a day of national mourning. Actually, I am a little upset, too. It was nice seeing all the excitement. Well, we can wait for another four years.

One Wedding and a Wedding Breakfast

2006-06-25T21:11:00.000+01:00

Not very often, but every once in a while I have a moment in my ministry where I have to stop and ask, ‘What is going on?’ Yesterday gave me my wildest experience in ministry to-date. All fantastically wonderful, and a day when I realise why I went into ministry. Since South Carolina commissioned me as a minister, I have presided over 5 weddings – three in the last 5 weeks. I have heard a rumour that the first wedding (April 2005, I think) has already ended. The second wedding I would rather forget – Phil still holds their certificate ransom because they didn’t pay. Weddings are simply different over here. I think I have written before that they are much more ‘functional’ than American ones are. The licence must be signed during the service (only in registrar ink that will last hundreds of years), the maid of honour (chief bridesmaid) and best man play a much more official role as witnesses than the American role of looking pretty, and all of this MUST be done before 6 PM. I have spent most of my weddings scared I will make mistake. For my first three, Phil has been guiding me. The last two I have done on my own. Anyway, so you see how it might be surprising that any wild experience that affirms the call to ministry could happen at a wedding. Yesterday, the wedding was the daughter of my senior steward at Trinity. April and I are quite close my steward and her husband, and I have got to know their daughter and fiancée. They are a really fun couple, easy to joke with, but serious about making their marriage work. It’s not a given (as it is usually in America) that the minister gets an invite to the reception, so this was the first time April and I have experienced the ‘wedding breakfast’, as it is called. It was Four Weddings and a Funeral come to life. Ironic because a guy who we sat with at our table mentioned how they assumed that all Americans lived like the sitcoms (i.e., Dukes of Hazzard, Friends, etc.). Of course, no one does get in their cars through the windows or sit around in coffeehouses during all hours of the day, but this wedding really was like the movies we watched! The wedding took place at Hoghton Tower, the 16th century castle that stands guard outside Preston (Sir Bernard de Hoghton, the Lord of the castle, can trace his family back to the conquest of William the Conqueror). That only added to the fairly-tale feel of the afternoon. It was everything you could want in an English experience. In weddings like this though all people there were good, down-to-earth folk), the minister can get lost. She or he plays the part, and then is relegated to the side. What I wasn’t ready for was the major part I had no idea I was playing and then the ‘rock star’ celebrity that came with it. It began Friday night at the rehearsal. I led it as I always do. Evidently, I was hilarious. I did have trouble with the groom’s full name (which must be read out in full at certain parts of the service for legal reasons – again, the functional part). Not wishing to give their full names on the net, I can’t tell the story, but I somehow got his name mixed up with the chief bridesmaid. (This worried the chief bridesmaid’s fiancée who was scared he might end up married by the end of the evening!) I also made sure that the groom realised that the bride’s parents came in with the deal – there was no way my two church members would be left out! During the rehearsal, they thought the wedding would turn into Four Weddings and a Funeral, so I blessed them in the name of the Holy Goat. Evidently, I was a hit. The groomsmen were singing my praises and wanted to take me to a Liverpool football game. The bride was stressed out, but after the rehearsal she was fine. I didn’t know any of this until the wedding. I just thought this was the smoothest running rehearsal I have done. Because I was closer to the family, the wedding homily was very personal – surrounding a cat that could have been the reason the couple got together. At the end, I asked, ‘Who did the cat love more?’ and as if on cue, bride and groom answered ‘Me.’ I could not have planned it, but it happened. At the wedding breakfast, I was mentioned in the wedding speeches, talked about at the tables, and one groomsman talked to me a number of times. I was hearing rumours that I was in demand to perform more weddings. I simply wasn’t expected this. It wasn’t just the attention, but all of a sudden April and I realised, I was the face of the church – and they had seen something different than they had thought of church before. I hate stories where I seem to be the hero of my own stories, but this will be a moment that I will remember. There will be enough ‘I’m ready to quit this and go be a stock room clerk’ moments that I will cling to moments such as this one when they happen. And yet, there could come more from this. I don’t know what seeds were planted over the weekend. I will leave that to God to grow what he desires.

Where I am Most Me

2006-06-24T00:13:00.000+01:00

About a year ago I was struggling with something, but I don’t remember what. I talked to my friend Jen about it, and her response to whatever it was I was going through was, ‘You need to find where you are most Will.’ I hadn’t a clue what she meant, but Jen often has given me advice that I didn’t know what to do with and she has left me to figure it for myself. Sometimes I can, and this was one of those times. Not long after that I drove from Trinity heading toward Pleasington Crematorium (near Blackburn) to finish a funeral. This route has some of the most beautiful countryside in our area. That’s when it hit me – this is when I am most me. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but I felt something inside me – I wouldn’t describe it as peace as much as an overwhelming sense of awe at the beauty.

I realised on that drive what I needed to do to find where ‘I am most me’ – I needed to find a way to take in the area, maybe even walking. Unfortunately, I haven’t done much about it. I did walk once when having a rough week leading up to the Covenant Service (in January). Today I took a walk again. I have been eating horribly for a number of weeks, and this combined with avoiding visiting and getting tired of staring at a blank Word document, thinking about a sermon for Sunday, I was ready for a break. After a rainy cold week, the sun was out and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. So, fed up with it all I grabbed my ordinance survey map and headed outside.

In 1847 a train line ran from Bamber Bridge straight into Preston (rather than the current one that makes a stop in Lostock Hall) and it was closed in 1972. The tracks were paved over and a wildlife refuge built up around it. It provides a fantastic path straight into Preston. Bamber Bridge Methodist held a sponsored walk while April and I were in Greece, so we didn’t get to walk it. Today, I choose to take the old train tracks up to the River Ribble, crossing it and then down ‘The Old Tram Road’. I am less certain of the history of that route, but it provided a beautiful tree lined walk. It’s not the beautiful countryside that one gets when walking along outside the city, but standing on the bridge over the river, you could see the city to one side and the hills beyond.

I felt the tension leave me. I even found I was able to talk to God as I walked, but as to what he wanted me to preach about on Sunday, he remains silent. I am still not quite sure what to do about visiting, or how I am going to handle leaving South Ribble. For an afternoon where work was calling, perhaps it was a waste of time. Yet, I found that I felt more me there walking along the old rail lines, hearing the water rush over the rocks, and then making my way back to Bamber Bridge. It was a long walk, one I wasn’t sure I wanted to finish! In some strange way it at least showed me that an end was in sight and that I can make it. Perhaps not such a waste of time after all.

I forgot to take my camera, so I can't post any pictures. Maybe next time!

Last Circuit Meeting with South Ribble

2006-06-21T22:47:00.000+01:00

Tonight I spent the evening at my last circuit meeting with South Ribble Circuit. I lasted until nearly 10:00 (after a 7:30 start). This was in part my fault. I went out with style, being given the job of presenting to the meeting a report that came out of Methodist conference last year. The Methodist Church here is looking at the possibility of having bishops. The reasons are really too numerous and complex, as I quickly realised tonight when trying to use the language they suggested in their guide for a 15-20 minute presentation. In hindsight, I should have spent more time 'translating' the 'churchy' language into English. Also, bishops are not a popular topic. Many feel its too 'Anglican', or that we are giving into the Anglicans by using that terminology. Methodists over here have never had bishops. Anyway, I think my part was over after 30 minutes. I took a few questions, but I meant to only introduce the topic, not lead toward a vote.

The rest of the meeting was bittersweet. Yvonne, our Senior Circuit Steward, lead off by reminiscing back to the first day she met me (my second day in Great Britain) when I was failing to open a bank account and was bent on getting a television license (she was amused by this and wondered what I had been told in America). Derek (Longton-New Longton section) told the story of his first away day with the staff in Grasmere, while England cricket team played Australia in The Ashes. John (retired minister who was helping us out with Walmer Bridge) was trying, to no avail and to a lot of frustration, to explain how to play cricket. Phil, who is acting as superintendent while Paul is on sabbatical, then thanked me and he prayed for both April and I.

The rest of the meeting continued, and of course the upcoming events around the opening of Bamber Bridge came up. All exciting, but still a reminder that the next circuit meeting will be hosted by Mark at Bamber Bridge, and not me. I could feel myself having a 'Brian moment' as I felt more like an observer watching the proceedings rather than someone still a part of the meeting. I still have a little over a month left here, and I am trying to muddle through leaving.

It's late, and I am going to watch the season finale of Desperate Housewives, so I will continue the thoughts on 'Brian moments' later.

World Cup and Brian Moments

2006-06-20T20:52:00.000+01:00

I thought I would post as April and I watch the World Cup match, our adopted home country England play Sweden. I haven’t posted much about the World Cup, but if you take the excitement generated by American Football’s New Year’s Day game (and subsequent National Title game) and multiply it by about ten, you might have the excitement surrounding these soccer matches in England. The BBC gave us a play by play as the British Airways plane took off for Germany. They even told us what they were eating on the plane. Then there was the whole Rooney saga. One of England’s best players injured himself two months ago and England were afraid that he would not be able to play. There were hourly updates (usually saying nothing more than ‘we hope to have something next hour’). It’s hard not to get caught up in it, and be a little curious about what goes on, even though I am clueless about soccer. I understand one tries to kick the ball into the net, but beyond that it’s just a lot of running up and down the field. Anyway, the football (i.e., soccer) is everywhere – you can’t get away from it. We went out with some of my members for dinner Saturday night, and we caught the last 15 minutes of the USA-Italy game, in which the US held them to a draw (my congregations laughed at me when I called it a ‘tie’). That was something to cheer about, despite it not being a win. My church members patronised April and me by cheering for the US, but the game hardly matters in England’s world.

The whole country only stops during the matches England play, so we still continue our church work. In preparing to leave my churches here, I flashback to my final semester at Duke Divinity School when I decided I could no longer be bothered to learn the names of the first years who I would meet and started calling them all ‘Brian’. For example, when Jen, Brandon, AmyDill, Rachel, and I would try to sit at one of our tables in the library, there would usually be a flock of first years that landed on them before we got there. Jen called this phenomenon, ‘the first-years get all “table-happy”’. The appropriate response was indignation on all our parts (who do they think they are?), but I usually added, ‘The Brians have got all the tables in the library.’ This presented us as a problem, as we would have to find elsewhere to sit. I think it started when I would be talking about one of the first years and one of the above mentioned ‘crew’ would ask more specifically who, and I would say, ‘I don’t know – Brian, I guess.’ In some ways I think this was to help me cope with my separation from Duke. I haven’t begun calling the folk at Bamber Bridge or Trinity ‘Brian’, but I experience what Phil (Leyland-Turpin Green) helped me to name ‘Brian moments’, those time when I feel like separating from the church to make the move easier come July. I struggle more now with visiting, not wishing to continue connections that I know I am going to have to break off soon. Finding words to say in a sermon, usually hard enough with all the spiritual baggage I take with me in any sermon-writing foray, becomes tougher when I don’t want to think about the churches personally in that way – to think about how I know them. My motivations on why I do this – to protect them or myself – is a pendulum that swings back and forth. Perhaps they don’t need protection – they are likely much more used to ministers coming and going, but I am not.

Well, England have just scored their first goal against Sweden after 33 minutes. This is the first goal they have scored in the first half, so it looks like they are off to a good start.

Oh, I received correspondence from Alitalia, which I think is an organisation full of people whose names I won’t bother to learn so we will call them all Brian, and they are not going to cover my pocket pc or camera. They say it is in their limited liability form. So, those bunch of punks should work harder to find my luggage.

From One Methodist to Another

2006-06-14T22:08:00.000+01:00

While sitting in a pastoral visit this evening, I was questioned on British Methodist - United Methodist church polity. It inevitably led to questions about how my coming to England works. I suddenly realised the date, checked on my watch and it is indeed the 14 of June. My bishop named this date as my date of transfer from the UMC to the Methodist Church of GB. For the first time in my life, I am not a United Methodist.

The Week's End

2006-06-10T21:41:00.000+01:00

I realised that I hadn’t posted in a while, and I am trying to keep up with it more than I have been, so I thought I would write a few things before going to bed tonight. We are not following the World Cup as closely as everyone is around here - Bamber Bridge was a ghost town during the 2-5 PM this after noon as England beat Paraguay (or, rather, ended up with more points than they did - Paraguay scored the only point in the game, just they put it in the wrong goal). Perhaps by the end of the month, I will be blogging more about football (soccer!).

I had my last Church Council meeting with Bamber Bridge. We started out by meeting at the new church 45 minutes early where John (the development leader) gave us a walk through. The floor has been laid, and the school rooms have walls. It still looks like a long way to go before they finish, but I imagine that they don’t. Their handover date is 15 September, two weeks after I am officially no longer the minister but a month and a half after I am in reality no longer the pastor. The meeting itself was not as contentious as Bamber Bridge CCs have been in the past, but there was enough life to make it feel as if they were sending me off. I realise how far I’ve come, and how far I’ve yet to go as a chairman of church council. There was only one “high tension” incident (over something fairly minor), but I didn’t quite know how to lead the meeting trying to sympathise with both sides. John (development officer again) helped me out, by mouthing, “Let’s move on.” He had already told them he would take care of it, but some felt the need to keep pushing. I still don’t understand one side of the issue, but what they want us to do is clear – they want us to talk to someone about something (I am reluctant to give the actual issue) – and that we can do. At the end, they thanked me for my two years of service, and they said that they appreciated the way I have led the church over the past two years. We are waiting for final goodbyes on 30 July for my farewell service.

Life still happens as you meet your final months in the church, and we are still going through the life cycle. I had a funeral at noon yesterday, and then that evening a wedding rehearsal. I used to think that wedding directors were the bane of a minister’s existence, and that idea was cemented in seminary in worship classes. I have since forgiven them, walking through my fourth wedding rehearsal in which I have to do it all! Show them where to stand, insist that they are on time, go over the service, and be pastoral all in one shot. Last night was hampered only by the large number of children involved. It will go well, but it tires me out having to think of aesthetics and theology at the same time.

We also have a string of folk in hospital (at both churches) or those who are just “poorly” (ill, the British wouldn’t describe someone as “sick” unless there was vomiting involved). My list of folk to visit grows. Luckily, tomorrow morning Trinity have their Sunday School Anniversary, so the Sunday School will lead the service. I think they are performing the “good Samaritan”. There has been a tradition over here that after the children perform that preacher “sums it all up” for the congregation. I didn’t know who this offended more: the kids who worked so hard to present their message only to have to have it “stamped” by the preacher’s approval, or does it offend the congregation more because this assumed they were too stupid to understand what the kids performed and needed a minister to explain it to them. Regardless, I finally bucked the tradition last year starting at Trinity, with a little resistance (despite my explanation above, it was met with, “Well, it’s nothing big – the preacher just ‘sums’ it up – though why that was never explained it me), but after I finally said, “Look, I’m not doing it,” that settled it. All that’s to say, I don’t have to prepare a sermon for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow evening I am at Longton, and I am recycling a sermon – I think they may be the only church in the circuit that hasn’t heard the sermon I am going to preach.

Today April and I took off for the Yorkshire Dales to a market town called Settle. We figured we needed a walk. It was a gorgeous day – we have had quite a spell of warm, dry weather. The walk was pretty, but I prefer the walks that have more waterfalls and rivers. This partly went by the River Ribble (the same river that separates Preston from South Ribble (the borough that we live in), but I like them when the walk follows along the shore. Still, a beautiful area nonetheless, and a refreshing day out.

Note: STILL no word on my luggage from Alitalia!

Pentecost, Patmos, and the Unexpected

2006-06-06T23:14:00.000+01:00

Every other Tuesday the South Ribble Circuit Ministry Team gather for a staff meeting. We get together to conduct the business of the circuit, of course, but the sharing among the 8 of us have created strong bonds between us over the months in those 2 ½ hours on Tuesdays . Each meeting begins with devotions, led by one of us in turn. This morning, Phil (minister at Leyland – Turpin Green and Lostock Hall) lead the devotions surrounding the Pentecost lesson (Acts 2:1-21). He wondered what they talked about as they sat there waiting for God to act as Jesus promised. Then Phil asked, “What has God revealed to you in the last week?” Normally, I hate this question, but I knew exactly what to answer this time.

The answer was one that I already knew, but became glaringly obvious to me again as I remembered my first weekend in Athens: I don’t handle the unexpected well! I told the staff team that one day I will release April from her gag order and she may tell how I broke down completely on that Saturday afternoon when I realised my luggage was gone and I was told that all the stores that sold clothes would not be open until that Monday morning (too late for me to buy anything until late Monday afternoon). I told them how I blamed God and cursed any of the Greek gods that may still be hanging around in Athens! It was only later that I was able to realise that, in the words of Susan, my neighbour in Florence, SC, “there are problems in this world, and this is not one of them.” In the middle of the unexpected, I freak out. I admitted that while I can be quite good when the unexpected happens to others, but if something comes down at me at the beginning of the service that disrupts my order, I don’t let it roll off my back like other preachers can.

I reminded them of my Ascension Day service meditation (posted on 25 May) how I look for those islands in the chaos where I can anchor myself, and as I face leaving the two churches I have grown to love, and as I face missing out on Jen’s wedding. [She sent me a wonderful email, reaffirming the friendship that she, Mike, April, and I share, which is another thing that God revealed to me this week.] I simply don’t like the unknown, and even more so the unexpected things that pop up in my life that burst from the unknown. I said that listening again to the story of the disciples waiting for who knows what, and then sitting in the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse where the voice of God breaks into John’s day, I don’t know what I would have done in either situation! When God does show up in my life, it’s often unexpected – and I don’t deal well with the unexpected. I don’t know what to do with it once the moment’s happened. I move on from it too quickly, without really taking in what happens.

This sounds like a good place to make that turn like in a sermon – where I appear to have it all figured out with the answer to my problem, but I don’t have that yet. In response to my sharing, Kathleen told a story of what happened at a church once that may say a lot about us when we experience God. Once when she was preaching on Pentecost, the sound technician said, “I thought I heard a mighty wind, so I thought best to turn it off!”

Red Rose on the Move Part III: Skala, Island of Patmos, Greece

2006-06-01T20:00:00.000+01:00

April and I were too tired to post yesterday or the day before, but we are still having a great time. In Rhodes, we finished there with a trip to the ancient town of Lindos, visited another Acropolis. We rode a donkey to get to the top! Don't worry, pictures of the event will come when we get back home and we will post them.

Last night, I stood on the boat's deck as we neared Patmos, trying to put myself in the place of the great St. John, the Theologian. I doubt that he found his way to the island as I did, but I still couldn't help but think that he may have seen the very same sights I did. When we stepped onto the island, it had an even different feel than did Rhodes. It's hard to describe, but there is a bit of "stepping into a different world" here. I have to admit that my fascination with Walt Disney World has had an ill effect on me. I expect every place I visit to be the clean-cut version that I see there, and get a little disappointed when it's not. The island of Rhodes still has a daily life that continues despite its historical and tourist signifigance. I am learning to divide the two vacation spots, but I have not had to do that here. While it's not the sugary-sweet idealism of Disney, it has a charm that I haven't felt in Athens or even Rhodes.

Today, we visited the monastery of St. John, founded in 1088. The icons surrounding the churches really gave you a vision of worshipping with the communion of the saints. The monastery was built there because of Patmos's connection with the apostle John. (Now, I realise that scholastically and intellectually, I believe that John, the writer of Revelation, is not the same as John, the apostle of Jesus and "so-called pillar of the church", but in my "heart of hearts", I want to believe he is one and the same! I think Jen will back me up here!) After the monastery, we went to the "main event", the cave itself. There is a church built all around the site, and you walk through the pathways built in this other monastery down to the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse. We saw the place where St. John wrote Revelation as God opened it up to him. Of course, like many other sites, it was adorned with candles and icons, and I believe this added to the holiness as you could sit in the same cave where the voice of God once spoke and the words come down to us through the bible. I had always imagined John writing the book on a hillside over looking the panoramic-picture postcard scenes, but it makes sense that he wrote it in the cave - it can get hot here! And it is nice and cool in that cave.

Whether the author of Revelation is St. John the Apostle (maybe even the "one who Jesus loved") or another St. John whose identity is lost, the cave still transcends time and I sat in a place where God stirred a man to write words tha comfort us 2000 years later.

Author's Note: I tried to post this thing three time while in Patmos, but when I tried to "publish" it, the server went dead. So, I am back dating it to the time I originally tried to post it!

Red Rose on the Move Part II: Rhodes, Greece

2006-05-29T18:45:00.000+01:00

Well today started off better than has most of our travels. I am still wearing my "Greek wear" sans the Greg Brady special, but I am still sporting the underwear that's more speedo than I am used to. We had a brief moment where we thought that my stupidity hadn't ended when I thought I threw out the wire that connects the camera to the computer. Luckily, April found it. We arrived at the airport early enough so that I might have a word about my lost luggage (brought to you courtesy of the good folk at Alitalia). Of course, I can't blame them totally because for some reason I failed to put a tag on it myself. Still, it's their business to look after luggage! Anyway, we are at the "What are your contents?" stage in our relationship. This is a "third date" kind of question, anyway. My bag, with it's contents, could be anywhere between Manchester, UK, Milan, Italy, or Athens, Greece. On the good news front, April found my receipt for the 124 Euros for the styling clothes I bought.

We arrived on the Island of Rhodes to a different world. It has such a different feel. Some parts feel like Myrtle Beach, SC, though. All the beach shops remind me of the old "Wings" and "Eagles" stores. Give all the credit to April finding us the hotel. We are staying at the Blue Horizon in the little village of Ialysos. It is BEAUTIFUL! And it's half-board, so we had a fanstastic dinner tonight. We are right on the beach, which is more pebbles than sand - interesting, but you have to wear shoes in the water. There are very little waves here. But the sea is beautiful and we can just see the coast of Turkey. For the afternoon, we made our way into Rhodes Town, part of which, Rhodes Old Town, is a medieval walled city. England has some walled cities, but this is like stepping into the medieval time itself. It's just so different. It hard to explain, but now that I have a digital camera, I have lots of pics.

The internet cafe tonight isn't as seedy, and the computers are much more up-to-date. Actually, this cafe is actually a cafe - it has a restaurant which appears to be full service. So tomorrow, we are off to the ancient city of Lindros (on the lower part of Rhodes Island). Then, I am sure we will hit the beach again.

Red Rose on the, well, Run: Athens, Greece

2006-05-28T16:07:00.000+01:00

Greece: a mythological place where the gods play with mortals for the fun of it. They seem to still be at it. April wanted to go on a cruise for this holiday, but I wanted to see Patmos (none of the cruises went there), so we struck out on our own. I made my first mistake then. Then April realised two weeks ago that she booked a non-refundable flight for the Greek island of Rhodes where we would come back on 20 June. When it came to packing, I put all my stuff in my suitcase - all my clothes, tennis shoes, the camera, and my iPac (handheld computer). England weather was its usual: rainy and low 50s, so I was dressed in a long sleeve shirt with corduroy trousers and brown casual work shoes. All this led us at 2 AM to the luggage carousal waiting for my suitcase which never came and then to the Alitalia "lost luggage" window with a lady who seemed gobsmacked that I would actually want my luggage before the end of the trip. She gave us the impression that it would be on the flight the next day.

The next day was hot - we were a long way from England! So, I thought I would buy a shirt. We found a cheap one at a little store near our hotel. Greece must like their shirts tight because an XL fit me close. So there I was, sporting my Greg "I outgrew my shirt two years ago" Brady shirt and corduroy trousers - ready for the heat of Athens. We wonderered around the market, looking at the souveniers and for a disposable camera. When we found the camera, we headed over to the Acropolis. For a blissful hour, the only reminders of my lost luggage was the disposable camera and my "hot pants". We stood by the Pantheon,which was covered in metal structures as they were repairing it. That didn't matter so much - we are used to that with England's Cathedrals. We have learned to look past all that. I do apologise to my sister, who has been waiting to see more than pictures of cathedrals only to have us lose our digital before we got here. We had a scary moment when April fell down the steps at the acropolis. Other than a bruised back, she is fine. From there we went back to the hotel, exhausted. After our nap, still no word from Alitalia. They haven't a clue where my luggage is. So, we decide to go down to the front desk to inquire where I might buy, in particular, underwear. The news was not good. All the stores close by 7 on Saturday, closed on Sunday, and we leave early Monday for Rhodes. By this point I am blaming the gods (or, rather, God) for doing what he could to screw up my holiday. April didn't know what to do with my, realising thatI am not thetype of person who can compartmentalise, letthis go and get on with the trip. Finally, we found a little store that was selling some cheap clothes. The little lady there led the way. I bought 2 pairs of shorts ("No," says our lady, "X-X-L good for you. You look fine." , one "for swim", three shirts, two pairs of underwear, and some shoes that may be trendy, but normally I would never wear. So, we settled down. I found the good news that my travelers' insurance will cover up to 150 pounds for delayed personal possessions. We ate our dinner outside the Roman Agora.

Today started off better - I was no longer sweating quite so hard. We wonderedaround the flea market, into the souvenir stores, and on to Ancient Agora. Again, our only reminders were the odd way I was dressed and the disposable camera (sorry again, Kelly). Tired, weheaded back to the hotel. Still no word of our luggage, and no, Alitalia could really not care less, and no, they still don't understand why it's important. I realise that I have also lost the receipt for the clothes I bought, so I can't get reimbursed for them. I start to think that every time I have to make a decision, I will need to write it out so I can see how stupid it is. Anyway, I have a second breakdown and April can only watch. I head out to the store, with all my clothes in tow, hoping they can recreate the receipt. They are closed. I step next door and buy a cheap digital camera and buy paraphanalia (which I am sure that word has Greek origins). This makes me feel a little better (I will try to get what pictures I can of Athens, Kelly).

So that brings me up to where I am now: sitting in an internet cafe using a computer that I swear Socrates used. It has a webcam on it, which I feel sure it is recording my every move. April says we will laugh about this one day. I am sure she will. She has already started!

Feast of the Ascension

2006-05-25T23:13:00.000+01:00

Have you heard the saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”? I have never been one to believe it. I am more likely to say that “absence makes the heart grow forgetful”. When I leave at the end of July, I will have said good-bye more times in the last five years than I have in the first twenty-seven years of my life. I remember the night of my graduation from seminary, gathered with those who I had walked with for the last three years. For one last night, we were seminarians sharing our experiences together. The next day we would go our separate ways, knowing that we would keep in touch, but it would never be the same. When distance separates, we can no longer share those day-to-day experiences, we become different people in absence over time. That reality hits quite starkly right now. My mom asked when she was over here, how am I going to leave these churches I’ve lived with for two years? I answered, ‘I don’t know.’ This week April and I realised we won’t be able to make it to our best friend’s wedding in February, and she will be absent from us for a crucial time for us. I can’t help but wonder, how can friendship grow when you are absent from one of life’s most important events? How do you overcome missing out on the bonds created that strengthen others and not you? Absence may not cause forgetfulness, but there’s not any sentimental notion of fondness, either.

Absence creates a yearning within us that tells us something isn’t right, that we are anything but complete. In absence, we find our humanity; people create to be with others and wanting to reach out to put right the absence we feel. Twenty-six years ago, Candy Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving after her 13 year old daughter was hit and killed by a drunk driver. The absence she felt after her daughter died burned within her, and she recognised that something was wrong, that the absence she felt might be prevented in others. In absence we acknowledge the wrong we see and it triggers in us the desire to correct it.

In the Ascension, Jesus leaves his disciples, but not alone. In Matthew we have the promise of his presence. In Luke, we have the promise of his Holy Spirit. Yet, we still feel that is in some sence not enough. In a few minutes, we will join together in the Lord’s Supper, the act which Paul tells the Corinthians that ‘For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.’ Arguments across denominations centre around the ‘real presence’ of Jesus in the supper, but that has to be placed alongside Paul’s statement that Jesus is still absent, that the crucified one is yet to come. In his ascension, Jesus is proclaimed as king in heaven, but the usurper still roams the earth. We feel the usurper’s presence in a broken world when we experience absence of friends and families through distance, through broken relationships, and through death. In a strange paradox, the absence of Jesus urges us to seek his presence deeper. Paul teaches that we only have a portion of the Holy Spirit now, and his presence gives us eyes to see a world where Jesus is thought to be fully absent, not proclaimed as king. This burns within us to correct this, to bring about his kingdom in burst here and there. For us, absence is still part of life. We still hurt and grieve over our friends we love, but with whom we are separated, no longer able to share lives together. Yet, we press on to the day when Jesus ‘will come in the same way as [the disciples] saw him go into heaven.’ Only then will our experience of absence be changed and we will experience the full presence of Jesus in the resurrection life that Jesus offers. The Ascension of Jesus gives words to our Advent prayer written by St. John on the island of Patmos, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’.

Ascension Day 2006
Leyland (Turpin Green) Methodist Church

2nd Mile "Aftermath"

2006-05-13T19:22:00.000+01:00

One of the primary vehicles for communication used by the second mile team was testimonies. First of all, it was less wordy and technical sounding than that first sentence sounded! For many in my church, this surprised them. They have heard testimonies before, but a few mentioned that they were not used to the depth of emotion the American testifiers spoke with in the service. Chalk it up to the ‘British reserve’ or even perhaps the less personal focus of faith in the lives of folk over here (which may be derivative of the former – wow, I am really technical this evening!), but many said they were simply not used to it. Also, one mentioned (and others agreed) that one of the differences they noticed is that all the testifiers used “current” stories rather than “how I came to Jesus” stories. I won’t relate their testimonies here – even though I think they wouldn’t mind, but that’s not the point at the moment.

This weekend was also a reminder for me how much I have learned to keep my faith at a distance. Or at least I try. My father was one of the speakers and one person said they now knew where I got my emotion from! At the encouragement of Carl Harris (the retired Methodist minister who is lead preacher) and others from the group, I asked two from Bamber Bridge to give their testimony on the following Sunday. They did a great job, both being extremely nervous. I then challenged the congregations to think about their thoughts on the weekend. This led one of my members to come to me on Thursday and tell me his story of how he came to Jesus. It was a moment that I almost passed by. I was helping him clear tables after Thursday morning coffee morning, and he decided to tell me about his story. It was nothing flashy, but important for him to tell me. It was neat to see the excitement on his face as he told me.

Later that night, we met as our general church meeting that meets annually, but is not an annual general meeting. I meant to take the Americans’ sharing of testimonies to talk about if or how we share our faith with one another, understanding that you really can’t share your faith with non-Christians if you can’t share your faith with other Christians. As I have said in previous posts, Methodist Conference has published a report hoping to start a fire that will turn Methodism back to our roots of meeting with one another to share in conversation as a means of Christian discipleship. I asked the meeting the question, if we talk about evangelism and we want to invite others to our Church, what kind of community will we invite them to? The meeting didn’t go as planned – first I had to get across that my goal was not to have everyone standing if front of the church to share. But, my thoughts revolve around the night I received a phone call from a young man about my age wanting to know if we have anything for folk his age. Well, we don’t. We don’t have much that will enable people to get to know others in the church, unless they take on a leadership role in the church – and sometimes even that doesn’t do it. By the end of the meeting, we decided on three things: 1, to be more specific in our prayers; 2, to look for someone to organise more social events for the church (that’s another area the churches over here lack); and 3, one person offered to begin a short course small group. One member told me the next night that he appreciated how I stimulated the conversation and hoped they would keep the momentum going – and that I should make that my first conversation with my new churches rather than my last! I think I will do that!

2nd Mile Weekend

2006-05-11T08:46:00.000+01:00

The last two weeks have been wild! On Friday, 28 April, I went to Manchester Airport with three of my church members to pick up 10 Americans freshly arrived from South Carolina. My mom and dad are part of the Second Mile Evangelistic Team, led my retired Methodist minister Carl Harris. They came to “take over Trinity and Bamber Bridge” by leading services over the weekend. I have to admit, I was nervous. I never know what to expect when I turn over my pulpit to anyone, much less my parents. This experience reminded me of my time in CPE, when I discovered that I spend most of my life trying to “get through” things in life. If I am excited about something then I spend most of the time worried about the time slipping away. If I am not looking forward to some event, I spend the time leading up to the event anxious and worrying. In many cases I realise there was nothing to worry about and at times find myself enjoying whatever it is. In both cases, after it’s all over, I look back wishing I had taken time to enjoy everything.

With the 2nd Mile Weekend, there was a lot of both. Of course, I was worried about what the crowd from the US would say, but I was also worried about my own churches and their responses. We farmed out the Americans to folk from Bamber Bridge to spend the weekend (my parents drew the short straw and stopped with me and April), and relied on others from Bamber Bridge and Trinity for providing the food. Both groups acted phenomenally – I was so proud of the way my churches welcomed the team. And I could not believe the way the responded to the Team! I did not expect the services to be as successful as they were. The Jacob’s Join/Potluck Dinner had over 100 people. The Sunday night service had even more. Tuesday took a dip – down to around 90 people. I still could not believe how many turned out. And all the services lasted nearly two hours. On the final night, no one wanted to leave after we finished.

I didn’t blog as the week progressed, which would have made this easier. Rather than detailing each event, I may come back to it as I go. Tonight, Bamber Bridge has their church general meeting, which happens annually, but for some reason is not an “annual general meeting” (I don’t know – maybe I will get them to explain it tonight). Anyway, I plan to get them talking about what they thought of the weekend and where they want to move forward with what they heard.

Happy Birthday April from Dublin, Ireland!

2006-04-26T19:09:00.000+01:00

Greetings from the Emerald Isle! For April's birthday, we both took the day off to spend the day in Dublin. We haven't managed to make it to Ireland at all yet, so we thought this was a good opportunity. Dublin is different than what we imagined it would be. I guess we thought of the images of rolling green hills that one always associates with Ireland, but Dublin is definately a city. We are glad we came, though! We started this morning by seeing 1200 year old gospels called the Book of Kells, which are celtic manuscripts of the four gospels beautifully illuminated. Then, we toured the city on the hop-on, hop-off bus, where we saw the church that Bram Stoker got married in. We disembarked in Dublin's medieval centre to visit their TWO cathedrals. In the 1100s, the bishop got tired of paying taxes inside the Dublin city walls so he built another one. Then, we hopped on a bus to see a castle just north of Dublin, called Malahide. Then on the way back we stopped to overlook the Dublin Bay. The weather, as it will be here, was disappointing so the view was not what it could have been. Now, we are sitting in the internet cafe, waiting for the bus to take us back to the airport. This has been a long, but fun day. April says she has enjoyed her birthday. Now that she spent last year in Rome (we stood in the Sistine Chapel on her birthday) and Dublin this year, she is wondering what will happen next year!

We go back home to prepare for mom, dad, and the 2nd Mile Evangelistic Team to come on Friday. They are taking over Trinity and Bamber Bridge for the weekend, and then April and I play tour guide in London. I will update on how it's going!

Christ is Risen!

2006-04-24T21:28:00.000+01:00

When I began blogging, I meant to keep it up-to-date and write things as they hit me. As you might have seen, I have trouble keeping up. Usually when things happen and I don’t get the chance to blog something, I just leave it alone. Then there are times that I want to remember events that happen, and share them. Holy Week is one of those times, so I am blogging about it even though it is over a week ago.

After Pray Without Ceasing, our circuit took the initiative to provide something every day in Holy Week. Because of other commitments, I didn’t get to go to anything other than the event at Trinity. I scheduled myself a very hectic Holy Week, but I enjoyed everything. We began with one of the worst traffic accidents Preston has seen in years. April was headed to a section of Preston called Deepdale to do some shopping and an errand for me and it took her nearly two hours to get back home. Evidently, a lorry caught fire on the M6 and that created a backup all around Preston AND Bamber Bridge. It was awful. So, at 6:30, I received a phone call from a member who lives in Leyland and he said wouldn’t make it due to the traffic. So, I began to worry about how many folk from Bamber Bridge would be able to make it. I needn’t have done, as we had a great congregation (even if some didn’t arrive as early as they normally do).

Traditionally, Trinity have hosted a love feast with bread, cheese, and fruit with fruit juice. After the love feast, we shared the communion liturgy. Rather than coming to the rail, we shared it around the table, which may be closer to how Jesus and the disciples shared the bread and wine at the last supper. Last year, we ended the service my cleaning up, which I didn’t like. I wanted to leave the church in silence, so instead of a foot washing ceremony, we cleaned up the kitchen and the tables. The “keepers of the kitchen” took over, making sure that everything went in its proper place. This drove April crazy and she finally went and sat back down. So, we sat in a circle to pray. We remembered Jesus in the Garden with his disciples who fell asleep, but we made the effort to stay awake to lift up the concerns of our world, church, and community. Finally, we stripped the altar area of all the vestments, bible, and cross to remember the disciples who fled Jesus in fear, leaving him alone. Then, we left in silence.

Good Friday gave us the opportunity for two services – well, three, really: at 10:00 AM, we gathered at St. Saviour’s Parish Hall (Bamber Bridge’s normal Sunday morning worship space) for a short All-Age worship. Kath, my worship leader, found an idea of taking broken tiles, had each person write down their broken hopes or dreams (in remembrance of the disciples who may have thought their dreams broken on that day), and then we glued them to a wooden cross. It made a beautiful prayer. Then, we marched up Station Road, with a wooden cross (you can just see Derek holding the end of it in the picture), to meet with the other three churches (St. Mary’s Catholic, St. Aidan’s Anglican, and St. Saviour’s Anglican) for a short ecumenical service in front of the Withy Trees Pub. Together, we sang and prayed – all denominational differences aside.

That evening, we gathered ecumenically as Catholics and Methodists. Father Aelred invited us to worship with them for a service of the Stations of the Cross at St. Joseph’s Brindle. Then we moved to Trinity to join with St. Mary’s for a Service of Darkness (Tenebrae). I love this service. We had ten readings, each reader extinguishing a candle after the first nine. After the ninth, April hit a cymbal just as the last light went out. The last reading Fr. Francis read in darkness, and again we left in silence. I have experienced that service a number of times, and every time I am moved by it. I hadn’t experienced it in two years, when I attended Duke Chapel’s service for the last time, and even in the differences, you experience the desolation of the crucifixion and abandonment of Christ on the Cross.

Up from the grave he arose! Easter came in at 8:00 AM at Carr Street in Bamber Bridge for a communion service. We began again with our Easter Proclamation: Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! I preached one of the best sermons ever (at least I think). I used the sermon again at Trinity later that morning. For the 10:30 service, April and I parted – I to Trinity and she to Bamber Bridge. The day before, Stephen, my district chair received a letter from my bishop approving my transfer to the British Conference. We wanted to announce this to our congregations. They were very excited to have us stay in the country, even if we couldn’t stay in the circuit.

We closed Easter Sunday, not behind locked doors as the first disciples did (John 20.19-23), but sitting together. I sat them in a huge circle so we could see one another rather than looking at the back of others’ heads. Carol, a local preacher, helped me with the service and we based on the Walk to Emmaus story in Luke. David, a member from Bamber Bridge, created a tomb scene, and using Colossians 3.1-12, we wrote our sins on “grave clothes” (pieces of white paper) and left them behind in the tomb. It was a great way to close out the first day of Easter.

We continue on in our celebrations of Easter. Last night, we celebrated as a circuit at Kingsfold. It consisted mostly of songs, with some readings. One of them was a two-part reading performed by my superintendent, Paul Davis and his girlfriend. Derek Oldham gave us his thoughts on Pray Without Ceasing, and I led the prayers of intercession. We had a great time, and the second week of Easter kicked off.

Christos Aneste! Alethos Aneste! (Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!)

Post Easter Sunday

2006-04-20T09:00:00.000+01:00

I hadn't realised that I haven't posted in over a week, so I thought I would give a short one today. Things were supposed to slow down for me after Easter Sunday and Holy Week (which I really want to blog about, but it will take too long at the moment!), but things have picked up.

April and I met with my chair of district this week. Over the weekend, he received a letter from my bishop in South Carolina who approved my transfer into the British Conference - which took me back for a second. I couldn't believe it was really happening! April went to Bamber Bridge and I was scheduled at Trinity on Sunday morning, so we announced it to them on Easter Sunday morning. Anyway, we discussed with Stephen an appointment in the district near where we are. It's in Blackburn, or rather churches in three villages just north of Blackburn, but in the Blackburn circuit. It still isn't official yet, so we haven't said that much to our congregations. We make an official visit to the churches on 29 April, though last night April and I made our own unofficial visit to scope it out. We were both really impressed, and getting very excited. We will post more about this as we go.

Sphere Article for Spring Magazine

2006-04-12T09:09:00.000+01:00

Bamber Bridge Methodist Church Magazine, The New Sphere, came out 1 April. Since this was while Jen and Mike were here, they wanted me to say that they approved of my contribution. It's always a little hairy inviting your theological classmates (as well as your closest friends) to read something that I have written, so I was glad when they gave me the "no heresy" thumbs up! I post it here for you to read also. I based it around an episode of the American sitcom, Scrubs.

One of my favourite American TV shows is Scrubs. It follows a new doctor, J.D., and his relationship with his mentor, Dr. Cox. In one episode, Dr. Cox’s best friend, Ben, is diagnosed with leukaemia. J.D., also having formed a friendship with Ben, struggles to help him, and says that the situation needs a hero. Dr. Cox steps in to take control of the situation, but when Ben is set for his first chemo appointment, Dr. Cox leaves the room with excuses of other patients. J.D. chases him out of the room only to find that his hero admits that his friend’s death frightens him. J.D. watches Dr. Cox walk away, imagining a “Superman” cape fall off Dr. Cox and land on the ground behind him.

We reach a crisis point when those we trust fail the heroic standards we set for them, when we find our hero is actually very un-heroic. The crisis intensifies when we have to face our own lack of heroism. J.D. realises that he isn’t as self-sufficient as he thought when Dr. Cox refuses to help Ben. We realise it when we can’t change what’s happening around us, no matter how hard we try. Perhaps that scares us most: when we realise our own humanity and that we are not superheroes who do not depend on others. Our own agendas, our way of doing things leave us with nothing but disappointment. Our weakness confronts us head on.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul faces his own weakness, yet God’s answer isn’t removing the weakness – it was where God’s grace and power might dwell (2 Cor. 12:9). In what looked like Jesus’ defeat when he died on the cross, God worked through the cross to bring about the redemption of the world. We see a new world through the resurrection, which tears the “Superman” cape off our back. Our dependence on ourselves, our inflated self-esteem, our ideas of power and success: all drop down and we are left only with our own weakness. Yet, that’s where God’s power works. In the midst of the darkness in our lives, God’s grace pours through.

Dr. Cox confronts his own weakness and sits with his friend. J.D. narrates that to most it would appear as if nothing had changed, but it had changed a little. To the world that does not accept the death and resurrection of Jesus, it still continues to see weakness and overcome that weakness through the world’s idea of power – otherwise, many think, nothing will change. Yet, the cross changes everything – it’s God’s work overturning death and Jesus’ resurrection is just the beginning. Paul writes, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation” (2 Cor5:17). This new creation starts when we finally admit to our weakness, and accept Christ’s strength. In the show, Ben’s cancer goes into remission, but J.D. says that isn’t what the story is about, but instead the day that “I learned that admitting we are not heroic is when we are the most heroic of all.”

Christos aneste, Alethos aneste! ( Christ is risen! He has risen indeed!)

Will

Pray Without Ceasing

2006-04-08T23:02:00.000+01:00

Starting at noon yesterday, the Methodist Connexion turned to the South Ribble Circuit to continue to “pray without ceasing” (from 1 Thessalonians 5.17). On the challenge of the church’s young people, the Methodist Church took on a year of 24/7 prayer and churches around the circuit took up the call to cover the entire 24 hour period before we passed the baton north of the River Ribble to the Preston Circuit. At Trinity and Bamber Bridge, with the help of our ecumenical friends at Holy Trinity – Hoghton (Anglican), All Saints – Higher Walton (Anglican), and St. Joseph’s – Brindle (Roman Catholic), we covered the hours starting at 6 PM yesterday to noon today.

Of course, my stress level began long before that. I can only credit the moving of the Holy Spirit that led me to try such an ambitious undertaking. I mean, it would have been big enough with just my two churches, but to add in three other churches that I see less regularly than my own two? Yet everything seemed to fall into place – even if not as quickly as I would like it! Learning to trust my people and God to finish the work that he begins is never my strong suit, but the plans took shape and this week, I started thinking for the first time this might be a fantastic event! When I took the proposal to the Churches Together Group (and Bamber Bridge), I envisioned a room with prayer stations (interactive places to stimulate prayer), a room for creative prayer, a quiet sanctuary, and community services. My early plan was to open in the evening and then the morning, but then Kath (my BB worship leader) upped the ante to keeping the youth there overnight. It was getting bigger! Yet, I cannot explain how fantastic it went. It was extraordinary!

I arrived at Trinity at 1 PM to begin preparations. We moved furniture, set up prayer stations, put chairs in order, and set out art supplies. April came down at 3:00 – I couldn’t have done this without her! Our prayer stations landed in the Pat Preston room and were based on the “I AM” stations (the suggested theme from Revd. Dave Dickinson). In the worship centre, we set up two prayer stations suggested by a woman from St. Joseph’s. One was to write prayers on paper lilies and then place them on water in a paddling pool (we found one shaped in a shell, the symbol of baptism). The other centred on a cross her husband made (probably one of the biggest hits). You took a rock, thought about your cares and worries, and then laid them at the foot of the cross (her instructions were much more poetic).

We opened at 6 PM, with folk trickling in. At 7 PM Dave arrived to lead a healing service. We had over 50 people there, from all our churches. Dave and I sat in the back to pray with those who came asking God for healing. Methodists, Catholics, and Anglicans – together praying for God’s healing. It was an awesome start to our evening

We transitioned afterwards to Fr. Aelred of St. Joseph’s led us in a session on icons – on how images can lead us in our devotions to God. After Fr. Aelred finished, we moved into the overnight. The youth arrived not long after and they kept to a monastic schedule – prayers every couple of hours. I managed to leave around 1:15 AM, slept for three hours before I had to get the Pray Without Ceasing banner to New Longton by 6 AM! The rest of the morning went off brilliantly with a coffee morning and closing prayer. All in all, God met us for those 18 hours, and brought us a long way.

Saying Goodbye

2006-04-07T08:20:00.000+01:00

I had to say goodbye twice yesterday. Mike Sims and Jen Harner ended their ten day tour of England yesterday as they packed up and headed back to Florida. In the middle of all that, I got a phone call from our circuit treasurer Ian, who told me that I can no longer drive the car we have been driving for 17 months. There was a mix-up at the lease company, which told us they extended the lease to cover my remaining time in South Ribble. Yet, my tax disc expired at the end of last month and Ian found out about their mix-up when he tried to get them to send us a new tax disc. They won’t, and they are demanding the car back. So, I had to drive carefully to the Avis Hire Car, drop off my old car, and pick up a sporty MG Rover. Walking toward the office, I realised I was saying goodbye to a car that April and I had been ALL OVER England in. I didn’t have too much time because I had to get the car and rush back to the house so I could pack up Jen and Mike for Manchester Airport. I did get to say goodbye for real last night as Ian and I picked up the car and drove it to his house so the lease company could pick it up.

The last ten days have flown by. I meant to blog more while they were here, but I didn’t. We had a great time in Lincoln. Mike and I climbed to the top of the tower at Lincoln Minster, we all partook in communion by St. Hugh’s head shrine, and we walked the castle walls at Lincoln Castle. On Sunday, we were back at Bamber Bridge where I presided at communion. Only having done this for 20 months, it still takes me a moment to realise I am presiding when my friends and family are there (well, except April, as that’s worn off because she is there every time). Monday and Tuesday, Mike and Jen went to Ambleside in the Lake District. On Wednesday, I took them to Caernarfon Castle in North Wales and then we went to Chester Cathedral to attend evensong. It has been a busy 10 days! And April and I are a little lonely now with the empty house.

I don’t know why I am sentimental about the car (but I usually do get attached to things like that). I think it was also saying goodbye to Jen and Mike. This represents something deeper for me. Since they got here, I have been missing ‘home’ more, which I have come to learn means ‘I miss Duke’. I think both Jen and I especially are missing those days. Jen mentioned that it’s a cruel trick that seminary plays on you, bringing you into a community where you develop some of the closest friendships of your life, and then go out into ministry where it’s the hardest place in the world to meet friends. I think that’s what’s going on now. I want April and I to meet new friends over here. I miss being around people who have no connection to the church I am at. This hit me hard last summer, but soon as Advent approached it went straight into Lent, those feelings went underground. The problem is, I am not all that sure where we find others our age. When we move, we will have to start all over again. This is something I will have to think about more.

At noon today, our Circuit’s Day of Prayer begins. We are opening Trinity up for prayer at 6 PM and it will remain open until Noon tomorrow. We have a lot going on, so I will blog about it after it is over!

Red Rose on the Move: Epworth and Lincoln

2006-03-31T17:15:00.000+01:00

Jen Harner and Michael Sims arrived in England on Tuesday. Having more or less recovered from the 12 hour travel and the 6 hour time difference, they have joined us for the normal church life in South Ribble Circuit. They experienced a installation of a priest-in-charge for St. Aidan's Parish Church Bamber Bridge (I will have to blog about that some other time), coffee morning, and our Lenten Study Groups. This morning, we left Bamber Bridge with beautiful weather - I mean we couldn't ask for better weather. We headed to the birthplace and home of John and Charles Wesley - Epworth. We visited the church where Samuel (their father) was the rector and where he is buried. We followed in John's footsteps by standing on Samuel's grave to "preach" like John did when they barred him from preaching in the church. We went inside and saw the font where they were baptised and held the 300 year old silver communion chalice from which they took their first communion. Alone, it is worth £5,000, but because of the Wesley connection it is worth £20,000 (though really, it is priceless). From there we moved on to the Old Rectory where they Wesley family lived for 30 years. It was built in 1709 after a fire destroyed the prior one. This fire was where John was trapped upstairs and they had to build a human ladder to save him, just in the nick of time. This gave his mother the vision that her son was a "brand plucked from the burning" and would do a special mission for God.

Since then, we have arrived in Lincoln with weather that is much less nice. It has already begun to rain. We are staying in the Cathedral quarter at the Bailhouse Hotel, and from our room you can see the gothic Lincoln Cathedral and an arch built by the Romans. We haven't decided where we are going to eat yet, but now are just hanging out in the room. Well, except for me who is down in the breakfast/dining room typing at this computer. So, I will sign off for now.

White Scar Cave and Baptism

2006-03-24T18:55:00.000Z

April and I haven’t had a day off together in a while, and since both of us are out this evening (she has a Body Shop party and I have a quiz evening/fundraiser at New Longton), we took a trip to White Scar Cave, near Ingleton, North Yorkshire (about an hour away). It was amazing! These caves were formed over thousands of years by a river carving its way through the mountain. And no one discovered it until 1923, when a fortune- and thrill seeking man crawled through an opening and stumbled upon the caverns. He didn’t make any money off of it because not long after he overdosed on opium before a single member of the public went in.

While we didn’t have to crawl through to get inside (to allow public access they dug a proper opening), but there were many places inside where we had to “guerrilla walk” (knees and back bent with hands nearly dragging the floor). Whoever carried on the dream of opening the cave to the public built a metal bridge and visitors follow the path over the stream which rushes beneath, while walking the opening (or scar) the river formed over the years. At one point, the stream goes quiet as the water turns deep. The only access to the caves beyond is to swim, which is for more experienced cavers, and it was not part of our tour. Our tour ends when we leave the river and enter a huge cavern above called “Battlefield Cavern”, because of the rocks lying around (from the ceiling caving in) and giving the impression that giants had a rock fight (that’s their story, at least). Cavers found that in 1971.

Another interesting sight in the caverns are the stalactites (the ones drooping down from the ceiling) and the stalagmites (the ones that grow upward). In Battlefield Cavern, the stalactites form hollow straws. In other parts of the cave, they form shapes like one that looks like a judge’s head.

I have a baptism on Sunday, and I think that the image of the water shaping the rocks over the years. The analogy can be used to show that baptism is only the beginning. A lot times some who have had a church connection in the past will stress the importance of getting a child “into church” through Sunday School, implying that one reaches a point in life when one has got all the God one needs and that carries through to the end of life (I will admit, this is a better understanding than the ones who just want to “borrow” the church for their day to have a party around the baby). I love that Judge’s Head, and to think that the water has for centuries formed a shape. Baptism begins our journey to of God’s shaping us into his design.

Membership Classes

2006-03-22T20:41:00.000Z

Traditionally, Lent provides the church a time to prepare catechumens for their baptism and reception into the church at Easter. Well, I won't baptise anyone and I'm not receiving anyone into membership on Easter, but I have placed the adult membership classes back into Lent. Last night, we had our third session and I have to say how surprised at how much I am enjoying them. There are only five of us (one is the pastoral committee secretary and another is well, me), but we have some lively discussions. We use Come as You Are..., which has a great layout, but the content lacks sometimes. For instance, I threw out the entire lesson on the resurrection because the author went the route of a "spiritual" resurrection, whereas I believe that the testimony of the New Testament clearly points to Christ's bodily resurrection as the firstfruits and provides the hope that we, and creation, will be resurrected. She suggested as one view that our souls (our unique, real self) goes to heaven when we die (OK, so that's the belief of many Christians, but it's one I think is wrong). She didn’t offer any other alternative beliefs, and having dismissed Jesus’ bodily resurrection earlier in the lesson.

It's also a lot of fun because I miss the weekly Bible Study/Sunday School class that April and I have been a part of as adults (first at Trenholm Road UMC in Columbia and then Epworth UMC in Durham), and this reminds me of why. Like I noticed with my baptismal visit earlier in the week, I don't have many theological conversations. Most of the conversations I meet can revolve around organists, rotas, coffee, data projectors, and contemporary songs. The conversations I have in the membership classes are refreshing. I also find where my preaching lacks: I assume a certain amount of knowledge of the Christian faith that is not there. I need to return to the basics of the Christian faith. I was also reminded of that when reading Richard Hays commentary on First Corinthians (studying for the resurrection lesson) who pointed out that Paul continually returned to teaching the basics of the faith to his churches.

Already-Not Yet Weekend

2006-03-19T17:43:00.000Z

It amazes me how so many experiences in ministry can happen in one weekend – ranging from the fantastic to the “I wish I could write this out”. A few weeks ago I made a scheduling error with a couple for a wedding rehearsal. They planned their week around it, and I remembered later that the church was already booked for the night of the rehearsal. They gave me a reason for why they wanted to change it to a date I found unacceptable, but I didn’t see their point. Yet, what I didn’t hear was all else that was going around them that they had banked on the rehearsal being on the original night. After a painful phone call in which I really listened, I began to see that I was wrong. I finally relented to her, and even in my apology for not accepting my mistake, I was able to take the martyr’s route (oddly enough, the epistle today is Paul speaking of preaching Christ crucified in which our understanding of power is reversed). I think in the middle of the apology, I finally understood what I was still making myself out to be the martyr. It hurts to realise I can be so blinded to myself that I can only see my point of view – and then it takes me a while to come down to where I finally see where I am completely wrong.

All this happened after an exiting weekend. Yesterday, I went on one of the best baptismal calls I have had to date. The child’s aunt was there, and somehow we started having an in-depth conversation about Christianity (I really can’t be more specific than this). That night, April and I attended a birthday party for someone at church who turns 18. He has asperger syndrome, and through him the church has taken him and his family into the community – the way the church should act. It was beautiful to see. Finally, this morning, we had a fantastic service at Bamber Bridge. Kath (my worship leader) and I lead it together around the 10 Commandments.

I would have thought that the build-up over the past two days would have prepared me for the phone call, but it didn’t. Except, that I did this on my agenda and had the outcome already in my mind. Paul’s theme throughout Corinthians is that we live in a world of already and not yet. For me, it’s how do I let the “not yet” in me overshadow the glimpses of the already.

Which Saint Am I?

2006-03-11T17:04:00.000Z

Taking a break from a long week. Sorry it's been a while since I posted. Tonight, we finally get to watch Duke live on TV! Go Devils!

You are Athanasius! You are willing to fight a
losing battle, just to make sure that the
truth is told. But don't get discouraged;
sometimes it takes more than one lifetime for
truth to triumph.

Which Saint Are You?
brought to you by

At the Supermarket

2006-03-06T19:25:00.000Z

Last night, (I went to bed without blogging last night) I was in a rush. April phoned me from the road and asked me to do a favour for her and I said yes. This was around 1 PM in the afternoon. I figured I could stop by the Sainsbury’s later in the afternoon. I had to pick up some pens for the circuit service that night, anyway. I forgot that I had to be at the circuit’s marriage preparation classes at 4:00. I left the house at 3:30, realising I barely had time to run to Sainsbury’s and then make it out to Midge Hall by 4. When I got in, they didn’t have what April needed and while I was shopping it dawned on me that April took my car to wherever she was going and had what I needed for the service that night. Also, she left the phone in the car so I could tell her neither of these things (even though Sainsbury’s, ASDA, and Tesco each claim they are open “24 hours” this is a lie, and April needed her stuff for school in the morning – an hour before these same stores open).

I am not a good problem solver when things come at me unannounced. I don’t deal well with new problems coming at me full speed in 5 directions. I grabbed my pens and a few beans I did manage to find for April and headed toward the check out counter. When it was my turn, I gave the lady my pens, to which she commented “Are you all out of pens?” I had bought about 50 of them, and it probably wasn’t every day that one sees a guy in a clerical collar buying an inordinate amount of pens. I smiled and responded, “Yes, we are doing an experiment tonight.” She looked at me quizzically. My first instinct was to simply smile and nod and get out of Sainsbury’s. OK, sometimes I find my job embarrassing. That coupled with my frazzled state of mind, I was just going to bypass her curiosity. For some reason I slowed down, and said, “At our service tonight, instead of just saying our prayers we are going to write them on jenga blocks in groups of two or threes.” “What church do you go to?” she asked. “I’m a Methodist,” I responded. She smiled and wished me well for tonight. I told her to have a great evening, and then I left.

I didn’t get to use my Jenga blocks. The service, celebrating missions and listening to a guy from Leyland (Turpin Green) talk to us about his trip to Sera Leone, was fantastic, but went longer than we thought it would. I got to the podium at 8:00, so I told them what we would have done, and then prayed the prayers of Intercession for us. Paul said we would do the blocks at another service soon.

A Breakthrough with a Church Member

2006-03-04T22:52:00.000Z

If I am honest, then my first Lenten posting failed to meet up to standards. I haven’t deleted it only because of my last line which is a reminder to me that my seeing God at work in my life is a series of starts and stops. I struggle to see him, and I forced my first post to be written, even when my encounter with God that day was real, but still in some ways very fuzzy (almost as if I was looking through a pair of glasses that weren’t made for me).

I was thinking this afternoon that I am usually very observant, at least with recognising patterns, but I am not very good at reflecting on what I see. When someone changes the way they normally act, in particularly if that person has become more stand-offish or when someone answer questions in a way I didn't think that person would, I can pick up on it (I used to always assume that I had done something wrong). After seeing/noticing it, I just don’t know what to do with it. Or, in my New Testament classes, Dr. Richard Hays used to tell me on my exegesis that my research was great and the questions that it raised for me were excellent, but he said I never seemed to get around to giving my own opinions about where I think the biblical text is moving. I struggled to reflect on what was going on, and this sometimes showed up in my final papers. So now the problem moves to my ability to see God and how he is working. Then again, it is often in hindsight, sometimes years down the road where we reflect on how God was working in situations. The Psalms pointed back to God’s deeds of salvation, but often were years after the fact.

Therefore tonight, I simply have a story. Today I visited a family whose little girl I baptised just before Christmas. Now they are one of those crazy families that actually come to church, so it was a wonderful experience of explaining the duties of the parents as bringing them up into the faith (and by that bringing them to church) to people who actually wanted to do this. Anyway, they have an older daughter of 18 months who every Sunday I am at Bamber Bridge I try to talk to her, but she recedes into her mum’s or grandmother’s arms. Over the past few months, she simply points somewhere else or moves her hand shooing me away. I have kept telling her, “Look, before I leave, you and I are going to be friends.” Well, today, she spent most of the time staring at me or running to her dad, moving away when I talked to her. Then, the Teletubbies came on TV and she found them hilarious. She walked up to my chair, smiled and kept pointing to the TV, sometimes laughing. After they went off the TV, she found a book, put it in my lap, opened it, and started pointed to the pictures. She was so funny: there was one for snow, which she then pointed outside (yesterday, the Preston area received a rare snow where it actually stuck!). Then she walked in front of me and patted my knee. Her mom said, “Now she wants to sit in your lap!” And her dad said, “You went from nothing to having everything.” So, she sat there on my knee while we flipped the pages in the book.

Ash Wednesday

2006-03-01T22:14:00.000Z

I have described my spirituality as being on the “edge of glory”, but always looking the other way. Perhaps another way to describe it would be to say that God always seems to be ahead of me, having just turned the corner as I come up. I think that’s a theme that could describe today, but there have been closer glimpses – maybe something caught the corner of my eye or I saw the heel of “God’s foot” as he turned the corner. It’s hard to describe.

While studying for my Ash Wednesday service, I read an article by Byron Rohrig. The line that hit me reads, “Fixed in my memory is the year I was startled almost speechless when suddenly I found myself drawing an ashen cross on the forehead of our daughter, who was then barely three years old. I choked on the words, ‘Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.’ Never had my mortality been quite so real to me. Ash Wednesday causes us distress because it rubs our faces in our mortality, or vice versa.” My thoughts turned to our miscarriage, where death has hit me the closest. It really wasn’t thoughts of lost opportunities with the child we lost. My mind went to Psalm 139 and “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The image of God knitting a person, getting to know each part as he pulls it all together so that it becomes “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Our turning to dust is the undoing of the work of God. Yet, Ash Wednesday points to Easter, in which we have our hope that God will re-knit our innermost beings to become “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I was struck by the Psalmist’s confidence in not really in himself, but in God’s view of himself (or herself – the Psalmist could have been a woman!).

I feel like my thoughts are disjointed. Maybe this is where my problem lies: how God speaks to me comes in starts and stops.

Shrove Tuesday

2006-02-28T22:19:00.000Z

Today is Shrove Tuesday, so you know what that means! Tomorrow begins the Lenten fast. It’s already here: Ash Wednesday. Frankly, I don’t know if I have recovered from Christmas yet, but in just 7 weeks we celebrate Easter. I don’t know where the time is going. Rather than the traditional pancakes, April and I feasted at our favourite restaurant, The Hospital Inn. We rang in the fast with style with Theakston’s mild and a rib eye.

As time has drawn near for Lent, I have tried to think about what Lenten disciplines I am going to take up during the season, or something “to Lent”, as my friend Jen Harner would say last year when she kicked off Lent with us over here (I don’t know anyone else that can get away with using “Lent” as a verb). One of the recurring themes of my own spirituality is attempting to find God’s work in my life. So, I am going to attempt to blog everyday (that I have access to a computer) to search out where God has been during the day. Perhaps another way I could describe it is to search for those “Glimpses of Heaven” that my friend Phil Gough sang about.

I feel searching out God will be particularly important over the next 7 weeks. My dad is an account, and from the end of December to April 15th, my sister, Kelly, and I were fatherless during this time when growing up (OK, a slight exaggeration). Anyway, Lent and Advent are my “tax seasons”. I get so busy that I often lose sight of my spiritual focus during the high holy seasons even more than I usually do. I really felt that yesterday. I felt a panic and a small “depression” yesterday that I couldn’t fully explain with a usual post-holiday letdown. I realised the feeling was the same as those days just before exam/paper due dates in seminary – when had so much to do that I didn’t even know where to begin (I think my friend Sarah McGiverin called this “paper paralysis”). I haven’t reached that point since my finals during my last year at Duke. It was scarier than remembered it. All that I plan to do, all the expectations that I put on myself, all the expectations that my church members put on me (either real or perceived), and the “due dates” I have for circuit and district functions all came crashing down on me yesterday.

A number of things since then have happened: staff meeting this morning, I let my guard down when Paul wanted me to do something for circuit meeting and I balked. That caused others to notice and ask what was going on. Paul then gave all of us a reminder (especially the three of us who have the least number of years in ministry and have no “I did this service/sermon 5 years ago and I can use it again” folder) how hard this time of year is, and how important it is for us to be careful. Earlier this evening, my mom was talking about events at her church (I had not said anything about this) and the stress on the pastor and his family and she said, “You know, I have long ago dropped the idea that the pastor that comes in is going to solve all our problems at church. He’s not here long enough and it’s not his job anyway. It sometimes takes years to sort out all that a church can get itself into.” I don’t think that’s verbatim what she said, but I think I got the gist of what she was saying. Paul and mom were talking about expectations people have, and not all of it will be sorted out when everyone else wants it to.

Another thing that I have found over the last 24 hours is a prayer in last year’s Methodist Prayer Handbook. I picked up this one rather than this year’s, not really thinking about it. I turned to the page for the 27th day of the month and the opening prayer came from St. Bridget of Sweden. This might take some explaining. I remember many in my evangelical tradition (and in the Primitive Methodist tradition over here) that believe that prayers prayed written down or from a book, especially a prayer written by someone else, isn’t from the heart and therefore it’s not a true prayer (radio preacher Greg Laurie says one should never prayer a pre-written prayer or a prayer written by another, with the slight possible exception of the Lord’s Prayer, but he suggested staying away from reading it as a prayer). Anyway, I found this prayer, and when I prayed it, even though it was written 700 years ago, it became my prayer. Way back then, her words have in some way become my words. Here is her prayer:

O blessed Jesus, immortal and victorious, by the sorrow you suffered when all the powers of your heart failed you, have mercy on us in our days of darkness and in our hours of weakness, that we do not lose hold of you either in this life, or in the life of the world to come; and this we ask for your own name’s sake. Amen.

Her words “that we do not lose hold of you” ran through my mind and began to stop the cycle which was in my mind going over and over. Just the image that Jesus was reaching out to me and I might be looking away, distracted, yet while praying that Jesus continue to grab hold of me. This is the image I needed that evening, and today. I am still praying the prayer now.

I have written a lot already, so I’ll not go into it any further. Maybe I will look at it again during Lent and write about that one of the days! I would be interested if anyone else has any thoughts on it.

Oh, and April and I are taking up a Lenten discipline together. We will meet together every morning for prayer before the day begins.

Home from the Holidays

2006-02-25T10:19:00.000Z

After 7 hours of driving, April and I arrived back home yesterday around 6:30. We had a fantastic week away that took us all over the western half of England. We started on Saturday with a trip to Warwick Castle. First we went to the collegiate church in Warwick to see the tomb of Robert Dudley, a favourite of Elizabeth I (April’s reading a lot about her at the moment). Warwick Castle itself is a medieval castle remaining mostly intact with later additions. They set it up complete with wax figures showing how the Earl of Warwick (dubbed “The Kingmaker”) prepares for battle in the 1200s and how the later Earl of Warwick receives the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) in the 1890s. From there, we headed back up North, stopping to visit Lichfield Cathedral (the original site of the shrine of St. Chad, who gained notoriety in the 2000 presidential election as the patron saint of disputed elections). We then moved on to Yorkshire to visit Stacee and Jeff Gehring (they visited us Christmas and Boxing Day), two more Americans in England. Stacee is a circuit minister in the West Yorkshire District. April and I wanted to see her take a service. She preached a fantastic sermon on Isaiah’s “new thing” and then presided over a communion service. It’s always weird receiving communion from friends!

Monday morning, we headed back south (poor planning on my part about the directions!). We left early, but still managed to hit traffic in Birmingham. We first called at Hereford Cathedral. The cathedral itself was fine, but the star attraction is the chained library and the Mappa Mundi. The chained library contains books 800 years old (and one from before the year 1000). The bookshelves date from the 16th century and chain the books to the cases. This prohibited people from stealing them! Books were more valuable than land back then. Then there was the Mappa Mundi, a map drawn in 1300. It is the largest map of its kind and gives a great perspective on how they saw the word (Jerusalem at the centre). The map maker even drew a path of the Israelites’ Exodus, with a couple of loops in the desert for their wanderings. Leaving Hereford, it was a short trip to Gloucester. Its cathedral was an ancient abbey promoted to cathedral status by Henry VIII. It contains the tombs of Robert of Normandy (William the Conqueror’s eldest son) and King Edward II (the effeminate son of Edward I in the movie Braveheart, and supposedly died with a hot poker up his bottom). But the real draw for this cathedral is that it is one of the sites where the Harry Potter movies were filmed.

Finally, we made it to our ultimate destination – Lee Abbey near Lynton, Devon. They are a Christian community that provides a retreat centre. The surroundings are idyllic (though we didn’t see them until the morning because it was pitch black). Their theology runs evangelical-conservative. The program on offer was called “The Work of the Holy Spirit in our Lives”. We attended the first day of morning sessions, and then called it quits. For starters, the sessions were geared more toward the Father. I realise that in the doctrine of the Trinity that the Holy Spirit bring the Father and the Son, but one session was completely geared toward how God is our father and he compared God to the human understandings of what a father does (and even this is up for debate in some circles!). I am generally orthodox in my understanding of the name of the Trinity (i.e., Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) and I am not for taking away the masculine names (and even get a little uncomfortable with calling God “mother”) yet his lesson was over the top for me (and for April, too) – which is saying something! I was bothered by the strict association of God with maleness. Anyway, most of what he said, I had heard before. Neither of us were interested in attending any of the other sessions this guy led.

The morning prayer sessions led by a former Lee Abbey chaplain (back for the week) were fantastic. The first two days he centred around Psalm 103, calling us to pray that God heal our “dis-eases”. I had thought that the programs on offer at Lee Abbey would be centred around prayer sessions of this type. The second morning we prayed for family and friends. The third day we prayed for the world.

The interesting experience for us was a return to being the novelty Americans. When we arrived, people bombarded us with questions of what the US is like. Now we aren’t all that special. Here at the Abbey, we again became the novelty, answering questions about the US.

Wednesday and Thursday, we toured the area. On Wednesday, we went to Exeter. The cathedral was beautiful and interesting, but the rest of the city didn’t overwhelm us. This may have been due more to the weather. On Thursday, we stayed closer, visiting little villages. The moors were beautiful, and the exiting part was the snow! We were up high enough in some places where it was sticking. It was beautiful.

Back at the Abbey, the night session was on Big Screen Theology, which was one of the best things they did. The guy (whose name I can’t remember) talked about how movies speak to him. He showed video clips and talked about what God said to him through them. One of the most interesting things he said was instead of protesting and praying against certain movies, pray that God speak to someone through them. He gave has his example Ezekiel, who burned a sacrifice over dung to make his point. Even stuff we think offends God can be used by God to speak to people.

Overall, it was a great, relaxing week – away from the computer and TV, and allowed April and I to spend time together. In all the busyness, we connected with God, too. He was there in Devon.

Looking Ahead

2006-02-16T23:20:00.000Z

It's a late night, and I am tired, but I don't feel like going to sleep yet. This has been a long two weeks, and after tomorrow I will be on holiday for a week. I am looking forward to it, more than I have any of our holidays for quite a while. Of course, everything I have left behind will still be here when I return, but it will be nice to get away from all of it for a while.

One of the biggest things that loom when I come back is Lent begins almost as soon as I return. Ash Wednesday kicks us off on 1 March. I have been focusing on what will happen during Holy Week more so than what is going on until then. I am trying to generate interest in some ecumenical events, and so far it has been received well. Trying to talk to the Catholics has been interesting, because sometimes they don't seem to understand what we are doing (they've never had an evening Good Friday service, so I have to explain it a little more). My largest evening will be the Pray Without Ceasing day, starting noon 7 April and ending 8 April. The North Lancs District is responsible for 31 March to 16 April, and we divided up the days among the circuits. I want to open up Trinity for most of the 24 hours, getting the other churches in our area involved in exploring new forms of prayer. So, rather than saying, "Come in for prayer," we will have different experiences of prayer (something like our Advent Quiet Day, which you can read about on the post for 11 December). It will be a huge challenge!

My parents and the 2nd Mile Evangelistic Association are coming the last weekend in April. I tried to take on too much with that on my own, and now I am calling on my stewards to help me out with this one. So far, the Spirit is moving and some are particularly willing to help!

So, with all that is going on with the above and the normal cycle of services, fundraisers, funerals, and such, I am glad to be taking a break. On Monday, we travel down to Devon and we are staying at a Christian Retreat Centre called Lee Abbey. Devon is down at the bottom of the island, east of Cornwall. I have heard it is beautiful down there. We will pass our time on walks, activities at the abbey, and a program called "The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives". Someone jokingly said that I will be doing on my holiday what I normally do for a living. I responded, "Oh, no, I hope to pray and listen to God a lot more than I do at work!" That might have been a joke, but I don't know. This was with another minister, so she understood what I was talking about!

The Stories We Live By

2006-02-10T20:46:00.000Z

This has been a crazy week. Also, one where I have learned a good bit about myself. I can’t go into details because of the confidential nature of the events and the public medium of blogging. I have handled a situation poorly at one church and tried to rethink a long-time program at another church (that one partly my mistake, but more because I forgot something than allowing my agenda to drive me – I won’t go into where I think the church is coming up short). Regardless, I threw out everything I learned in CPE (May-August 2004) and I have got caught in the crossfire at both during the same week. I realise that I started this blog to reflect on circuit ministry life in Great Britain, but so far I have found that I hesitate to do too much reflection because I don’t want to post about real people in cyberspace. I remember that I told my adult and youth membership classes last year that I won’t use what they say in the groups as sermon illustrations so that they may feel they are in a safe space. If anyone has told me a story in the “public” arena, then I have used it, maybe withholding their name. Still, it’s hard to convey what exactly I have learned without telling you the story behind.

One of the things I have learned (or been reminded of, really) is that we all live by the stories we tell ourselves. I watch Desperate Housewives every Wednesday. One week, they had one of the characters taking a lie detector test and passed it even though he lied because he saw what he did (poison a man) through the stories in which he told himself he was not guilty. I guess that’s why lie detector tests are not admissible in court. If we tell ourselves that we are basically good (or bad), everyone else is out to get us, or we are always in the right, it becomes our worldview. We see everything through the lens of this story. Recently, a committed atheist in Great Britain went to debate some fundamentalists in the US. He failed miserably. Not because he didn’t prove his case or they proved theirs, but because they play from a different set of rules, with different assumptions. The atheist didn’t take that into account (my Duke Greek prof Mickey Effird used to tell us not to waste our time arguing with fundamentalists – you will never win).

Twenty months in ministry (still in a honeymoon period of sorts, because the novelty of a young American still hasn’t completely worn off), I got an over inflated view of my own position. I had also convinced myself of certain assumptions about others. All came crashing down in the last two weeks. Of course, God gives us the Body of Christ to force us to revisit our stories. It can either break us or challenge us to grow. For my part, it has been a growing experience. Overall, I have two very good congregations who are very forgiving (and a first-rate supervisor who is leading me).

Telling ourselves stories is not bad. We all live by one. The assistant dean at Duke Divinity (Willie Jennings) used to say that when we are born, we are dropped into a web of stories (family, culture, religion, etc.). Into that, we grow up, adding to it our own story. Our overarching story is the one that played out in Jesus. My New Testament prof, Richard Hays, used Galatians to show that even in Paul’s letters, he had behind it all the story of the crucified Christ, even though his letters rarely contained anything we would call a story. The point that these two have made has become clearer to me this week, and as I add my story to the story of Jesus crucified.

Glimpses of Heaven

2006-01-31T22:06:00.000Z

Wow, I am getting bad at staying current! Tonight at Men's Fellowship, we had an open meeting, which allowed the women to come (big news in this place - there was more women than men). Phil Gough, the minister at Leyland (Turpin Green) Methodist Church led the evening with music and poems that he wrote. He is so talented! He is also a great friend, as well as a colleague. His opening song was called “Glimpses of Heaven.” He sang this before when he gave a concert last February, but tonight it seemed to hit home a little more than it did last year.

In the song he mentions walking along the seashore and a smile in a baby’s face as places where he sees these “glimpses of heaven.” After the song he allowed us to tell where we saw these glimpses (and he got them talking more than I am able to in a service!). I didn’t say mine out loud, but I did think. Sometimes, I struggle with where I see God. I don’t know if it’s just that I am not looking for him or I don’t expect to see him if I did look for him – or if God is just hiding from me sometimes.

Tonight, I thought about when I go on walks and see the rivers with water rushing over the rocks. One of my favourite places on earth is the ruined abbey of Bolton Priory. The nave of the old 800 year old church is still used as a parish church, sitting by the strong, rushing current of the River Wharfe. The ancient ruins combined with the worshipping community and the river running past provides the perfect setting. It’s for me what the founder of the Iona Community called a “thin place,” where the heaven and earth seem separated only by tissue paper.

I also thought about Serenity, my niece. I remember the day I saw her for the first time, getting off the plane in the arms of my sister Kelly. She was only three months old. I remember seeing her in October when April and I returned to the US for a week. I was at David Beitz’s house and my parents drove up, Serenity, now 2 ½, got out of the car and ran toward me and jumped in my arms and squeezed my neck. It was a “thin moment,” a “glimpse of heaven” in pigtails.

The moment that came clearest in my mind, though, was one I can’t fully explain. It was the day I took April to the hospital after we miscarried. The surgery would remove all that remained of our child. I waited alone for over an hour. When Phil asked that question, the moment when she returned to the room where I was came to my mind. She was still groggy, but looked at me and smiled and we hugged. In my sadness, God was less than a tissue paper’s separation between us, a “glimpse of heaven.”

Very Busy Lately

2006-01-24T22:48:00.000Z

I haven't had much time to post lately, or if I do I don't feel like writing. Tomorrow, we have a big funeral at Trinity. I would describe him as Trinity's favourite grandfather. He was a wonderful man, around 88 years old. His wife died 6 years ago, and he missed her terribly. The first Sunday I met him he said, "If you ever need to post me a letter you just write my name and England, and the Royal Mail will know what to do with it." He was very well known, and well loved. We will all miss him.

A week on Friday, we will have the foundation stone laying ceremony for Cuerden Church School and the Methodist Church. For what should be a low-key, very quick service, it is already taking up more time than I want it to. Not only do you have to make those from your church happy, which can prove difficult, we have to make sure that the Anglicans, who are not particularly thrilled that the Methodist-Anglican school will be attached to a Methodist Church, feel that they are apart of it and that we don't give the impression that it is simply a Methodist project. A lot of their issues I can understand because we would feel the exact same way if it was a Methodist-Anglican School attached to a CofE building. Still, always walking a fine line. All in all, it will be a great time when it all comes together, yet I will be glad when the stress of it is over!

Ironically, tomorrow is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, which marks the last day of the octave of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In the ecumenical group of which Trinity is a part, we have midday services each day of the week. Today, day 7, was Trinity's day. I think Trinity's style of Methodist worship with the hymns and prayers on the computer and data projector was very different for many. We also sang some more modern songs, such as "Meekness and Majesty," by Graham Kendrick (author of "Shine, Jesus, Shine"). Tony, one of my local preachers, read a portion of John Wesley's "Letter to a Roman Catholic." Fr. Aelred, the priest at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, joined with me in the Prayers of Intercession. I didn't give a formal talk, but gave my two pence between songs, prayers, and readings. After the twenty-five minute service, we had a soup lunch.

Well, it is awfully late, and I will make a post again soon. Good night.

I Am No Longer My Own, But Yours: Covenant Service Sunday

2006-01-15T22:25:00.000Z

The Methodist tradition gives the church many gifts and tonight we celebrated one of the greatest: the Covenant Service. John Wesley adapted an older form of the service (at least the best I can tell – Wesley was known for taking other works and lifting them wholesale under his name. Then again, many folk did that in his time and no one worried about plagiarism) and it found its way into Methodist Service books. The service, while included in the United Methodist Book of Worship, is lost among most American Methodist, but the tradition thrives in Great Britain. My seminary friend Jen Harner did a LONG paper about covenants in the Methodist tradition so if you want to know more about the history, I would ask her. The prayer around which the whole service builds reads:

I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you;
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessèd God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

This is not a prayer for the faint of heart. My sermon tonight focused on around an abandoned Methodist chapel not far from Trinity. It closed over 15 years ago, I think. Part of the chapel seems to have been converted into a house and the grounds around it still serve as a cemetery. At the entrance of the Churchyard there is a “For Sale” sign. In this world where we imagine everything in how much things cost, whether in pounds and pence or time and effort, do we look to sell ourselves to the highest bidder? I took the route that we would rather subdivide to a lot of buyers rather than allow God to take over wholesale and transform us. Of course, the covenant God wants to make with us requires us to give everything over to him.

This is not a happy “Come to Jesus and all your troubles will melt away” message. Nor does this sound like the message of “expand my territory” from The Prayer of Jabez (though I will admit that I haven’t read the book!). Growing up in the evangelical tradition and listening to many conference speakers, we want so much to protect “salvation by grace through faith” that we lost sight of the cost that comes of following Jesus. Of course, Jesus warned us about what it would take, and Wesley’s Covenant Prayer takes us to the level of saying, “whatever you send my way, God, I will take it as it comes.”

I challenged my congregation to say the prayer only if they were willing to follow through. When it came to the point in the service where we said this prayer, I asked everyone to stand up and form a circle. This Covenant Prayer is not just between the individual and God, but the covenant itself brings us into a community with others. As a community renewing this covenant, we prayed the prayer together rather than in our rows of chairs. As we said it, we could look up and see our family together praying this prayer. From there, we moved straight to the passing of the peace. The entire service flowed, and with help from my worship leader Kath Roscoe, who always chooses songs that fit with the message days before hearing the sermon!

I have to admit that I question, am I willing to follow through? Can I yield myself to God’s pleasure or disposal? When you think about it, these are questions we ask everyday as we renew our covenant made in our baptism. We ended tonight with “Here I am, Lord” – one of my favourite hymns. God asks in the song, “Whom Shall I Send?” and we respond in the chorus, “Here I am, Lord!”

Your Slip is Showing!

2006-01-09T23:11:00.000Z

I remember this Bugs Bunny cartoon I watched growing up. Well, I remember the gist of it. He stood in the desert with a Middle Eastern character who wore a turban and a long robe. The turban-wearer holds a gun or sword up to Bugs to which Bugs replies, “Your slip is showing.” The antagonist drops his sword (or gun) to pull his robe all the way down to the ground, allowing Bugs to get away.

I feel like that guy in the Bugs cartoon today. It’s not been a particularly horrible day, but I have struggled. Old ghosts from the past have come to haunt me, making me doubt myself. Memories from long ago just stirred in my mind throughout the morning adding fuel to those moments when my self-esteem remains low. I don’t know why today – perhaps they found a way in as last week I was moving through a “funk” that kept my motivation low. So I went to a development (fundraising) committee meeting – not in a bad or depressed mood – but I wasn’t as sharp as usual. I first noticed it when we discussed our upcoming promise auction. We realised it was on the same night as another circuit event and someone asked if it would draw from our event. I found myself saying, “If we are honest, we know that the only people that would come are folk from Bamber Bridge. If they usually go to the other event, they won’t think about coming to ours.” [This was not necessarily an untruth – there is a level of fatigue over “another fundraiser for Bamber Bridge.] I knew it was a dumb comment from the moment it came out, and someone confirmed I heard, “Yes, the circuit are not supporting us.”

I let my slip show.

And to make up for it, when for the rest of the evening I went perhaps over the top in trying to show that the circuit do support us – I crouched down to pull down my robe and let everything go. I even apologised for my cynicism. OK, maybe it wasn’t all that bad, but for the rest of the evening I was trying to figure out how to be encouraging to these folk. We went ahead without really missing a beat, but I knew I lost an opportunity. This moment provided another reflection on how my state of mind affects other areas of pastoral ministry. I needed to deal with my “slip” before I went out again. Perhaps this is where the consumer/capitalistic culture creeps into the Christian ministry. That culture teaches us that only “doing” something actually achieves anything. How much did I get done today? Have I produced anything? But taking care of myself rather than making phone calls could have affected my ministry more. Just something to think about. [My apologies to my friends who think capitalism springs forth from the words of Genesis 1 – well, maybe no apology necessary!]

Feast of Epiphany

2006-01-06T23:11:00.000Z

Life returns to normal in Bamber Bridge after the craziness of the Christmas/Advent Season. I have had trouble motivating myself to work this week after going full speed for 5 weeks and then crashing for a week. Besides, I always go into mourning after the Christmas season finishes. I miss the music, the decorations, and the atmosphere of this time of year. Then again, I am glad the business of the season has calmed down.

April and I rang in the New Year with some folk from Bamber Bridge. We stepped off the train from London on New Year’s Eve and after unpacking we went over to the Evans’s house. The British tradition on New Year’s Eve is to play as many games as possible – in rapid succession! They couldn’t understand our American tradition of eating as much as possible, standing around talking, and watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rocking Eve. I just don’t remember us playing as many games as they do! Charades (pronounced with a short “a” sound in the second syllable). Pass the Parcel. This game where you passed around a ring on a string. Oh, we did eat, though. Food was fantastic. And it’s always a good time with this crowd. The young people and the older people mixed so well together. Well, there were some differences in understanding the rules of the games! David Evans led us with a scripture reading and a prayer as the final seconds of 2005 ticked away. Then we stood in a circle, arms crossed, hands clasped, shaking arms and singing Auld Lang Sine.

The rest of the week has been pretty tame. April started work on Thursday. Today is the Feast of the Holy Epiphany when we celebrate the visitation of the magi to the Christ Child. Technically, Christmas is over. I went to mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church where my friend Fr. Aelred serves as Priest-in-Charge. He ordered that the church manger scene and Christmas Tree remain until this weekend – still a little bit of Christmas!

Over the Christmas season we took a new twist on the old Lessons and Carols Christmas Service. I selected 7 of the 9 lessons and gave them to different folk. We had quite a variety! Kath and Don Roscoe started off with a skit on Adam and Eve – in costume! Also a highlight was the “Low-Budget Nativity Play.” Lines are read in a dead-pan voice in pantomime style (I will explain that another time). I played Mary. The play was a hit! On a more serious note, I interpreted Matthew 2:1-12. It was not a long one and seeing that this is Epiphany I give here the meditation I gave that night.

Which way did you come to church tonight?
How did you get here?
Did something guide you?

Do you have power?
Can you influence people by the decisions you make?
Are you frightened when your power and influence is threatened?

Are you searching for something?
Do you know where you are going?
Do you stop and ask people where you might find it?

Do you open yourself up and let others know you?
Do you trust those people with what you told them?
Has someone pretended to be your friend so they could use what you know for harm?

What did you bring with you tonight?
What can you take out of your treasure chests that you may give?
Where will you bow your knee and what will you worship?

Do you watch the stars for signs?
Do you listen to your dreams for angels?
Having heard tonight the stories of God’s love for you, will you go home by another way?

Happy Christmas from London! (Part 2)

2005-12-30T21:37:00.000Z

Still in the Christmas spirit here in the UK’s capital city. As the Dickens Museum reminded us yesterday Christmas used to last for 12 days in the UK (and in the rest of the world). Thanks to the US and their pseudo-starting Christmas in mid-October that has shortened the festive season. Anyway, Christmas is in full swing at Hampton Court Palace, the former home of one of England’s most notorious kings, Henry VIII, known for his six wives. Speaking of Spirit, a figure looking like Dickens’s “Ghost of Christmas Present” roamed the courts calling himself the “Green Santa,” or the First Father Christmas. He says that the St. Nicholas legends combined with the pagan “Green Man” god of fertility (celebrated during the Winter Solstice) to make the character he portrayed. He mentioned that in the US the St. Nicholas legends combined with the elf lore of America to create the Santa Claus we know and made famous in The Night Before Christmas. The image was stamped in our minds forever thanks to Coca-Cola.

Father Christmas wasn’t the only attraction on display – Queen Anne (1702-1714) reigned from her palace. April and I got in trouble with her lady in waiting because we were too busy trying to take a photo and we didn’t bow as she walked past. Yes, as you can see from the picture, we are serious. Of course, we toured the rooms. Cardinal Woolsey built Hampton Palace, but lost it when he couldn’t secure from the pope Henry VIII’s divorce (hence the Church of England’s split from Rome). Henry built it up, and a large portion of it remains. When William III & Mary II (1689-1702) were invited to be king and queen, they hired Christopher Wren (architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral) to rebuild it. So, it’s an interesting mixture of tudor and baroque style. The last king to make Hampton Court his home was George II (1727-1760).

Unfortunately, no photography allowed indoors. Except in the Tudor kitchen (this was the part of Hampton Court built by Henry that survived Wren). Today, they were showing how the Georgians cooked their food. They didn’t allow a test-taste, but it looked and smelled great. On the cold morning with snow/rain mix, they had a roaring fire in the roasting pit. As hot as it was, the man in charge says this was still no where near the temperature needed for roasting. Before leaving, we visited the Georgian Royal apartments where George II and his Queen Caroline. Most of the audio guide talked about how much they hated their son, Frederick, the Prince of Wales. They never exactly said why, but it seemed to be a problem George II had with his own father. Frederick never became king, dying long before his dad.

Heading back to London, we arrived and stayed in Westminster. We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and then visited the Catholic Westminster Cathedral. Finished in 1903, it featured beautiful mosaics in the Byzantine style. This Cathedral doesn’t have the beauty of the older cathedrals around England, but it had its own magnificence. Along with the beauty of the older cathedrals is the history that they have seen. My sister Kelly continually asks us why we visit so many churches, but you really can’t understand England’s history without going through her churches. Speaking of which, we headed back down to England’s most famous church, Westminster Abbey – site of every coronation since the 11th c. We closed out our touring day with the Evening Vespers.

We have returned to our hotel near Kensington Palace and the Independence Bowl provides our evening entertainment. We can listen to it over the internet, and at the time of this writing South Carolina is whipping Missouri, 21-0. Go Gamecoks!

Happy Christmas from London!

2005-12-29T21:19:00.000Z

Greetings from London! With the craziness of Christmas behind us, April and I headed for the big city for a few days. We left yesterday, on my birthday (I am 32 years old!) and got here around noon. The first thing we found was a Pizza Hut – they had a lunch buffet. In less than 24 hours we managed to eat there and then at a Burger King for breakfast. That shows you how much we are enamoured with British cuisine! We spend our nights at the Thistle Kensington Palace Hotel, right across the street from Kensington Park (home of the Prince Albert Monument and the Peter Pan statue) and, of course, the Kensington Palace, the one-time home of Diana, Princess of Wales. As hotels go, it’s OK. Wear on the carpet shows in places and some bad enough that they used what looks to be black electric tape for repairs. Our room temperature remains rather hot, even for what have been the coldest days in the year. Still, we only stay here at night.

Yesterday, after ridding the luggage and the pizza buffet, we headed into London and Westminster. When we came here in February we made it to the Tower of London, but we didn’t quite locate Tower Hill, where many of England’s infamous executions took place. We found that and then walked around my favourite London landmark, the Tower itself. This time the moat doubled as an ice rink. Telling my mother this, she laughed and said, “Imagine all the horrors associated with the Tower and now it’s used as a place to have fun!” I don’t know if the irony was lost on the skaters. Last time we also missed out on walking across the Tower Bridge, so we made the trek toward Southwark and visited the Cathedral there. As Cathedrals go, it’s relatively young (only being made one in the late 1800s), but the building itself dates back to the 1200s. It served as an abbey until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, but this one remained as a parish church. The church placed a nativity scene in front of the altar near a Christmas tree. Other than that the church was nearly bare of Christmas paraphernalia. In fact, most of London has been void of Christmas decorations. Nothing around Parliament Square, nothing outside Westminster Abbey (though we didn’t go in to see how they decorated the interior). Across from the Abbey, the Methodist Central Hall (the only Methodist property that allows alcohol) placed two trees on top of its pillars. Oh, I forgot - the Houses of Parliament also sported a Christmas tree. Other places had Christmas trees, such as Trafalgar Square, where we headed next to see the National Gallery. No Photos allowed in there, but it had plenty of Nativity Scenes. The impressionist paintings excited April, as she saw Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and a number of Monet paintings. Frankly, I enjoyed it for a while, but I am just not enough of an art fan to fully appreciate it. It even tired April. To end the day, we searched for a place to eat that didn’t overcharge and didn’t allow smoking throughout. We found a nice little place called Giraffe, which we really enjoyed.

Today, we made our way to the oldest Catholic Church in London. St. Elthreda’s Chapel was built in the 1200s, but changed hands when it fell back to the Catholics in the second half of the 19th c. The crypt had a nice atmosphere. We tried to go and see another ancient church, St. Bartholomew the Great, but we found it closed when we arrived. So we walked over to Doughty Street to visit the only surviving home of Charles Dickens, which now houses a museum. They decked it out just as I would have hoped – all for Christmas. Complete with original illustrations of A Christmas Carol. The museum contained other artefacts from his life, including his reading desk and some manuscripts. The posted sign mentions that he threw them out at first, but then realised they would be valuable one day. One of my favourites was a window, with the notice, “Window from Pyrcroft House, Chertsey, through which Oliver Twist is said to have been pushed by Bill Sikes on the occasion of the burglary.”

Our biggest event of our trip will have to be our afternoon outing. April and I attended the matinee performance of The Lion King. It was brilliant. Words can’t describe the imagination of the creators of this Broadway hit. It was half human performance and half puppets. All the songs from the original movie coupled with some new ones from Elton John and Tim Rice. It was unbelievable how they transformed an animated feature into a stage performance!

So this is the end of Day Two in London. Tomorrow we are off to the home of Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace.

Long Live Aslan!

2005-12-27T22:25:00.000Z

This afternoon April and I led a church outing to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We had about 32 folk come with us, including around 15 young people. The majority thought that the movie was fantastic - one youth even saying that she cried through it. I have to say that it nearly brought me to tears a few times! I admit that when I heard Disney bought the rights to it I worried that they would make a pig's ear of it. They didn't. I thought the movie was brilliant. No, it didn't live up to the book, but then again, what can? C. S. Lewis balked at ever having a movie made of it because he didn't think it would translate. He was right, but I think this movie made a great showing anyway. The movie remained faithful to the book, the changes made didn't alter it.

One change I thought they made was for the better. When Mr. Tumnus played the flute and Lucy fell asleep watching the figures dance the figure of a lion roaring interrupted the music. I don't know why, but I liked that part. It seemed to fit - Aslan watching over Lucy and bringing Tumnus to his senses. I spoke with my sister Kelly about it over the phone this afternoon and she mentioned that as a part she like, too.

There were a few disappointments, I suppose, but that's really too strong a word. I can't think of another one. The movie portrayed the kids as a little too disbelieving - especially Peter. In the book, when he was in Narnia, he was in for the long haul. In the movie, he seemed ready to go back to England. Edmund was portrayed a little too sympathetically. The movie didn't portray him as the insolent little beast that he was in the book (lessening the impact of his conversion). Still, both the actors portraying Peter and Edmund were excellent and I will look forward to seeing them in the future movies.

The things I liked? Lucy, Aslan, and the White Witch. Lucy was cute, cried when she needed to, and you felt you wanted to be on her side as soon as she entered the wardrobe. She was just as I imagined her while reading her part in the book. Aslan’s animation was terrific, and his death scene so realistic that I wanted him to roar at those binding him. (Although I do have to say I wish that it could have been James Earl Jones voicing him, but maybe that was a little too Lion King.) Finally, the White Witch. Tilda Swinton played her beautifully: I fell for her when she was sweet to Edmund and I hated her the rest of the time – just like I was supposed to do! I don’t think I could say that was achieved in the book. Kelly pointed out something to me that I didn’t catch: she wore Aslan’s mane in the final battle – that was fantastic. The movie got those three important characters right.

So, it has been a great Christmas. Sorry I haven’t posted in the last 10 days. I hit the 4th Sunday of Advent and hit the ground running. Still, all the services went well. We based our 10:30 AM Christmas Morning service (at Trinity as a united Bamber Bridge-Trinity service) around The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – complete with Turkish Delight! It was a lot of fun. I miss Christmas already.

April and I leave for a three day holiday in London. Hopefully, I will find time to blog there!

My Spoon, and I am Old

2005-12-16T23:06:00.000Z

Last night, I felt the young one when I went to the Men’s Fellowship Meal. The closest person to my age was a guy in his late 40s. The majority was by far in the plus 65 range. The evening was…ok, agonising in many respects. It was Christmas Crackers (complete with corny jokes, paper hat, and novelty), a meal lasting nearly an hour and 45 minutes, and a “speaker-on-tape” (yes, that was the evening’s entertainment) that lasted way too long. Well, let’s put that behind me.

Tonight, I thought the youth group was going as a whole to our circuit church Midge Hall to see My Spoon, an alternative Christian Rock Group. Well, only four kids were going and I had already said I would drive, so I was the only adult that went while the other 6 adults stayed with the kids back at the Pentecostal church where we meet on Friday nights. [Thanks a lot, guys.] So we arrive and the only person I know is Peter, Midge Hall’s Circuit Steward. All the adults stayed in the kitchen because…well, the music was too loud for us. And we couldn’t understand any of the words, anyway. It sounded like he was just screaming into the microphone. While wearing a Santa Claus outfit. Well, minus the hat and beard. He didn’t want to mess up his hairstyle (long on top so his fringes could flop over his closely shaved sides). They did stop the assault on our ears long enough to tell us that the Christmas is more than just a baby in a manger. He was watching the movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with his girlfriend and, you know, Aslan is Jesus and Aslan died to save the children and beat the witch. That’s what Christmas is about – the whole picture. OK, I see the point, but isn’t that a little simplistic? Anyway, that lasted about 7 minutes. Then they went back to shouting in microphones.

As I watched the group of high school students dancing to the music, obviously enjoying it, and I sat from the safety of the kitchen while they “crowd surfed” a blow-up Santa Clause, it hit me: I am old. Kathleen Wood, Midge Hall’s minister, waltzed in fresh from carol singing to see how things were going. I made my confession to her that I am no longer the young person I thought I was. Then I told her, “I can’t tell you what their theology is because I don’t understand what they are saying.” At 9:15 PM, My Spoon announced they only had two songs left. What kept me from cheering? Peter, normally a subdued man in our Circuit Leadership Team Meetings, showed the most excitement I ever seen him display when he shouted out a cheer before I had the chance! After the concert I hurried my four girls out and went back to Leyland Pentecostal Church.

In less than two weeks, I turn 32. I haven’t thought of that as being old until tonight. My ears are still ringing. I hope Jen had better luck at the Michael W. Smith Christmas concert.

School Nativity Play

2005-12-15T07:59:00.000Z

Last night I attended Cuerden Church School's Nativity Play. The Year R to Year 2 classes performed it (that's pre-K to 2nd grade). There was humour written into the play, but as usual it came from other sources (you could barely understand the lines anyway!). It had all you would expect from a children's play: actors saying their memorized lines in a monotone voice, others forgetting lines, singing lines loudest at chorus because that's the only part anyone really knows, one kid doing different motions than the other ones, and head teacher (principal) turned director tearing her hair out before the play began. I have to say that my favourite part was the "scene announcer" standing on stage the entire production picking his teeth. It ended as every Nativity play does: two chairs for Mary and Joseph to sit in front of a makeshift manger with the doll baby in it. I love that image - do we really think that is how it happened? Mary and Joseph just sitting beside the cradle looking at it as shepherds and kings walk by? Still, it was a very well done, and the kids did great. Unfortunately, from where I sat I could only see what happened on stage. The rest of the kids were on floor level as the chorus. Some of the funniest moments can be the kids not part of the action and are getting bored while they have nothing to do. Oh, but there was the fierce waving and attention seeking before and during the play - of course, this time it was more from the parents than the kids on stage. We have a different sort of parents at Cuerden.

[If you would like, look under the links section and you can visit Cuerden's Website!]

Advent Quiet Day

2005-12-11T15:00:00.000Z

I have wanted to talk about my circuit’s Advent Quiet Day, but with all that is going on I haven't had the chance. We didn’t do this last year, but I understand that it is something of a tradition. I can’t explain what went on in years past, other than one church was left open to provide a quiet space for prayer and reflection one day at the beginning of the Advent season. Two month’s ago at a Circuit Ministry Team (Staff) meeting, Paul asked us who would like to head it up. Well, I raised my hand and said I would enlist the help of New Longton local preacher John North. He and I met twice before the date, set for 30 November at Leyland (Turpin Green) Methodist, and we saw the same vision for how we wanted it set up. (This happened nearly two weeks ago, and I just have got lost in all going on to write about it.)

Each room would have its own theme. One room contained the District’s Prayer Labyrinth. This may take some explaining if you haven’t experienced this. A labyrinth is like a maze, only with one path and no “dead ends.” Labyrinths have been used for centuries as an aid for contemplative prayer, but lately have been “updated” for today. You still follow the path in the labyrinth, but you meet different stations along the way (in our case, 11). The first part is an “inward journey” that invites you toward the centre of the labyrinth as you reflect prayerfully on yourself. For instance, station 3, “Letting Go,” invites you to ritualistically “let go” of your concerns and worries by holding a stone and then dropping it into a bucket of water. Station 7 begins the outward journey, as our encounter with God affects us in the way we live our lives. Labyrinths provide a new way of encountering God in prayer. I didn’t get to experience the labyrinth on that day, but I have done the online version. That said, I can see how the interactive “real life” version would be better. Still, it’s a great experience and if you have no access to one, try the online version by clicking Labyrinth.

The balcony in the church’s worship space (they call it a gallery) gave a place for “creative prayer” (the best name we could think of). The idea was simple, yet challenging. We normally think of prayer in words or at least in certain patterns. This area asked you to pray by drawing, painting, or reflection. For instance, the verse John chose was the parable of the wise and foolish versions. Using that verse, you would draw your prayer with crayons or paint with colours – wherever you felt the Spirit lead. Alternatively, your prayer could be written as a reflection on questions such as, what might it be like to be one of the wise virgins? foolish virgins?

Back downstairs, in another room, John set up three interactive stations based on the Advent theme of the Christ Who Comes. The three stations were called, “The Christ Who Comes to Save,” “The Christ Who Comes to Heal,” and “The Christ Who Comes in Glory.” Rather than interpret them, I show their pictures below.

Finally, in the main worship space, we had two types of prayers going on. The first that ran all the time was the Stations of the Nativity (like the Stations of the Cross). I found pictures of the 14 stations and then listed them with the corresponding scripture. Then, I wrote short devotions for each of them. Also in the worship space, on the hour, every hour, we had lead prayer by a selection of ministers and local preachers. Since we ran the day from 2 PM to 9 PM, we had 7 different types of prayer.

While I don’t think we had a huge number of folk turn out, we had a good number and many found something they could tap into. There is something exciting about experimenting with different forms of prayers, especially if one is open to new ways. Let’s be honest, prayer life can sometimes (or most times) be dry. Looking at something from a different perspective will throw new light on the relationship with yourself and the “Christ Who Comes.”

Christmas in Lancashire

2005-12-09T14:07:00.000Z

To get away from church work and to hopefully get some Christmas shopping done, I took the morning off to grab the train to Lancaster. I visited Lancaster about 10 months ago and really enjoyed it. There is a 1,000-year old castle which is still listed as a home of the Queen of England (despite her title of Duke of Lancaster, she doesn't stay there). Courts continue to hear proceedings and they have housed prisoners there since the castle was built (though not the same jails as they used 300+ years ago). Also in Lancaster, there is a 15c. Priory church, which functions as an Anglican parish church since Henry VIII disolved the monasteries. I visited neither of those places today, but stayed in the market district. I was hoping to find something unique up there, but found nothing more than I could find in Preston. I figured being an historic town there would be speciality shops different from that of Marks & Spencer.

Not finding much, I stopped at the Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter's to see how they had dressed up for Advent. I thought they made an interesting use of their pulpit and turned it into an Advent Wreath (see pic). Roman Catholics stay true to Advent and have no Christmas decorations in the church at all (even Chrismon trees are more of an American tradition). We have put our tree up at Trinity, and April and I have done so in our home, but many in my churches won't put theirs up in their homes until the week before Christmas.

So I came back to Preston and had some time before my train to Bamber Bridge, so I stopped in the Fishergate Shopping Centre. The way they have decorated there reminds me of the way the Magnolia Mall in Florence, SC, used to decorate. They must have thought, "Hey let's hang trees from the ceiling, throw in a wreath or two, and then make hanging lights of snowflakes. And for good measure, let's throw in a singing abominable snowman. That's definately Christmas!" It all has a very cheesy effect and made me miss the way that the Streets at Southpoint in Durham, NC, used to decorate. They had a whole street theme going there. Decorations here in England seem to be about 15 years behind the US. Still, the singing snowmen were quite a sight. I mean, what were they thinking with this thing?

Trinity and Bamber Bridge Have a New Minister

2005-12-05T20:03:00.000Z

It's official as of tonight: Yvonne Taylor, Senior Circuit Steward, called us tonight to tell us that Mark and his family will join the South Ribble Circuit with pastoral oversight of the Trinity/Bamber Bridge Section. I say this with mixed emotions of excitement and sadness. Sadness, of course, because we will be leaving. Excitement for Bamber Bridge and Trinity because he will be a wonderful minister for them. There is still much left to do before they come in September, and I can start looking forward to what is ahead for me.

Also, thanks to dad and Sarah McGiverin for posting - I haven't had two comments on a single post before! Isn't it wild that I can write about what happened about an hour ago and you are reading this right now? And what is it with Duke having to wait until the last second to beat Virginia Tech - in Cameron Indoor Stadium!

Struggling with Change Alongside John the Baptist

2005-12-02T12:18:00.000Z

This morning, I had a revelation and heard God speak to me in a way that I haven't in a while. Over the past two weeks, as the Methodist Church begins the stationing process, talk of who will replace me as the Bamber Bridge/Trinity minister became louder. Of the many things I think the British Methodist do correctly, this is one where I think they have come up short. Talk of the new minister began in my first Leadership Team meeting in September 2004 - I thought it a little odd since I had only been on the job for 5 days, but I was also overwhelmed with everything because...well, I had only been on the job for 5 days. Anyway, when April and I decided to stay another year, talk of the new minister postponed, and began again at the Leadership Team meeting this past September. It grew at the November Leadership Team meeting as we sorted through profiles and named our top choices to be given to the Chair of District. [Sorting through the profiles has not been easy on any ministers as you get to read about how wonderful all these folk are and you think, "OK, why am I doing this?"]

In their excitement, I felt left out - left behind during my first church change. Over the past few months, I have grown to love these churches and have wondered if I was being called to stay with this circuit longer. Calling runs differently, though. Sometimes God speaks to others as well as you, and the circuit was not feeling the same call. Of course, this doesn't do anything for the way I felt that evening listening to all of them. Nor did it help that I won't find out where I will be until January - I don't have anything to be excited about yet. Even so, telling me that I will have another church has felt like someone saying to April and I after our miscarriage, "Well, you can always have another one." The next thing that I heard was plans made for the day when the new minister will come to visit. My home of 16 months now sounded like a tourist stop on sightseeing trip ("We will go the building site, then stop at the Foufields Manse, and then onto Trinity..."). I have also been thinking about this week how I have an eight month "lame duck" period - much longer than what goes on in the UMC. I am not sure how I am going to handle this with the excitement building for the new minister, while I am inwardly mourning my leaving. I think about all the work that I have put in for what will have been two years and I don't get to see the end (the new building, while having a steel framework, will likely not be open by the time I leave). I wandered in the wilderness, but I do not take them in to the new building.

The new minister visits tomorrow. The next day, I preach on John the Baptist. The verse I have been drawn to, but didn't know why, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me" (Mark 1:7a). This morning...I can't even tell you what spawned the thought because I was looking at the Textweek website and the only thing I saw was "Advent 2B"...it hit me: I am the forerunner. I was sent to prepare the way for this guy (whose name I can't say until after tomorrow and nor am I saying is more powerful than I in some "low selfesteem" mantra). Just before this, I was thinking about all the "nasty" jobs I have had to do that he will (hopefully) not have to do (hard conversations, officer changes, fundraising sermons with no building). Similarly, John had his day - preaching a hard message, yet somewhere he was attractive enough to have people that followed him. Perhaps I have not been threatening enough, but despite telling people what they didn't want to hear, both churches have loved me and April. Yet, as John let go of the future apostles John and Andrew, I will let my churches go. And Jesus certainly has is hard sayings, too. I haven't cleaned up everything for my successor.

It has been a long time since a revelation hit me like that when I had to sit down. I opened my Advent Prayer book (Christmastide, by Phyllis Tickle). It quoted Psalm 55:18, "In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday, I will complain and lament, and he will hear my voice." In my struggling and my lamenting, God was listening to me...even if I wasn't listening to God. I have had a peace about this this morning that I haven't had. This doesn't mean that I don't hurt still, and nor am I going to listen to a bunch of rubbish when people tell me I shouldn't feel a certain way...well, I will sit quietly and nod and smile, but inwardly I will be telling them off. Also from the same prayer, "For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, and great is your love twoard all who call upon you" (Psalm 86:5).

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

2005-11-27T21:32:00.000Z

So the craziness officially begins: today is the first Sunday in Advent. Actually, most Americans will be recovering from Thanksgiving as it is back to work on Monday after a four-day holiday. This is my second year of spending Thanksgiving in the UK. Last year things were a little different since the circuit had an American Thanksgiving service. We had three Americans on staff (down to two this year) and we thought we would introduce Thanksgiving to the British. Also in attendance at the service were my parents, who arrived in the country the day before without their luggage (it appeared at our door after we got home from the service). Because of the service and mom and dad being here, we were reminded of it a little more. We spent the day traveling to Carlisle and then spent the night in Edinborough. Our Thanksgiving dinner was at a Scottish pub. We had a great time.

This year, things are a little more mellow. In fact, if it wasn't for people here reminding us, we would have forgotten it totally. Tuesday at Ministry Team (Staff) meeting, Paul told Ellen (the other American) and I, "Best wishes on Thursday." We both looked at him blankly before the "penny dropped" for us and we understood what he was talking about. April caught a virus and was home from work for two and a half days, so she wasn't feeling well on the day. I went to coffee morning, had my lunch there (Lancashire hotpot - another long story), and then worked on my service the rest of the day. That evening, we bought a nice Thanksgiving dinner from the Chinese takaway: sweet-n-sour chicken, shrimp fried rice, and chips. Yesterday, we had yet another fundraiser: lunches and bric-a-brac stalls.

Today, I was at Trinity for both services (the evening service is a Bamber Bridge service in the Trinity building). We marked the first day of Advent by lighting the Advent Wreath. This is Trinity and Bamber Bridge's second straight year with 3 purple and one rose (pink) candles. They used to have red, like most other Methodist Churches (taken from The Holly and Ivy carol). Red candles were new to me. Advent is relatively new idea in British Methodist Churches - I think it was introduced only in the last 25 years. There are still many Methodists who have a problem with candles, but I think the Advent Wreath has gained acceptance. The Methodist Church in Great Britain is much less liturgical than the American counterparts (though, it usually depends on where you go in the US).

Anyway, I think I will reflect tomorrow on what I preached. I thought both of my services were great. Still, after my last two posts have been so long, I figured I would give readers a break and keep it simpler.

Even so, Come Lord Jesus.

Start the Conversation - Time to Talk of God

2005-11-23T09:53:00.000Z

At the last Methodist Conference, it voted on a report that has created more buzz than your average report. OK, so reports coming out of any conference that don't deal with sexuality (which only serves to split and cause headlines) generally are left forgotten back in the meeting. But this one seems to actually propose to do something - namely, get Christians talking about God. The report is called Time to Talk of God: Recovering Christian Conversation as a Way of Nurturing Discipleship. The introduction introduces the report by saying that Talk "deliberately starts one stage back from evangelism, exploring what it may be about current church culture which makes us reluctant to speak about our faith, even to each other, thus denying ourselves and each other the resources to develop as mature disciples." In other words, how can we talk about sharing our faith with non-Christians when we can't even talk about God with other Christians!

The report makes the observation that in the Bible, most of what we hear does not come from written sermons (with the odd exception of Peter's Sermon on Pentecost or Jesus' Sermon on the Mount), but from conversations. Jesus and Nicodemus, Jesus and the woman at the well, Jesus and the Pharisees, Philip and the Ethiopian, Paul and those discussing ideas in Athens. Most of Jesus' parables arise from conversation. Remember the Good Samaritan? It began with the question, "Who is my neighbour?" And many of the conversations didn't happen in the temple or synagogue - they happened on the road to Emmaus and, Jesus' favourite, over a meal! What are we losing by neglecting Christian conversation?

Perhaps we take it as a given that we talk about God simply because we go to church. Maybe even more so in the United States where Sunday School and Disciple Bible Studies are found more frequent. But how often does our church attendance require listening to someone else teach/preach while we listen? At what point do we actually share with others what is God doing in our lives? Even in many Sunday Schools I imagine there are many who are quite happy to sit on the periphery and listen. In preaching, I will even keep myself at a distance, but there I am doing the talking. Then again, who says that Sunday services have to be a 5-hymn sandwich with prayers (said by the preacher) and a sermon? Wherever we are, where is the intentional time to talk about God?

What brings this up this morning? Last night, our district sponsored...an introduction evening? I don't know what to call it, but the point was to give us an idea of what is in the report and where we can go forward with it. The report is designed not so much to be read, and certainly not to gather dust on the shelves, but to be read by people in intentional Christian conversations in small groups. The format they lay out is flexible enough to take in the information in the report as well as to discuss it. Then we experienced a taste of it ourselves. The report is divided into 4 sections. Because the number of people there last night was much, much higher than anticipated, from those four groups we had to divide into smaller groups. I only knew one of the other people in the group I was in (the superintendent of the Preston Circuit and husband of Kathleen Wood, one of our circuit ministers), but that didn't stop the conversation from flowing. First, Mark Hammond read a passage from the report and we shared with our group the line that most stood out to us. What stood out to me is that we live in the most informed generation ever - we know more about what is going on than in any other generation ever. Yet, many of us know very little about our neighbours. What is ironic, the report points out, is that we watch soap operas like Neighbours (my favourite over here) or sitcoms like Friends where lives constantly interact and everyone knows everyone else! But for most of us, this is not our reality. We continue to isolate ourselves behind the walls of our homes.

Two nights ago, my friend from seminary, Sarah McGiveran called. We were talking about the current turmoil in the United Methodist Church. She vividly described the church like so much taffy being twisted by the opposite extremes. Sarah and I stand on opposite sides of the twisting point, but we have so much more in common that we can respect and learn from our differences. Now both of us fear what happens at the point when the taffy snaps (i.e., if the liberal and conservative strands pull apart). She mentioned, "what happens if we then lose this conversation?" She didn't mean the two of us, but the church as a whole that benefits from so many of us around the middle carrying on the conversation that the extremes don't take part in. Conversation, in other words, forms who we are. This is what the report means that when we don't talk, we lose the resources of another.

I think from time to time this Time to Talk of God report will come up in the blog. Actually, I hope it will. More so, I hope it comes up in my churches. My Bamber Bridge Senior Steward (head lay leader) was there and he appeared excited about it and said to me last night, "We have a lot of work to do." I again invite comments - start the conversation!

Under 5s Retreat

2005-11-16T23:59:00.000Z

Monday and Tuesday, the North Lancashire District Under 5s Group (i.e., those in their first five years of ministry) retreated to Hyning Monastery for a 24 hour retreat. Hyning is a Bernadine Carthusian house of Carthusian Nuns. It's situated on the northern border of County Lancashire and just south of the Lake District, near Warton. It's a beautiful setting, and a quiet time away from computers, TV, telephone, and, of course, church work. Warton also has an American connection. George Washington's ancestral family lived there and even built the tower of St. Oswald's Parish Church (c. 1580). They hang an nice picture of him, along with his family tree. The pub next door to the church was named for George.

We were slightly less in number this time than in our two retreats last year. This do to number of factors that kept people away (for instance, the other American in our district, George, is currently retreating with the other Americans on the British American Ministry Programme in Bath). Still, we had a fantastic time. The Under 5s decided earlier this year we would make a Baptism video that would be appropriate to explain the sacrament to families presenting their children for baptism. Many non-church folk call up the minister "to get their baby done" because it's just the way things happen. Often now partners are simply living together rather than getting married and this gives them the chance to celebrate the new family. Of course, I have had some very honest parents who told me that their reasons for doing it is because it is easier to get them into church schools, and my favourite, "because not everybody has seen him/her yet." Trying to get the importance of this sacrament across to families with little, if any, church connection is the struggle of nearly every minister over here. More often than not, it is the case. Out of five of my baptisms, only one has been a church family and attend nearly every Sunday. The Methodist Church produces literature, which we give them, but the families will promptly lose or simply not read. We are moving past a culture that reads and now people get their information mostly via TV. So, we thought, "Why not produce a video based on All This For You?" That's Methodist Church's nicely done literature, but again falls down the same pitfalls. Kathleen Wood, Derek Oldham, and I had a preliminary meeting two weeks ago (because out of the 12 Under 5s, we three are in the same circuit and meet regularly). Most of day one of the retreat was looking at what we had done and then added to with more "meat" and thoughts of background and video clips. A lot of exciting things came out of it, and this has a fantastic chance of being a great project. I doubt it will be at a professional standard, but it will be a great amateur video that will hopefully spark questions for those families wanting baptism.

That evening, I got hit with a bunch of "Why do Americans do this?" questions. Most of them centred around Halloween. The British Church is more suspicious of it than your average Americans. Some see it as an American import that they don't like, and many see it as an evil practice that the church should have nothing to do with. Since I have never been on the "Ban Halloween" bandwagon (unlike many American Evangelicals), I have trouble taking a hard stand against it. More about that another time - I have an issue with that at Trinity since the Uniformed Organizations (Guides, Brownies, etc.) had a Halloween party.

The next day, we watched a video clip of Bill Hybels of Willow Creek. Overall, his video was very good, but had the effect of making us all feel inept. Bamber Bridge and Trinity (or the other churches) do no have the resources to start a Mechanics ministry. I do not want to say, "Hey, we are going to build a team," and then watch the faces of the already overworked people drop when I tell them there will be another meeting this week. I realise that most of it is my negativity, but even the more positive people in the group seemed a little disheartened. Finally, it comes down to "I am not Bill Hybels," and I said this. I can live with the fact that my churches will not have the resources that Willow Creek will. My problem is I can't seem to motivate my stewards into catching my vision. I noticed it earlier that night at my Stewards meeting when I threw out ideas and they stared blankly back at me and when I started to realise that if we are going to have an Advent/Christmas programme, it will all be on me. Maybe I am overstating it there, but at the moment - that's how I feel. Anyway, back to Hyning: the folk there didn't seem to understand where I was going with this and tried to be more encouraging than I really wanted them to be (i.e., "You don't have to be Bill Hybels - you have to be "Will Grady." I love them for saying it, but still that doesn't help). Someone did remind me that I am only in my second year of ministry and so still young. I know that, too, but that still doesn't help me now.

One thing we all agreed on in this video: Hybels has a church he attends during his 6 weeks off. He says they have "bad services" and it is painful to go through. He kept using them as an example for why "good services" are so good. He never said what he did with it! I (and the others) wanted to shout at him, "That's my experience - why don't you spend more time them!" None of us understood that if "bad services" were his "holy passion" then why not quiet Willow Creek and go there? That would be a story I want to hear. Not what he is doing NOW at 20,000 member Willow Creek.

By the way - please feel free to click the comment button below and leave your thoughts when I write. I would especially like to hear thoughts on ministry and leadership!

Feeling Useful

2005-11-10T19:13:00.000Z

Today, I did a lot of visiting. I visited a good portion of my members at Coffee Morning, our weekly tradition of the over 70s gathering to drink coffee/tea and catch up. I get to hit about 15 visits in one stop. Then, some of them stay for their lunch. Sometimes I stay, or if I have had enough, I go back to the house. Today, since I showed up late, I stayed for lunch. I bring down the average age, too. They were thrilled that I had passed my driving test.

After lunch, I made some home visits. Walking up to a member's door and expecting to be invited in is something that I would be very cautious about in the US. Here, it seems to be a no brainer. Even among the 40-somethings crowd. Anyway, I made three today (that's about all I could really take - I am an introvert, afterall). Today I met with a member who had a stroke right before I arrived at Bamber Bridge. He has struggled over the last year and I have visited him from time to time (he doesn't come to church anymore). Today when I saw him, he couldn't speak. His daughter and son-in-law needed to step out to get something for him, so I stayed with him. He gibbered at me for about 15 minutes, getting exasperated with himself for not being able to say what he wanted. I made a few coments, but nothing inspiring. I didn't know what else to say. I was just trying to fill the silence.

Back when I worked in the state hospital (in North Carolina), I didn't work with patients who couldn't speak. I worked with patients who suffered from depression, schizophrenia, or paranoia, but they usually had something to say. Silent (or babbling) people are a little new for me. I realised that while I was trying to talk to him, this was more for my benefit than him. He was just happy I was there - I didn't have to say anything. Then again, most of the time when I talk with members, most of my comments are just for my own benefit. I forget that I don't have to say something, but then I don't feel useful.

Driving Test Passed!

2005-11-09T11:49:00.000Z

This morning, at 8:40 AM GMT, I went with my church member Eric Sadler to the Driving Standards Agency office. My examiner was Salim, and he was much more friendly than the last guy. The first thing he asked me to do was to pull out of the car park space and then back into it. After getting my wheels positioned the way he wanted, the car cutting off twice (this is a manual), and parking right on the white line, I thought the test was over. Pulling out onto the road provided the car more opportunities to turn off when I was trying to turn. By this time, I figured I was just taking my examiner out for a ride and he really had little left to do except tell me I failed when the test was over. If there was any doubt about those things, I thought I would make my case for failing even stronger by botching the reverse around a corner. I don't think I was anywhere near being within the required one meter distance from the turn. After that, I just enjoyed seeing sights around Preston that I had never seen before. All this was happening while my car, which is a 1989 Nissan Micro, was pumping out hot air through the vents. This little car has two temperature settings in the winter: extremeley hot and cold. The car knows no in between. I was afraid turning down the heat because that would give the car permission to fog the windows, which I am sure would have been another point off. We pull up to a traffic light and finally Salim begs, "Do you mind if I roll down the window?"

Finally, we began the trip to head back to DSA. We stopped on the side of the road and I told him, "Before you tell me whether I pass or fail, I want to say you are a lot nicer than the last guy and this whole experience was less stressfull." He counted off my marks and I only had 10 (out of a possible 15 allowed). He said, "Congratulations, you passed!" Then we chatted about what I was doing in the UK, and he let me go. I found Eric and we took those "L" plates off my windows. We then drove over to my Superintendent's house to tell him before he left for holiday. He was on the phone with Phil Gough (minister at Leyland Turpin Green). They both said half the circuit were praying for me today. Especially Leyland TG church steward, Dave Legg, my driving instructor. He can go onto other students now!

Christmas Fayre

2005-11-07T12:07:00.000Z

This time of year always brings conflict within me. As a seminarian, I and my fellow students were trained by Prof. Westerfield-Tucker that Christmas does not begin until 24 Dec., but ever since my childhood, as soon as Halloween came and went, I knew what would be coming soon. With the stores putting up Christmas decorations (not as bad here in the UK as in the US) earlier and earlier, the excitement hits me earlier and earlier. Usually, it's all April can do to at least hold me back from playing Christmas music until Thanksgiving (that used to be the tradition in our house growing up, and April adopted it because she says she gets tired of it by Thanksgiving if I have started playing it already). With no Thanksgiving over here, she lost a buffer. The real problem came two years ago. My parents invited April and I to go to Disney World (my favourite place on earth) during the first week of December (during my favourite time of year). April and I went out to the Streets of Southpoint (a Durham, NC, shopping mall) with some friends. April was horrified that Southpoint had already put up Christmas decorations in late October. For April's sake I was trying to hold back from enjoying it, but Jen Harner, who was feeling more predisposed to celebrating Christmas in Advent that year, told us I might as well as enjoy it because once I went to Disney World with all the decorations, there was no hope for me - I was going to be so enchanted by Christmas there was nothing April could do about it. To make matters worse, a Durham, NC, radio station went to all Christmas format staring 1 November (a great way to celebrate All Saints' Day!). April gave up.

This year, we start Christmas early again this year with the Christmas Fayre. In Bamber Bridge there are four churches: St. Saviour's (Anglican), St. Aidan's (Anglican), St. Mary's (Roman Catholic), and the Methodists. Each of these churches have a Christmas Fayre where people bring stuff or bake stuff to sell, raffle, or whatever. Usually, it works like this: we had a "Present for the Pastor" stall in which people went on holiday and bought something "for the pastor." Then, I sell it at the stall. So, I bought an €8 (roughly £5) tree ornament when we were in Paris. We sold it for £2. This is to raise money for our development fund. I should have just donated the £5. To be fair, we did have a lot of handmade crafts, but as someone mentioned when they can buy cheaper stuff at GeeTee's or St. George's Shopping Centre, what's the point? Anyway, somewhere along the way someone got the idea that each church should have it's own weekend in November so they don't clash. Normally, our's is the 4th Saturday in November. Since we have no building, St. Mary's RC (the church we get along with the best) invited us to take part in theirs at their High School. It's tricky in this situation because St. Mary's wanted to share some of the money they got with us. The problem is we have limitations they don't. For instance, my favourite RC stall was the water and wine stall (like the story in John) where there are a bunch of bottles are wrapped on the table, some water, some wine. You pick and if you get the wine, you get to keep it. At £1 a go, I tried twice and came up with water. I asked Fr. Francis, the St. M's priest, if he would bless it to see if it would turn to wine, but he declined. Now, Methodists are bound by Standing Orders not to give prizes that are alcoholic (nor are we allowed to have alcohol on Methodist premises, unless you are Westminster Central Hall, a Methodist Conference Centre in London that wanted to be allowed to sell alcohol for non-Methodist conferees - this caused quite a stir this past year). So, we could not share that money. We are also not allowed to raffle away prizes that are greater than £50, so our prizes can be a little on the...well, not-as-attractive side, as, say, a bicycle or trip. They have a huge raffle, so we had to stay out of that one, too. Anyway, it was still a lot of fun. Father Christmas came (see picture - Fr. Aelred from St. Joseph's thinks it's still way too early for him). We raised for our part over £800.

Ironically, we worked with the Catholics on 5 November, Bonfire Night in England. This celebrates the infamous Gunpowder Plot, supposedly headed up by Guy Fawkes, a Catholic tried and found guilty for conspiring to blow up parliamentlaiment. Every year since, people all over England make a Guy Fawkes and then burn him. April and I went to our first Bonfire Night gathering at Nick and Denise Johnson's house, where we set off fireworks and, yes, burnt a Guy. He was made by their daughter Annie, who was upset that her dad was going to burn him. I don't know how Denise's mother felt, but Guy was dressed in one of her cardigans. Ecumenical relations have come a long way since 5 November 1605, and we celebrated in good spirits.

So I am in the Christmas mood already. Saturday evening after the Christmas Fayre, April allowed me to put in our favourite Christmas CD, Point of Grace's first Christmas Album, which has become our tradition. Advent will be here soon, but likely will be overshadowed by Christmas again this year.

Happy Anniversary!

2005-11-04T22:59:00.000Z

Five years ago this evening - actually at this hour - April and I were married at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in Lexington, SC. There has been a discussion at church this week about what is the 5th year (i.e., 25th is silver, 50th is gold, 60th is diamond). This is the hard-hitting congregational talk at the Thursday Coffee mornings. Tonight we celebrated by going to an Italian Restaurant called Quatros. Then we went to see the new Orlando Bloom/Kirsten Dunst movie, Elizabethtown. We don't really know what to say about it. It started off badly and somewhat erratically, but it ended well. Bloom's father dies at the start, and he gets reminiscent about a bunch of things, with the help of a random girl (Dunst).

Anyway, getting reminiscent makes me think about the last 5 years. April and I have lived together in three cities, covering two states and two countries. Most of our married life has been spent while I was in seminary at Duke, but this last year has been amazing, too. It's hard to imagine how I could have pastored this congregation without her. She held a Body Shop party as a fundraiser at one of the circuit churches. Two of my members have told me how wonderful she was. I have often said how popular she is at the church. Anyway, I am going to quit writing so that I can spend time with her. I will write more about her later.

Red Rose on the Move Part III: Columbia Airport

2005-10-28T18:25:00.000+01:00

Our journey to the United States is almost at an end. We will probably begin boarding in less than half an hour, so this might be a short entry. This flight doesn't look to be as bad as the previous one a week ago - no 6 hour layover. Still, we are due to arrive in Manchester around 6:00 AM tomorrow (that's 1:00 AM Eastern Time) and we should arrive home before 9:00 AM. Then it's a short nap and then back to work.

Our time here has been eventful. Ginger (April's sister) was married on Tuesday. That meant she spent the day before preparing. Her bridesmaid dress was not finished when the seamstress said it would, so April and her mom spent the day on other errands and went shopping. I meanwhile went to Cokesbury (the United Methodist bookseller) and then hung out at David and Tiffany's until the rehearsal that evening. My family was already at the church with my 2 1/2 year old niece Serenity in tow, and I was given my part of reading scripture. The minister performing the ceremony had no idea that I was a minister and kept telling me how to read the passage and that I should just "enjoy it." I just said, "All right." Serenity was already going about the business of stealing the show. Ginger asked her to be the flower girl, which if that means running around the church then she did great.

The actual wedding went very well. It was a small wedding (number-wise), but Ginger pulled out all the stops. She had two soloists, three scriptures, a unity candle, handbells, and communion. Serenity walked down the aisle and was intrigued enough to stand by April for about 5 minutes until she realized her part was more or less over. Then she found she had other things that needed searching out. The after-dinner wedding was held at a very nice restaurant in downtown Columbia. We got to meet a friend of Ginger's named Sarah, who April and I are very glad Ginger has as a friend. She seems to be just what Ginger needs.

After the wedding, we headed to Florence with my parents. Most of our time has been spent watching Serenity entertain us. Sometimes, she brings in her reluctant partner, Bobo the cat. He is a three month old kitten who just goes limp when she picks him up. I also introduced her to the "Kitty Cat Dance" which she had me play over and over. Dan is living with the crowd there, and, while he didn't when we were there, is looking for a job. He time with the Marines is over, his tour of duty in Iraq through two months ago. Kelly is still looking to sell her first house as a real estate agent.

Well, April wants to go down to our gate, so I will write again when we get back to the UK!

Red Rose on the Move Part II: 20s Group Reunion Party

2005-10-23T13:51:00.000+01:00

What a fun night we had last night! Our hosts, David and Tiffany Beitz, threw a party for the 20s Group Sunday School class at their home last night. Seven years ago this Halloween, April and I met at a 20s Group Halloween party. I was dressed in my pajamas (last minute costume when the one I bought didn't fit) and April was a scarecrow. We didn't begin dating right then, but that is a different story for a different day. David, who hosted that party, thought it would be a great idea to do it again and it fit that April and I would be over here the festivities. The entire Sunday School filled a place in both our lives, as well as those who attended. As a singles class, it was a success too. April and I were among 6 couples to meet and marry. We were a part of this class from Sept. 1998 until we left for Durham in the summer of 2001.

Not only were there folk who we hadn't seen since we left for the United Kingdom 14 months ago, we saw some that we hadn't seen since we left Columbia for Durham, NC! People are married, having kids, buying houses, and settling into careers. There were a couple of people who didn't have a clue where we were, and we enjoyed seeing the expression on their face when I told them I lived in Lancashire, England. Explaining to almost everyone where exactly Bamber Bridge is was a little more difficult. There is simply not a city closer than Liverpool to give anyone a geographic idea, and even then it's shaky. One guy got confused over South Carolina's Lancaster (which calls itself the "Red Rose City") and that we lived in the Red Rose County of Lancashire. One of the highlights was meeting John Adair's girlfriend, Christie. You always wonder what kind of woman will be willing to stay with Adair for a year, but she seemed completely sane! Actually, she was extremely nice.

We started partying from about 6:00 PM, while Alabama was still playing Tennessee (which oddly enough, Great Britain's foreign secretary Jack Straw attended). Bamba squeaked out a win somehow. The party lasted way past it. We finally went to bed about midnight.

Red Rose on the Move Part I: Columbia, SC

2005-10-22T06:20:00.000+01:00

After a long day of traveling, April and I finally arrived in Columbia late last night. We started our day in Bamber Bridge, leaving at what we thought was enough time - 9:00 AM. We knew that traffic to and in Manchester can be brutal, but we made great time and passed the airport at 9:41 AM. But, we parked on an 0ff-site parking lot that gave sketchy (and that's being generous) directions. We had to take either one or the other direction onto a Motorway, choosing the way we thought the directions told us to go. Nope. So, about 5 miles down the road we realized we were going the wrong way. The traffic on the opposite way was at a near standstill. Then, construction around our exit led us astray again. We arrived at the parking lot at 11:00, hopped the bus to arrive at the airport at 11:40, just after they said they closed the gate to the airport. The check-in lady graciously called the gate and they let us on. We arrived just as they were calling the first boarding. So, we made in the nick of time.

Our flight was fairly uneventful - very, very warm, though. We did get to see the Fantastic Four and Bewitched - two movies we hadn't seen before. We arrived at Washington-Dulles airport at 3:10 PM (8:10 PM Britain time). We made it through customs fairly easy. Claimed our baggage and then had to recheck them. A nuisance, but still easy. Then we settled down for our 6 hour layover! There is only so much you can do. So, we shopped in the America! store, finding a tea towel for the "Present for the Pastor" stall at our Christmas Fayre (Washington sites on a necessary British item - good combination!), looked around in Borders (though we have plenty of books and the American stores do not have much of our current fad of reading English historical fiction), April took a nap on the floor, and then we ate at the Panda Express. Finally, we found a Starbucks. Not as big a reunion for us with Starbucks because now there is one in Preston. Before that, we used to get Starbucks only when we went to York or somewhere bigger.

Anyway, we finally made it on our plane to Columbia. Then we sat on the runway for 40 minutes. A lot of planes were taking off and we were stuck in a queue as no. 10. We touched down in Columbia for the first time in 14 months and 8 days. The hot and humid air greeted us as we deplaned. I really forgotten how oppressive it is - and it wasn't as bad as it could be! It was midnight and only in the 70s! Our bags arrived before we did, but we didn't find that out until after we waited for 15 minutes for our bags to come out of the shoot. David Beitz greeted us, and drove us to his house, where his wife Tiffany greeted us. We got there just after midnight this morning.

Wow, what a day! We are glad to be here and look forward to our week - ok with some trepidation as one always does with major family events. Stay posted!

Time Is Drawing Near...

2005-10-15T17:40:00.000+01:00

I am getting bad at this writing thing. It's been a week since I last posted, and I do apologize to those regular readers. It hasn't been as busy as a week as the previous, but still not a lot of time to write.

So our time is drawing near for two things. On Thursday morning April and I take our driving tests that will allow us to drive once again in the United Kingdom. We haven't driven for nearly two months. Our US driving license are only valid for 12 months over here, which would have been fine had we stayed for the year we had agreed to do. Since we decided to stay, we needed to take our tests. Anyway, hopefully we will pass. Dave Legg, our driving instructor, and church steward at Leyland (Turpin Green), said last night I was ready. The main problem may be the time of my exam. It's at 7:30 AM, and it may be too dark to go out. If that's the case, they will give me a test date for another time. April's exam is at 8:40 AM, so she should be good to go. Keep praying for us. We are sick of walking and taking the bus!

And the second thing: the day after our exams, we fly back to the United States for a week. That Friday will be a killer of a day. We start out (either driving or by train - depends on the day before) heading to Manchester Airport. Our flight leaves at 12:20 BST, arriving in Washington Dulles at 3:10 PM EDT. Then we wait for 6 1/2 hours! Our flight leaves Dulles for Columbia at 9:40 PM, arriving at 11:05 PM. That would be 4:00 AM our time. That wasn't the flight we booked, but they had another time (we were due to arrive in SC at 6:00 PM) that they promptly changed within a week of booking the flight. Anyway, we are flying to SC to attend the wedding of April's sister Ginger. As a bonus, April and I are staying with our friends David and Tiffany Beitz, who are hosting a "20s Group" reunion. This is the Sunday School class from Trenholm Road UMC where April and I met. We also get to see my little niece Serenity, who we haven't seen since we left the US 14 months ago. Wow, how time flies! She is going to be so big!

So what else has happened this week besides driving lessons and preparing for the trip to the United States? Well, this has been church council week. Trinity had theirs on Tuesday, Bamber Bridge on Thursday. Both were marathon meetings. Nothing too drastic at Trinity, just I am still learning to chair these council meetings. They like to discuss a lot. We did have one issue arise that cost more time than I wanted. Hurt feelings and trying to deal with them were at centre, but I don't think I should go into it online. As far as I know, no one from my churches reads this, but I don't want to take the chance. Two good things came out of this meeting. We voted to give the circuit Â£2000 toward the circuit's contribution to the school at Bamber Bridge. Also, we voted to ask the 2nd Mile Evangelistic Association to come and hold a revival weekend at our churches. This is the group founded by my pastor from my home church (St. Paul UMC - Florence) who has now retired. Rev. Carl Harris got a group together (including my parents) to create this evangelistic group that works toward reviving the church and reaching people with the gospel. They were very excited and said this is just what they needed.

Then Bamber Bridge. Bamber Bridge's main agenda item is the ongoing redevelopment. John Jefferson has put so much work into this over the past few years, and wrote a long report that would hopefully keep the conversation during the meeting down to a minimum. We still spent 75 minutes on it. There were a lot of questions, and I don't know where they all came from. Some of it was bringing back issues that were supposedly decided long ago. What continues to amaze me about the British Methodist system is that everyone has to be in on everything. Very little is left to committees and even they can be huge (my worship committee stands at 13, down from 20, which was down from 30 before I arrived). A lot more went on, but for privacy's sake, I will not say more. At this council, we also voted to invite the 2nd Mile evangelistic association to come. They were also enthusiastic about this idea, and I think it will revive this crowd oppressed by the discussions on raising money. It looks like this will be a great event for both churches.

Anyway, it's almost dinner time here. Alabama, fresh from its hammering of 5th ranked Florida, are losing to Mississippi 7-3 late in the 2nd quarter. Great way to follow-up, Bama.

Country Fayres and Wedding Anniversaries

2005-10-08T18:07:00.000+01:00

There must have been something in the water in Bamber Bride during the last weeks of September and early October. We have had a lot of wedding anniversaries. I posted about one last week. This week, my senior steward, Chris, and his wife Linda celebrated 19. Last night, April and I went to The Ley Inn for a huge silver wedding anniversary for my worship leader, Kath, who is married to one of my stewards, Don. We had a fanstastic time. I loved the relaxed, casual atmosphere where we weren't raising money, weren't conducting church business, and I wasn't preaching. Over here we don't have socials with church members like in America. They are few and far between. I haven't exactly figured out why - we seemed to enjoy ourselves. I can still remember last year at our first social evening (it was harvest weekend, and April and I had only been there for about three weeks). While we never felt unwelcome, I don't think either of us felt truly "included." I have heard that Bamber Bridge has a problem with doing that to people. Not just ministers. Some who have been attending for 40 years can still feel like outsiders. This year, it was different. I don't think either of us felt on the outside. Maybe they are getting used to us!

We did have a moment of excitement when one of my older members passed out. I saw some scurrying. When I found out who they were hovering over, I called the gentleman's name three times, and he didn't respond. He felt cold. In a few minutes, he was awake again, but we had already called the paramedics. They got there, and I stayed with him (and another church member). He refused to go to the hospital, against the paramedics advice and our urging. I signed the form as a witness to his being, in the words of the paramedic, "a stubborn bugger." We saw him this morning, and he looked as fine as he ever does. He says he has a history of this, and that it was nothing to worry about.

This morning, it was back to work for the church. Today, Leyland (Turpin Green) Methodist Church hosted our Country Fayre. It was a fun day, as the circuit churches came out to help. They held produce stalls (with homemade bread) that had the biggest cabbage I ever saw! Also there were bric-a-brac, craft, cake, and jam stalls. The youth gave us a bottle stall. You place a bunch of bottles on a table, tie a string to each bottle, mix up the strings, and people pay a pound to pull a string to see which bottle they win. We also sold bacon butties (bacon sandwhiches) and for lunch, the Lancashire staple food, hotpot. That has become something of a joke at our church when we serve. They say it's my favourite and make a big deal about it everytime we have it. To date, we have served it at the last two functions in four weeks. April has made it twice. But who cares about hotpot? We made £1,500 on the day.

Tomorrow, it's harvest festival with Trinity and then Elevate in the evening.

Call to Worship

2005-10-06T15:30:00.000+01:00

I haven't posted in a while - this has been a crazy week. Yesterday, I was going all day. A meeting at Cuerden in the morning, a visit to a lady I want to be my Cradle Roll Secretary (she accepted - YEAH!), and then visiting in the hospital in the afternoon. I finished off the evening with a Development/Fundraising meeting last night here at the Manse.

I have two harvest festivals this weekend. One at Trinity in the Morning and back at Trinity in the evening, but we are hosting ELEVATE, South Ribble Circuit's youth-led worship. I give the message at the ELEVATE. The last time mom and dad were over here, I gave the message to ELEVATE (then at circuit church Lostock Hall). It's a fun night, and the youth really do everything in the service (under the guidance of Rev. Phil Gough and my worship leader Kath Roscoe): choose the theme, welcome, prayers, music, and work the technology. Phil thought they would take ELEVATE on the move rather than keep it at Lostock Hall. Trinity, with its new projector, computer, and screen, invited ELEVATE to come here on a Sunday evening.

In trying to help my worship leaders take a more active part in the service (it is the tradition over here that the one preaching have full control over the service, start to finish), I have been trying to think about how to explain a "Call to Worship." So, I emailed my worship-expert friend Jen Harner and here is her response, which I think is fantastic:

"This is when the pastor calls the people to worship - we are NOT calling God to worship. He is always there. We do call the people--away from the cares and distractions of the world...away from their moments of forgetfulness....and away from much of the 'not yet.' Although, we also bring the 'not yet' into worship with us. The book of Hebrews describes worship as the 'shadow' of heaven...of the worship that is to come."

Something to think about as you enter worship this Sunday!