During January, I have a wonderful opportunity to travel to
Great Britain and visit churches and Christian communities there. Part of the pastoral residency (funded by the
Lilly Endowment) is to take a trip overseas to experience the church in a
different cultural context.
I will take my trip to England and Scotland. I have experienced the church in a number of
non-western, developing countries—China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, Mexico, and
Nicaragua. But I have never been to
Europe. So I am going to explore what it
looks like to be the church in a global and post-Christian culture. As I explore, I am sure I will also learn
much about the history of the church in Great Britain and how that has affected
the United States.
I am excited to talk to pastors and church leaders about
where they see God at work in their communities, and to hear what the
challenges they face. I am excited to
hear their stories. I am excited to
worship with brothers and sisters in Christ in many different churches. I am excited to have a time to “get away” from
my daily life and hopefully be able to see things more clearly with a bit of
distance. I am excited to see what I
will learn as I explore, and what I can bring back to enrich my ministry.
I will be visiting a number of places, and I am looking
forward to each of them.
I will start in Poole, England (on the southern coast). I am looking forward to seeing a friend who
was a teammate of mine in China who has been living in Poole for several years. I will be there for her wedding to a British
man, so I am looking forward to being there for this special event, but also
getting to experience this piece of English church life and the opportunities I
will have to meet British Christians.
Then I will head north to Scotland where I will first spend
a night at a guesthouse owned by a church in Glasgow. The next day I will continue on to the island of Iona,
which has been called a “a thin
place – only a tissue paper separating the material from the
spiritual” (George Macleod). Then I will
spend a few days exploring Edinburgh and a bit of Reformation history, such as
John Knox’s church.
I will head back to England, with a first stop in the
northern city of York. I will finish the
trip in London. I am looking forward to
visiting a number of churches, including All Souls Langham and Wesley Chapel. Of course, I am also looking
forward to some historic and cultural sites.
I will be blogging along the way, hopefully even a bit more
than usual. I am looking forward to
sharing my journey, pictures, and stories with you.
Westminster Abbey photo
by jpundt79, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpundt79/3392606563/,
22 December 2012. Used under a Creative
Commons License.
Iona photo by Duncan
McNeil, http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan_mcneil/1636030785/,
22 December, 2012. Used under a Creative
Commons License.
