Thanksgiving Standing Stones 2013

I have a tradition at Thanksgiving to make a list of “standing stones”—the things that I look back on in the year and say “look at what God has done.”  Last year was full of big and joyful milestones, like being ordained.  This year is a bit more subdued, especially the last few months.  But still, I am thankful for the opportunities and gifts God has given me this year. 


Travelling to the UK for three weeks in January.  I got to experience the church and culture, which despite common stereotypes, caused me to say look what God is doing!





Performing my first baptisms of two young people that came to the United States as refugees.  Their faith is rich, deep, and growing as they have faced many difficulties in their short lives.  I am thankful that I got to be a small part of their stories.




I got to go on lots of short camping trips this Spring, Summer, and Fall.  It was wonderful to spend lots of time outside hiking, eating, reading, watching birds, and enjoying the wonders of God’s creation.  (If you’re curious, the photo is from May in Tahquamenon State Park Rivermouth Semi-Modern Campground.)


My pastoral residency at Church of the Servant, which ended at the end of July.  This one is definitely bittersweet—I really miss being a pastor there, but I am so overwhelmingly grateful for the two years I got to spend there learning, loving, preaching, visiting, baptizing, welcoming, and being loved.




The two weeks I got to spend in Colorado and Wyoming during October.  I spent time with Mary and Jared (my sister and brother-in-law), and my friend Allison and her family.  I saw a whole new part of God’s creation—an exhilarating part.  I even climbed mountains, sort of.  At least I went on a short hike above the treeline.  


Having a spiritual director who helps me each month to see what God is doing in my life.  I am thankful for her support and encouragement that God is working in me, even when I can’t see exactly what God is doing yet.


I am so thankful for the gift of friends who have listened to me, waited with me, encouraged me, prayed for me, discerned with me, and loved me.  I really would not have made it through these years without them.


“Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.”

-- Psalm 106:47

Photo of spiritual direction feet by Michelle Kroll, used under a Creative Commons License.  All other photos are my own.

Singleness is Sanctifying, Too

I’ve often heard that marriage is sanctification.  Sanctification is the theological word for becoming holy or becoming like Christ.  In a good marriage, people learn about themselves and getting along with others.  There is no denying God uses marriage to help people grow in their faith and become more Christ-like.  The problem is that every time we say this, it implies that you can’t really be sanctified if you aren’t married.  It reinforces the notion that serving God as a married person is better than serving God as a single person. 

Sanctification does not require marriage.  There are many ways that God sanctifies us.  Even more, marriage is not necessarily a better or quicker way to sanctification.  In fact, singleness can be part of sanctification, too.  Being single is a different training ground, but I truly believe it too can be fertile soil for becoming Christ-like.    

 One area of fertile soil is identity and trust.  Without another person, I am forced to deepen my identity in Christ.  I am not tempted to think that my boyfriend or husband is able to complete me.  I am who I am not because of my relationship status or who I am connected to.  I am a baptized daughter of God.  This is true of all of us who are in Christ, but being single takes away a temptation to find identity elsewhere. 

I have learned to trust God in different ways than if I was married.  I don’t have another person to rely on.  If I don’t have a job, there is no one else to support me.  If I have a stressful meeting, no one is waiting at home to comfort me.  If I need to make a decision, there is no one to help make the decision.  Instead, I live by faith.  I am learning to trust that God will provide for my needs.  I am learning to trust that God hears my prayers and binds up my broken heart.  I am learning to trust that God leads me and guides me in decision making.  Being single is fertile soil for sanctification in trust.     

This might sound counter-intuitive, but I have found being single to be a place to learn about community and hospitality.  You have to be intentional about developing community, when you don’t have built-in community with your spouse (although I would argue you still need to develop community with others when you’re married).  It takes work to maintain relationships.  There’s a learning curve to relationships—I have had to learn how to be vulnerable and let others in.  But those relationships can be sweet, friends that are family.  They are a community that has walked through some dark valleys, empty desserts, and sun-filled meadows with me.  I am better at all of the one-anothers we find in scripture because of this community.

 

The really awesome empty tomb cake my mom made for our Easter celebration!

Being single is also an opportunity to offer hospitality to others.  Before even offering hospitality, being single has given me a different insight into what it is like to be at the margins.  I don’t fit into what society expects, and it has made me more conscious of other people who might be feeling a bit out of place.  I want my life to be one that welcomes people in and gives them a place to feel at home.  What I desire to offer isn’t the stereotype of hospitality: dinner parties for couples or huge family dinners.  There is freedom associated with singleness and the type of hospitality I can offer.  I don’t have to figure out which family I’m going to spend holidays with.  This year, my parents came to celebrate Thanksgiving at my apartment with some of the refugees I work with.  At Easter, I took a family to my parents’ house for dinner.  I still have lots to learn (sanctification is a process, after all), but it is definitely a way that God is forming me.   

Getting married is not the only way to become sanctified.  There are plenty of sanctifying experiences and situations that come along with being single.  And so for all of us—whether married or single—my prayer is that we will “grow in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:15, NLT).


Personal photos taken on Iona, Scotland and at my parents' house in Michigan, taken in January and March 2013.

Sunday Afternoon Prayer: Kyrie Eleison

Kyrie eleison*.

It has been a long week in this world, Lord.

Full of violence to body, earth, and spirit.

Lord, have mercy.

Christe eleison.

Bombings.

Shootings.

Explosions.

Flooding.
Earthquakes.

Rejection.

Abuse.

Starvation.

Some of it unexpected,

And some of it horribly routine.

Christ, have mercy.

Kyrie eleison.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Come through your Word, Spirit, and Sacraments.

Come and show us that you are Immanuel—God with us.

Immanuel at the musty funeral home.

Immanuel in the sterile hospital room.

Immanuel at the prayer service.

Immanuel in the flooded home.

Immanuel when the computer bears bad news.

Immanuel when the partner keeps manipulating.

Immanuel when there is no rice or bread.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Come and bring your new heavens and new earth.

Come and turn swords into plowshares.

Come and wipe every tear from our eyes. 

Come, Lord Jesus.

Lord, have mercy on us!

*Kyrie eleison means “Lord have mercy” in Greek and is an ancient liturgical prayer.

Personal image taken on Iona, Scotland, January 2013.

Thanks to the Women Who Have Formed Me

When I was on the Isle of Iona in Scotland during January, I visited the Nunnery.  The Nunnery is the ruin of an Augustinian nunnery built in the thirteenth century.  For several hundred years, women lived, worked, and worshipped here.  Their lives were similar to the men who lived in the abbey down the road.  They worshipped God together.  They prayed.  They grew and prepared food for themselves.  They took care of the sick and needy.  They offered hospitality to those in need.  They lived in community with each other.

Nunnery Church

But these women's names and stories are mostly forgotten.  The ruins have not ben restored, and it is said that this is one of the best preserved nunneries in the British Isles.  As I explore the island I used a book called Around a Thin Place, published by the Iona Community's publishing house, to help guide my reflection at significant points.  At the Nunnery it calls attention to women of faith, both this whose names history has remembered and forgotten.  

Me and the Nunnery

It also asked us to remember women whose lives have shaped us.  I started to list women whose faith and love have shaped me, and it is a long, long list.  It starts with my mom, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and cousins.  Sunday school teachers and other adults from church growing up.  Family friends.  Women I went to college with.  My teammates in China.  Friends God gave me during my seminary years.  Mentors and colleagues in ministry.  

My mom and I at my ordination.  I love this picture!

I wouldn't be who I am without them.  God has used them to shape me.  To give me examples of loving Christ and serving the church.  To encourage the gifts they saw in me.  To challenge me and console me.  Today is my birthday, and as I reflect on my life I thank God for all of these women and the impact they have had on me.  And as I look to the future, I pray that I will have such an impact on those around me now and those who will look to me in the future.

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also" (2 Timothy 1:5). 

P.S. Many men have shaped me too, and I am thankful for them too.

UK #12: God Gathers, Protects, and Preserves

I wrote this on the plane, somewhere over the Atlantic off the coast of Greenland, and my way home (where I did arrive safely).  I have lots of specific stories to share in the coming days, but for this post I am going to focus on a theme that I have found again and again on this trip.  

A cross on the island of Iona, with the parish church in the background

 People have said the church in Europe is dying, or even dead.  When I talked to Rosie, she said that people have questioned why she is going into ministry, since the church is going to be gone in ten years.  And the church certainly doesn't have the cultural prominence that it once did.  But the church is not dead.

As I visited churches, from York Minster's Gothic arches to cushions on the floor at Holy Trinity Brompton in London (more on that in another post), the words of the Heidelberg Catechism echoed in my head: "God gathers, protects, and preserves [the church] for himself" (Q&A 54).  This is one of my favorite phrases in the Catechism because it reminds me that the church doesn't belong to me, or my congregation, or denomination.  We are God's church, God's people gathered in the world, and God is sovereign.

York Minster

God has been gathering the church for thousands of years.  Most of a thousand years in Britain alone.  God has passed down scripture through the ages--I saw Codex Sinaiticus at the British Library, which is the earliest manuscript of the complete New Testament from the middle of the fourth century (and it has the earliest and best witness for some Old Testament books).  It was all copied by hand in Greek.  It was moving to see how God passed his word from generation to generation.  God isn't going to drop the church now.  

So yes, the church looks different than it did 100 years ago.  
Yes, there are empty church buildings.  
Yes, it is not easy to be a Christian in Britain these days. 

St. Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh

But no, the church is not dead.  In fact, the church is growing in places.  I think because Alpha courses at starting now (or Christianity Explored at All Souls), many of the Sunday services I attended interviewed a member of the congregation that was a new Christian because of these courses.  So I got to hear a number of stories of how the church is growing because of evangelism. It was encouraging to see these new brothers and sisters in Christ and hear about how Jesus has changed their lives.

The church is not dead because God is not dead.  God is alive, and he continues to gather, protect, and preserve for himself the body of Christ. 

Worship at Holy Trinity Brompton in London

This is just as true of the church in the U.S., too.  I have heard that denominations are going to be gone in 10 years.  Our culture is changing.  It isn't as easy to be a Christian as it once was.  But I trust that God is still in control. Maybe the church will look different in 10 years.  If it does, I hope that we are as creative as some of the British churches.  I hope that we become as welcoming to different sorts of people without knowledge of the church. And I hope that we will see people of all ages being found by God and entering the church.  I look forward to serving this church and watching how God will continue to gather, protect, and preserve us.

UK #10: Worship in Edinburgh

I was in Edinburgh on Sunday, and I worshipped at two different churches.  I started with St. Giles' (John Knox's church) 8am Communion Service.  It was only 10 people (it was eight o'clock in the morning....).  It met in one of their side chapels, and it was a simple, quiet service.  There was no music, just scripture, prayers, a short sermon, and Communion.  The congregation did not have a printed liturgy, which nice in its simplicity, but not very hospitable to visitors.  They had some different wording than I am used to, so I was saying slightly different words at a couple of points.  I don't like that feeling, so I always want people to be able to follow a written version if there are communal responses.

Interior of St. Giles, although not where I worshiped

I really appreciated the sermon delivery.  It was very simple, which fit the setting.  He basically stood in one place and didn't use his hands.  But he didn't stand behind a pulpit and he didn't use notes.  It felt almost conversational, but it was clearly well thought-out and researched.  Then pastor was nearing retirement age, so his experience gives him a certain gravitas, as did his Scottish lilt.  But it felt doable to me--I could preach in that style and still feel like myself, which I often don't with no-manuscript preachers.  I appreciated this service for what it was, although it probably didn't give me the best feel for what the congregation is like.

Welcome to St. Pauls and St. George's!

At 11am, I went to St. Pauls and St. George's Scottish Episcopal church, on the recommendation of someone from COS.  I had a wonderful experience there.  I ended up not having any interviews with pastors in Edinburgh because a couple things didn't work out.  So Sunday morning, my prayer was that I would have some kind of a good conversation with someone.  God answered that prayer!  P & G's (as they call it) was a very friendly congregation.  I was there pretty early because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get there.  I found a seat while people were mingling over coffee between services (also in the worship area).  A woman noticed I was there and came over and talked to me, which was really nice.  Then, shortly after that, the woman who came to sit in the row in front of me introduced herself.  Her name is Rosie and she is attending seminary now, headed for ordination in the Scottish Episcopal Church.  She was excited to find out about my trip and invited me to come and sit with her and her family.  This is a wonderful example of how to extend hospitality at church!  I am used to sitting alone, and wouldn't have felt bad doing so, but being asked to sit with someone made me feel like I belonged in a much deeper way.  I think a lot of people are not very comfortable sitting alone, so imagine the way you could welcome someone by inviting them to sit with you!  This probably goes couples or families, too.

The worship was contemporary in style.  It was thoughtful contemporary with very good musicians, and the congregation sang well.  Other than the sermon, the service was led by a young, female associate pastor.  The service involved a baptism that she led beautifully.  I don't have a lot of opportunities to see other young women in action, so that was a nice bonus.

View of the sanctuary from the balcony, after the service

During the service, she interviewed a man who was a participant in their last Alpha course to encourage people to attend or invite someone to their course that starts this week.  The man was probably around 60 years old, and he described himself as a cynic about faith.  He happened upon P &G's because he was trying to find the church across the street for an event.  He talked to a church member who said that he would be welcome at P &G's, and so he came once.  He also attended the Alpha course to explore Christianity.  Jesus met him through this course and he is now a Christian and attending P&G's.  I was thankful to get to hear his story and see one way God is working.

Rosie and I talked about the ways that the church is changing, but not dying out.  She pointed out that in the middle Ages everyone was Christian, but it wasn't a personal faith.  People trusted the priests to do the work of faith for them.  In later eras the number of people attending church remained high because that is what you did.  But now, it is a choice people have to make.  The number of people that attend church are smaller, but it is probably a more committed group of people.  She also shared that in Scotland, most young people have had no church exposure, so they are starting from scratch with Biblical knowledge, but people are interested in learning.  Her husband goes regularly to their son's school to teach Bible stories to interested students.  Half of the students attend to learn the stories.  They and their parents are wanting to learn more.  Rosie has had people question why she is entering the ministry because "the church is going to be dead in 10 years." But she sees new life and trusts that God is still working through the church in Scotland, even if it looks different than it did 100 years ago.  That resonates with what I have observed other places, and what I think is true for the church in the U.S., too.

More Edinburgh pictures on Facebook, and you don't have to be a member to view them.

UK #9: My Reformation Conflict in Edinburgh

It is probably almost heretical for me to admit this, but after spending a couple of days immersed in Scottish history in Edinburgh, I have mixed feelings about the Reformation.  

I started my historic tour at the famous castle.  It is an impressive fortress and told the story of centuries of war or fragile peace between Scotland and others, mostly the English.  The castle mostly eliminated references to the religious forces shaping many of the conflicts (which is an interesting observation by itself), but other sites were more balanced.  In the 1500-1700s, many of the conflicts were at least influenced by what was happening in the church.

Edinburgh Castle from the outside

I visited St. Giles Cathedral, which despite the name, is known as the "mother church of Presbyterianism".  John Knox was the pastor here from 1559-1572, as the Reformation conflict roared in Scotland.  It is an interesting church because it has a number of side "aisles" which are sort of like large alcoves off the main sanctuary area.  On one side of the church is the Chapman Aisle, which has a memorial to James Graham, who was loyal to the crown and Catholicism.  He was executed and later buried in a crypt beneath the church.  On the other side of the sanctuary is St. Eloi's aisle, which has a memorial to Archibald Campbell, a supporter of the reformers and a bitter enemy of James Graham.  He was executed too.  Many wonderful things resulted from the Reformation, but they came at a high price.

Center of St. Giles Cathedral

Then I went farther down the street to John Knox's house.  Historians think he only lived here the last few months of his life.  Before that, it belonged to one of Mary Queen of Scots' jeweler and goldsmith.  In the fighting that surrounded the Reformation (which led to Mary being forced to abdicate the throne for her son James VI), the goldsmith stayed loyal to the queen and the Roman Catholic Church.  He became part of a revolt to return her to the throne, but they lost and he lost his worldly goods as well.  The house was empty and Knox's health was failing, so he probably lived and then died here.

Dressed as John Knox for a photo

Today the house is a museum.  It captured much of the complexity of the Reformation and the pain it caused the nation.  It has early copies of Calvin's Institutes and a portrait of Knox by Theodore Beza (who knew he was an artist?  I missed that in Church History).  It shares the tremendous impact Knox had on the church, and his illustrious ideas for education for all and care for the poor.  

But it also shares the story of the original owners.  Although we might say they were on the "wrong" side, I suspect they too were trying to do the right thing, and paid the price.  The Reformation wasn't just a war of words waged through the books, letters, and confessions we read today, it was a war.  People died for their beliefs--on both sides.  And that makes me sad.

I also went to the National Museum of Scotland.  It is huge, beautiful, and informative.  I could have easily spent an entire day there.  In their galleries about Scottish history, they had sections about how Christianity came to Scotland and the effect it has had.  I was a bit horrified to see some of the effects of the Reformation, like instruments of torture used on suspected witches.  Instead of feeling proud of being a product of the Reformation, my time in Edinburgh left me wishing there was another way.  

Inside the Museum

At my classical exam (last step for ordination), one of the questions was something like what do you love and hate about the church?  I remember saying that I hate how the church is fractured into pieces and we continue to fight about things, if not on Reformation scale, on the local-church scale.  And I do hate how things divide us into different Christian branches and denominations.  I hate how some Christians can't take communion with others.  I hate how we judge and say this is the only way you must practice faith.  

And yet at the same time, I am so thankful for the Reformation.  I am thankful that I can read the Bible in my heart language and so can people from Nepal and Burundi.  I am thankful for our passion for God's word.  I am thankful that I don't have to go through anyone (and no one has to go through me) to communicate to God.  I am thankful for the Reformation's emphasis on the priesthood of all believers, so we all have important parts to play in the church.  I am thankful for our confessions that help us to teach and learn our faith.

I just wish that it didn't come at such a high cost.  I wish that Protestants hadn't reacted so harshly on so many occasions.  

I hope and pray that in my lifetime I will see parts of the church come back together instead of splintering more.  I hope that we can worship and serve together with brothers and sisters of different Christian background.  I hope that we can all have the humility to learn from each other and not just assume that our way is the way.  And I long for the wedding feast of the lamb where I hope we will all get to take Mass/Eucharist/Holy Communion/Lord's Supper together as one body.

UK #8: My Iona Reflections

Going to somewhere that is known as a "thin place" sets some expectations.  I hoped this would be a time away and that I would experience God in a closer way.  And there is something special abut this place where people have been worshiping  in special ways for thousands of years.  And perhaps it is an easier place to pay attention to God than the pressure of every day life.  But I didn't hear any new messages from God.  Instead, in gentle whispers, God reminded me that he is faithful.

The first whisper came as the ferry was approaching Mull--a partial rainbow.  When I arrived at the B&B, I saw another.  Rainbows remind me of Noah and God's promise to never destroy the world with a flood again. God has remained faithful to that promise, and so many other promises.  It is part of who God is.

And then, the first two nights I was there, the sky was clear and the stars were amazing.  The sky was covered with them.  That reminded me of God's promise to the barren Abraham, and God's reminder of his faithfulness through stars earlier this fall (sense a theme?).  I did a Bible search for other places the Bible talks about stars, and found Psalm 147: "He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.  He determines the number of the stars, and calls them each by name.  Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."

And then, as I was visiting sites around the island with a book from the Iona Community that provides reflections and prayers for each stop, I visited St. Martin's cross.  It stands at the front of the abbey, and has for 1200 years, "through Viking raids, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Reason, the industrial revolution, the world wars, the cold war"  (Around a Thin Place, pg. 17). And through all of that, God has remained the same.  Faithful.  

The cross, the stars, and the rainbows were all reminders that God cares for his people and is faithful to his promises.  In a world and time of life that often seems uncertain and out of my control, it is a reminder that I need.
God is faithful.  He is in control.  And he cares for all of us.

If you want to see more Iona pictures, see my Facebook album.  

UK #7: The Iona Community

Iona Abbey

One of the reasons the Isle of Iona has contemporary significance and is well-known in some Christian circles is the Iona Community. I think in North America we sometimes think of them as being the whole island, but they are not. In fact they share the abbey with Historic Scotland who cares for and manages the site. 

In the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression, a pastor named George MacLeod came up with the idea to restore the abbey using unemployed craftsmen and young pastors (so they would have training before they went to urban missions). In addition to their construction work, they practiced living in community. Today the Iona Community is "an ecumenical Christian community of men and women engaged together, and with people of goodwill across the world, in acting, reflecting,and praying for justice, peace and the integrity of creation; convinced that the inclusive community we seek must be embodied in the community we practice." It is a sort of untraditional monastic order. Members commit to live by a shared rule which includes daily prayer and Bible reading, mutual accountability for use of time and money, meeting together, and action for justice and peace. There are about 300 members, mostly in Britain. They are divided into geographical family groups. There are also 1450 associate members and 1250 friends scattered across the world "from Michigan to Malawi." 

The abbey on Iona serves as a sort of base. There is a core group of resident staff, and from March to October they offer week-long experience of living in community for people from around the world. They also maintain daily worship at the abbey, which is open to the public. I joined in a couple of their morning prayer services while I was on the island. They were small, quiet gatherings with a few songs, prayers of confession and intercession, and a scripture reading. Each day in their intercessory prayer, they pray for specific countries, specific needs, and specific members of the community (on a cycle that all members follow). 

Chapel where worship is held in the winter

 Before coming, I was probably most familiar with the Iona Community's publishing and especially liturgical resources. I think that is probably what has made the biggest worldwide impact. We have used some of their liturgies at ÇOS (an excerpt I shared). Many songs we sing regularly come through the Wild Goose Resource Group: "He Came Down, " "Take, O Take Me As I Am," "Your Will Be Done On Earth," "Come Now, O Prince of Peace," "Come All You People" and more. 

 What I knew less about was the Community's commitment to advocate for social justice and peace. In the Abbey church, they have some displays about different justice issues. Their shop is completely fair trade (much of it local). It was a great place to do a bit of shopping. I am not exactly sure what this commitment looks like in the everyday life of a member, but I would be curious to find out some day. Looking at this ancient building and place and seeing Christians confront modern problems and experiences is inspiring. Throughout my trip so far, I have noticed that trend--communities breathing new life into old places and practices without demolishing the old. 

Displays on social justice issues

I am fascinated by the idea of living in community, while not actually living together. Things like their rule bind them together, but they can actually be spread apart. I wonder what this could look like in other situations. I am thinking especially of pastor-types who make friends and have community, but move often. This question of how to have community when people keep moving or getting married and moving, knowing there is a good chance I'll be moving this summer has been on my mind in the past few months.

St. John's cross (modern replica)

 I wonder if we could create a community for ourselves based not on living near each other, but on a rule that we would create and a commitment that we would continue to support each other. I think our rule would look a bit different than the Iona Community, but I think it could work. I would be interested to try.

UK #6: Pilgrimage to Iona

From Glasgow, I really started my journey to the Isle of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland.  This small island has been a place to go on a pilgrimage for centuries.  People have described it as a "thin place" where only a tissue paper separates the material from the spiritual (Around a Thin Place, Jane Bentley and Neil Paynter, 2011).  In my original itinerary, I wasn't going to come to Iona, because it is January and many things are closed down.  But many people asked if Iona was on the itinerary.  A friend who lived in Scotland for a few years said go even though it'll be January.  I updated my itinerary and started thinking about this as the "adventure" portion of the trip.



I left Glasgow on the train to a port city called Oban.  The three hour trip is part of the West Highland Line, which has been voted the most scenic rail line in the world.  I didn't know that until I saw a sign at the train station--I was just taking it because it was where I needed to go.  But it was beautiful.  The most beautiful train ride I have taken in my life!  

View from the train to Oban

Welcome to Oban!

When I got off the train, in Oban, I walked the five minutes to the ferry terminal.  I got on a ferry to the island of Mull.  That ferry was about forty five minutes, and the sky was clearing up, so there were some beautiful interactions between grey clouds and sunlight.

View from the ferry

Me on the ferry

On Mull, I got on one of the waiting buses.  It took an hour long route across the island on a basically one lane road.  It was also beautiful.  

The one lane road part 

The beautiful part

And then, at the end of the bus ride, I got on another ferry.  This one was a short ten minute ride across the Iona Sound to the island of Iona.  I finally made it.  Once on Iona I've been doing a lot of walking.  It isn't a huge island (3 1/2 miles long by 1 mile wide), but you have to be more intentional about walking than driving.

In this place of pilgrimage, that still isn't exactly easy to get to I've been thinking about the idea of pilgrimage.  It isn't a common spiritual discipline these days like it was in years gone by.  But two things stand out to me.  First, space is important.  Second, the journey is important.

St. Columba in stained glass

Going somewhere is obviously an important part of pilgrimage.  You don't take a pilgrimage to no where.  People came to Iona because St. Columba, an Irish monk came here in 563AD.  He set up a monastery, which prospered.  Historians believe that the Book of the Kells, a richly illustrated New Testament was probably started at the abbey on Iona.  Iona became a place that tradition says royals, including Shakespeare's Macbeth, were brought here to be buried.  Around 1200, a Benedictine abbey replaced the Columbian one (on the same location).  Today, the Iona Community makes Iona their base.  This little island has seen generations of faithful Christians, worshiping and working in the world.  It is a special space.

The restored abbey from the road pilgrims took

And space and place are important for our Christian lives.  For one, it is part of being an embodied human.  God did jot create ethereal spirits to live in a spiritual world.  God created humans with bodies--male and female bodies--in a garden.  And he looked at all that he had made and said it is good.  And so special places matter.  Pilgrimage to those places is one way that we can connect with God and grow in faith.

But it isn't just the space.  The journey is important, too.  Since I've traveled a bit in life, the image of life as a journey resonates with me.  I don't always know what the next leg of the journey will be like.  Sometimes it is monotonous and you just want to get there already.  Sometimes you get lost and you really don't know where you are.  But the journey can also be beautiful.  The work of the journey can make you appreciate where you end up even more.  And the journey is important for itself--on it we develop patience and persistence.  It shapes who we are.  Sometimes I need a reminder, that it isn't just getting to the next landmark (milestone) in life, but the way I live on the journey to that landmark.

And so I have joined Christians from the past and present in making a pilgrimage here, and finding that God does seem nearer on this rocky slab in the sea.  I pray that I will take these reminders and images and allow them to inspire and strengthen me as I return to ordinary life of work and worship.

UK #5: Adelaides in Glasgow

Monday marked a transition in my trip.  I left Poole and people I knew or got to know and set out on solo travel across the UK.  I started by traveling north, to Glasgow, Scotland.  I wasn't in Glasgow for very long, sadly.  But I enjoyed the time I had.

When I was preparing for my trip, one of the accommodations listed in Rick Steves' Great Britain 2013 is Adelaides Guesthouse.  It is in "a multitasking church building."  A tiny bit of internet research showed me that they are in the same building as Adelaide Place Baptist Church.  The guesthouse had an opening for the night (I turned out to be their first guest of 2013, as they'd been on a holiday break) so I made a reservation.  Then I sent an e-mail to the pastor of the church, telling him about my trip and asking if he would be available to meet with me the afternoon or evening I would be there.  To my surprise, he quickly wrote back and said yes.

So Monday afternoon, I spent some time with him, hearing how it came to be that their church building also houses a guesthouse and nursery (day care center).  The congregation has been worshipping in this building since 1877, and it is in the city center.  Like many such churches, members started into move to the suburbs, and membership started declining.  

About 18 years ago, they discovered dry rot in their building, which would cost a significant amount to repair.  They had to grapple with what to do about their building.  At about the same time they did a survey of areas of ministry need.  They found that there were six areas of need, and they couldn't address them all.  They decided to focus on the business community, partly since it is less common than ministering to the urban poor or students.  They thought creatively, and decided to start  business, Adelaides.  They mission would be to extend the kingdom of God through profitable enterprise.  They raised the money to renovate the building.  Now it houses an eight room guesthouse and a day care center to 6 week-olds-5-year-olds.  They also rent out their auditorium and other meeting space for a variety of events.  When they started they also had a cafe because there weren't many lunch places in the area, but that didn't seem to take off, so they have since closed it.

The businesses are formally seperate from the church, but the board of directors is made up almost entirely of church members, so they work hand-in-hand.  It isn't an easy mission.  Just managing the businesses takes an incredible amount of time and energy.  The pastor has been a key piece in getting this started and keeping it together.  They have sown lots of seeds and come into contact with lots of people who wouldn't otherwise have contact with a church.  But they haven't had many conversions (at least that they know of) because of this venture.

The pastor was honest that this is unique and it is a hard road.  They have had to sacrifice as a congregation--time, space, being able to use their space spontaneously, and probably other things.  Personally, I would not want to do what he has done with managing a business and being a pastor, because I'm pretty sure in would be bad at it and it just wouldn't be a good fit for me. But I am thankful for the congregation at Adelaide Place Baptist.  For their creativity to try something new.  For their commitment to keep working at it and making it better.  And for their passion to serve the people in their community.  I pray that God will bless them, and that they will see the fruits of their labors.

And the guesthouse was a fun place to stay, complete with a manager who lived up to Rick Steves' description of a "quirky sense of humor." He called me the "American vicar" and was shocked to learn I didn't realize that Kim Kardashian is now pregnant by Kanye and she's still married to the other guy (basketball player?).


Map image in public domain, from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scotland_map.png