Sunday Afternoon Prayer: Give Us the Attentiveness of the Wise Men

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” 

--Matthew 2:2, NLT

Tomorrow is Epiphany in the church calendar, when the church traditionally remembers the arrival of the wise men to worship Jesus.  In that tradition I offer this prayer inspired by their worship.

Almighty God who took on infant flesh,

you were worshipped by shepherds and wise men,

people who searched for you with passion,

all to worship Jesus.

Give us the attentiveness of the wise men,

who noticed the oddity in the sky,

and followed it,

all to worship Jesus.

Give us the perseverance of the wise men,

who travelled from a far off land,

through deserts and dangers,

all to worship Jesus.

Give us the generosity of the wise men,

who brought costly gifts,

fit for a dying king,

all to worship Jesus.

Give us the joy of the wise men,

who rejoiced when they arrived in Bethlehem,

finally reaching their goal,

all to worship Jesus.

May we worship you,

with attentiveness,

with perseverance,

with generosity,

and with joy.

In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Personal photo (of a nativity scene I made), January 2014.

Goodbye, Grand Rapids

Tonight is the last night I will sleep in my apartment in Grand Rapids.  For the foreseeable future, it is the last night I will stay in GR as a resident, and not someone’s guest.  This is a sad night for me.  This is the place I became an adult.  I have lived here for 3/4 of my adult life.  I went to Calvin College here.  I went to Calvin Theological Seminary here.  I had my first call at Church of the Servant here.  Living in Grand Rapids has shaped me in so many ways. 
People love to hate Grand Rapids; some call it “bland rapids.”  It is not as big or as cosmopolitan as New York or Chicago.  But Grand Rapids has its own charm.  There are lots of wonderful places and things to do in Grand Rapids.  Let me share a few of my favorites with you:

• Calvin College—where I learned how to be a thinking Christian mindful of the broader world
• Oakdale Park CRC—the church I attended while I was at Calvin
• Ice skating at Rosa Park circle
• Little Africa Ethiopian restaurant—a favorite place my friends would go when we were at Calvin
• $5 student tickets to the Grand Rapids Symphony
• Calvin Theological Seminary—where I did the formal education part of becoming a pastor
• Monroe Community Church—the church that loved me through seminary
• Kava House
• Art Prize—most interesting and fun thing that has started in GR recently
• The Green Well—a favorite with some of my seminary-era friends
• Peking Wok (which has very sadly closed)
• Eerdman’s Bookstore—they have a great selection of discount Eerdman's books
• Concerts at Calvin College—why didn’t I go to more when I was a student?  They have really interesting artists
• The Festival of Faith and Writing—so many wonderful readers and writers gathered together
• Church of the Servant—where I became a pastor
• Summer concerts at the Fredrik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater
• Bethany Refugee Services and the hundreds of refugees that are resettled here every year
• Baker Books and Icons Coffee—wonderful bookstore and coffee shop really close to my house
• Kentwood Public Library

And of course, the people are such an important part of Grand Rapids and my experience here.  Professors and friends from Calvin College.  Professors, staff, and students at Calvin Seminary, where I was enfolded into community.  Other wonderful friends that I made during my seminary days.  Colleagues and congregants at Church of the Servant.  I wouldn’t be who I am without all of you all.
I don’t know where I am going to land in the future, but I am thankful for the ways Grand Rapids has shaped me, and I am excited to take that with me to my unknown destination.  Thanks, Grand Rapids.  Its been great!  

Sunday Afternoon Prayer: He Didn’t Know Where He Was Going

 

 

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.  And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:8-12).

 

 

 

God of Abraham,

You called Abraham to a place, but you didn’t tell him where it was.

You asked him to make a leap of faith, to trust that you were faithful and had a plan.

You made crazy promises (descendants to an infertile couple?) to Abraham,

and you kept your promises.

 

Promise-keeping God,

I’m really holding on to the fact that you are faithful, because things look pretty confusing right now.

I’m trusting that you have called me to a place, but haven’t told me where it is yet.

I’m packing my boxes, trying to figure out what I’ll need if the waiting lasts 2 months, and what I’ll need if its 4 more months, or 6 months,

trusting that you have a plan for all of this.

 

Faithful God,

Give me the faith of Abraham, the faith to trust you to guide me to a place,

Give me the trust of Abraham to make my home in a temporary place,

Give me the patience to wait to see how you’ll work,

because I “consider him faithful who had made the promise.”

Amen.

 

Photo by Joana Bourne, used under a Creative Commons License.

Trouble and Grace

"The world is Trouble...and Grace.  That is all there is."

So concludes Henry Smith in Gary Schmidt's young adult novel, Trouble (pg. 296).   Trouble tells the story of Henry's family's failed attempts to avoid Trouble, and how they find Grace instead.  The Smith family is old money in Massachusetts.  They live in a home that has stood strong for 300 years.  Henry's father always said, "if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you" (pg. 1). 

You know when that is the first line of a novel, their existence will soon change, because Trouble is lurking just around the corner in this world.  Trouble does come and it changes the family forever.  I don't want to spoil the novel for you, but Trouble comes in the form of cars, history, prejudice, arson, love, and death.  The family discovers you can't actually avoid Trouble.  It is everywhere, whether you like it or not.

But as they live with the Trouble, the Smith family also finds Grace.  It turns out to be harder to see and more nuanced than their initial reaction to Trouble: just saying everything is "fine." Grace means making hard decisions about who to love.  Grace means doing things the hard, but right, way.  Grace means taking a hard look at each other and seeing the truth.  It comes in with a whisper, and it changes the Smith family.  In the end, Henry finds Trouble and Grace are all that's left.

Trouble and Grace.  These are also the two words that frame the method I learned to preach.  In

seminary, our basic preaching textbook was called The Four Pages of the Sermon.  The four pages are not literal, but four figurative moves of a sermon (an outline of sorts).  In this method you start by discussing the Trouble in the text and then a parallel Trouble in the world.  Then you move on to the Grace in the text and Grace in the world.  Some of my classmates hated this method (and some of the non-preaching profs weren't that fond of it either), but I found that it worked well for me, especially as I got started.  I'll freely admit it works much better with some types of texts than others--as I preached through the Sermon in the Mount this year I preached very few strict four page sermons.  But even when I use an alternate structure, these rhythms of Trouble and Grace remain.  

The Bible is full of Trouble and Grace. Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless, and God gave them a son.  The writer of Psalm 46 felt like his world was falling apart, and trusted that God would keep him safe.  The foolish man built his house on the sand, and the wise man's house stood strong.  Like the Bible, our lives are full of Trouble and Grace. God brings hope in the midst of dashed expectations. God keeps us safe despite the chaos of our world.  God helps us to build our lives on God.  Even if our lives seem full of one or the other at a particular time, when we think about a congregation, it is inevitably full of both.  Someone who just lost their job sits next to someone who just got promoted.  Trouble and Grace.  And God working in the midst of both.  Sometimes God's Grace is presence with us as we walk through times of Trouble, and sometimes Grace means God removes the Trouble.

For the Smith family, God is present with them through Trouble (although they don't articulate that in the novel).  And God brings them Grace.  That's one of the reasons I have found the rhythms of the Four-Page Method helpful: "The world is Trouble...and Grace.  That is all there is."

Personal Photo at Lake Michigan Recreation Area, June 2013

Thanks, Mom!

Recently my sister wrote this lovely post for “Papa Bear” (aka our dad).  I spent my Sabbath time this weekend camping at Lake Michigan Recreation Area, part of the Huron-Manistee National Forest between Ludington and Manistee.  While I was camping and hiking and reading on the beach, I thought about her post, and also that I didn’t only learn about the outdoors from my dad.  I learned a lot from my mom, too.

My campsite this weekend

Mom taught me that you always take your shoes off before you go inside the tent and you always sweep it out before you take it down.

Pizza tonka/hobo pie/sandwich cooked in a pie iron

Mom taught me how to cook not just in a kitchen but over a fire and camp stove.

Mushroom at my campsite

Mom taught me to spot the fungi and pay attention to details in the woods.

 

Reading at Holland State Park, August 2012

Mom taught me to read and to love reading (indoors, outdoors, it doesn’t matter as long as the book is good!).

Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington State Park, April 2013.  I still like this one, even though Mom made us hike 5 miles through the sand to get there the first time (or so the story goes).

Mom taught me to love history and pay attention to lighthouses.

Porter Creek empties into Lake Michigan

Mom taught me all about the awesome state of Michigan.

White birch behind my campsite

 Mom taught me the difference between a white birch, white oak, and white pine tree.

On a hike in the Nordhouse Dunes National Wilderness Area

Mom taught me to be strong and confident so I can have adventures on my own.

Thanks, Mom!

Tahquamenon River Vacation

After the wedding last weekend, I continued farther north to Paradise! 

Paradise, MI is on Whitefish Bay of Lake Superior, just north of where the Tahquamenon River flows into the lake.

 

Whitefish Bay at the Rivermouth

I went for an outdoor, camping getaway.  I stayed at Tahquamenon Falls State Park’s Rivermouth Semi-Modern Campground.  It is a beautiful campground, right along the Tahquamenon River.  I also liked the semi-modern aspect—that means it is a rustic campground with vault (pit) toilets and water faucets, but no electricity or paved pads.  It is right next to the modern campground, so I was just a short walk away from a modern bathhouse with showers, which is my big campground criteria.

I spent lots of time watching the river in different weather and at different times of day, whether there was bright sun or drizzling rain.  I also observed a beaver in the river and a number of different kinds of birds.  I think that was the first time I’d ever seen a beaver in the wild and it was pretty cool to watch it right across the river eating grass and bushes.

The real reason for Tahquamenon Falls State Park is, of course, the famous Tahquamenon Falls.  They really are a beautiful part of God’s creation!  There are the magnificent Upper Falls, which are some of the tallest falls east of the Mississippi River.  The river is the orange/brown color because of tannin that leaches into the water from Hemlock, Cedar, and Spruce trees in the area the river flows through. 

Although the Upper Falls are the more famous ones, I actually think that the Lower Falls are more interesting.  They are a set of five smaller falls cascading down around a small island.  There are trails along one side of the river, but the better way to see them is to rent a row boat and take it to the island.  From the island you can get close to the falls and even wade into them when it is warmer and the water is lower.  You can also see the falls that are on the opposite side of the island from the trail.

I also hiked between the falls.  The trail follows the river, sometimes high above the river and sometimes right alongside of it.  It is about a five mile hike, so I used a shuttle service to spot me to the beginning and hiked back to my car.

One day I also drove up to Whitefish Point, which extends up into Lake Superior.  The stretch of Lake Superior to the west of Whitefish Point (to the Pictured Rocks area) is one of the most dangerous areas of the Great Lakes.  There is a museum about the many shipwrecks in the area on the Point.  We went there when I was kid on family vacation, but somehow I was picturing the shipwrecks happening because of horrible storms and ships alone at sea.  Actually, many of the shipwrecks happened because of collisions with other ships.  I also found the additional buildings really interesting, especially a volunteer who does a lot of diving on shipwrecks.

 

All in all, it was a great vacation.  I was blessed to be able to get away, have some quiet, and enjoy the sunshine, rain, and outdoors.  I came back feeling much calmer and able to engage life.

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 #1: Unity in Christ

I have not had a lot of internet access this week, so I haven't been able to post yet.  But I hope there will be more to come (with pictures) in the next few days!  

I arrived safely, and early (!) in England on the morning of January 1, local time.  Immigration, customs, and getting a coach (long distance bus) were all easy.

I took the coach to Poole, which is in southern England, about a two and a half hour coach ride from London   My friend, J, lives in Poole.  J is an American, and we were teammates in China.  She is getting married on Friday to a British man, so I will be able to attend her wedding.  But it is also great because this time gives me an opportunity to get to know some ordinary British Christians.  I am staying with one of J's friends, who is very hospitable, and I am able to experience a British home.

Tuesday evening (the day I arrived), she and J's sister hosted a wedding shower for J.  Wedding showers are an American custom so there was lots of explaining and 'interpreting' going on between the two cultures.  Even the rather ridiculous toilet-paper-wedding-dress-game (where you divide into teams and each team creates a wedding dress for a member of their team out of toilet paper, and then the bride judges which is best), somehow seemed less ridiculous as a cultural exchange.

As easy as it is to travel around, Great Britain is still very different.  The architecture has a very different look.  Driving on the other side of the road means all of my innate traffic sense is gone.  And those are just some obvious things I noticed in my first few hours here.

The shower was a good example of the differences between the two cultures.  But it was also a good example of how what holds us together, especially as Christians, is much greater than what separates us.  As we gave J her gifts, each person was also asked to hare a verse, quote, or other word of wisdom.  Most people shared Bible verses or other Christian wisdom.  At the end, we made a circle around J and had a time of prayer.  In prayer for our sister, we were one--British accent or American.  God is so much bigger than the cultural differences that divide us.

'In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all' (Col. 3:11)!

Christ is all and in all.  I expect that will be a theme of this trip.  Despite all the differences n language and culture and ways we do church, Christ is bigger than all of it and brings us together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  

Sunday Afternoon Prayer: For Life's Journey

This is my sermon text for our Old Year's service this evening.  We will think about how God, the maker of all things--not the gods of the hills--kept us through all the situations we have faced in the past year, and how we can trust that he will do the same in the year to come.  Tomorrow, it will be my traveling prayer as I set out on a pilgrimage of my own.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents. 

Mt. Tai in Tai an, China, where I lived for a year.  This is a holy mountain in China, where people go to pray, like the culture surrounding the psalmist.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Sunday Afternoon Prayer: We Are Waiting

This afternoon’s prayer is inspired by a song that we are using as our prayer of illumination during Advent, “We Are Waiting” (Contemporary Songs for Worship 18, text and tune Greg Scheer).

We are waiting, waiting, waiting to hear God’s word.

We are waiting, waiting, speak we are listening Lord.

It’s Advent, and we’re waiting, God.

I am waiting, God.  Waiting to see what will happen in my life.  Waiting to see where you will lead me.  Waiting.

My parishioners are waiting, God.  Waiting for their families to be able to join them in the U.S.  Waiting to see what you have for their lives.  Waiting.

My friends are waiting, God.  Waiting for graduations, babies, and proposals.  Waiting to see how you will guide them.  Waiting.

We are waiting, God.  Waiting for you to return and make all things new.  Waiting to hear the trumpets of your arrival.  Waiting.

Maranatha.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Photo by Li'l Wolf, http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneelocke/2201266557/, 22 December 2012.  Used under a Creative Commons License.

A Preview of Coming Attractions

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.