York--Week 7 (Transition)

We left London this past week and made our way up to York.  Along the way we spent a few days in Cambridge visiting the University.  Unfortunately, not much was open to visitors because the term had just ended and each of the colleges was hosting highly-exclusive, over the top parties for their students.  One we heard about included camel rides and we saw preparations for another that were unloading bumper cars from a big truck to set up in the college green.  Sadly, try as we might, we were not offered tickets and were unable to find a way to crash one of them.  Guess we don't look so much like students anymore.  On a positive note, however, if anyone needs a punting chauffeur, let Jay know--he's pretty good.

From Cambridge we took the train to York and settled in at the house Calvin College rents for the faculty who travel here on their semester in England program.  It's an ideal place for us to catch our breaths a bit--centrally located, plenty of space for the girls, and well-equipped.  York is a fascinating city with a long history, and we're enjoying soaking it up. 

On Sunday morning we worshiped at the York Minster, a cathedral that dominates the city.  It was a high Anglican service with lovely music in an extraordinary space.  We went home, took naps, and came back for the evening service at St. Michael's le Belfrey, right next door to the Minster.  St. Mike's (as locals fondly refer to it), is one of the largest Anglican churches in the UK (at least numbers-wise).  It had some striking parallels to Holy Trinity Brompton in London--especially in clearly assuming that the Holy Spirit is at work in the life and worship of the congregation and making room for that to be felt and heard.

We met with Vicar Matthew Porter on Monday afternoon, and he shared some of their vision of being a coordinating force for renewal throughout all of northern England.  They, too, are going through a number of significant changes and transitions, and are seeking God's will for what is next.  We appreciated their ability to communicate a clear evangelical message with also a call to act justly and love mercy.

I've just returned from hearing York University present Benjamin Britten's War Requiem in the York Minster.  A truly remarkable and humbling experiencing--an incredibly moving piece about the horrors of war and the mess that we as humans have made of the world in the midst of a building which unlike most any other communicates the grandness and power and sovereignty of God above all else.

We've also been reflecting on how intertwined church and state are here.  Most any church, especially the larger ones, has displayed a number of coats of arms from prominent families that helped past kings or queens in particular battles.  The York Minster here has carvings of the first sixteen or so kings of England as part of the choir screen that sits in front of the congregation.  It's something both the American and Christian Reformed contexts of Boston Square react strongly against, with the American emphasis on the separation of church and state and the Christian Reformed history of many of the founders of the denomination being suspicious of the state church in the Netherlands.   

We're excited to think of all the activity at Boston Square this week, including the youth and leaders who are in Cincinnati.  May God bless you all and your work.

Jay

Misadventures of the week:  (1).  After meeting with Matthew Porter at St. Mike's, we left our diaper changing pad in the meeting room.  When we next needed it back home, we couldn't find it anywhere.  It was past time the church was closed, so we retraced our steps back to the church, looking in all the garbage cans along the way, just in case it had fallen out of the bottom of the stroller on our meanderings after the meeting.  No luck--we made due overnight and then made the first stop the next morning St. Mike's.  Sure enough--there it was right on the table.  (2).  Emma is starting to embrace the traveler's lifestyle.  When we get back to our apartment after the day's adventures, she will often take Brianna on a walking tour of the home.  "This chair here is really old..."  "That's a really old painting..."  "Look, Brianna, here is where we do baptisms..."