Week 11 - Back to Michigan!

It is a bit hard to wrap our minds around the fact that we began the week in Edinburgh, Scotland and are concluding it in Ferrysberg, MI - modern travel is pretty amazing!

We had a lovely few days in Edinburgh, taking in some of the sights and worshipping at St. Giles Cathedral on Sunday.  Scottish Reformer John Knox was the pastor of St Giles for many years, and after the service we also went and toured the home where he lived the last years of his life.   The house/museum was full of various quotes from or about Knox, including his famous line railing against 'this monstrous regiment of women' and critics' complaints that his preaching was so influential it was like thunder heard for miles around.  Quite the interesting and complicated figure God used to lead the church.  We visited the National Museum of Scotland and got to see the Lewis Chessmen (mysterious Viking chess pieces found in nothern Scotland), various artifacts from the convent on Iona, and special leather satchels that monks designed especially for carrying sacred texts around Scotland and Ireland.  (Being a fan of both books and bags, I was much more impressed with that particular exhibit than Jay and the girls were - they were more into the hands-on build your own small catapult display.)

And then, it was time to fly home.   Once again we were so grateful for all of your prayers for our safety and for cheerful daughters, as the flight home was uneventful and the girls did really well on the 9 hour flight back. We had a short visit with my mom and dad on our way back across the state.  It was so good to be able to see and talk with them in person.  Mom is in good spirits and they (and we) are so grateful for all of your prayers on her behalf!

We're now in Ferrysberg, sorting through mail and trying get day and night straight again, and beginning to process all that we've seen and learned and been reading so far.  A few themes are emerging.  The first has to do with mission - that as believers individually and together we get to look for and participate in what God is already doing in the world - restoring relationships and reconciling people to God in Christ.  The second has to do with context - that each church is unique and that the work of the Spirit in each place is also in many ways in unique.  And the third has to do with the Holy Spirit - a growing awareness of the work of the Spirit in our lives and a growing expectancy about what the Spirit has begun at Boston Square.

We'll be spending next week with Jay's parents and siblings and are looking forward to reconnecting with them.  It will be a bit before we make another post because we won't have internet access. You all continue to be in our thoughts and prayers - especially the Huizingas, Howards, and Sinkes and Vacation Bible School this week.

peace,
Elizabeth

misadventures - so, we figured out why it was a bit hard to find acommodations in Edinburgh for this week - the end of the British Open!  the city was full of avid golf fans - an interesting crowd.  And, after travelling around all sorts of corners of the United Kingdom for eleven weeks, we realized somewhat sheepishly the one grave that we intentionally sought out was that of John Gray, the guy whose dog sat by his grave every day for fourteen years after his death.  Also, after one phone call in the U.S., our Islamic mobile phones have mysteriously reverted to Arabic, making text messages a challenge. 

Week 10 Iona (ahh . . . community)

We've just finished spending a week on the island of Iona as guests of the Iona Community.  And it's a bit hard to know how to begin describing it.  The island itself is small and remote (we took a 3 hour train journey followed by an hour long ferry ride followed by an hour and half bus ride followed by another brief ferry ride to get there) and incredibly peaceful and beautiful.  There are more sheep there than people, by quite a lot.  We woke to sounds of sheep and slept to the sounds of sheep - they can be rather loud!

There's a small village on the island and several bed and breakfasts, and a Benedictine Abbey that was restored throughout the 20th century, mostly through the vision of Rev George Macleod.  His idea was to employ unemployed tradesmen and train ministers at the same time, through the experience of community and the rebuilding of the abbey. Out of that vision the Iona Community evolved.  It's an ecumenical community committed to justice and renewal, with about 300 members worldwide.   Google them to learn more - it's a remarkable story.   The Community has various ministries, including the publication of worship resources, many of which we use, and hosting folks on Iona for a week.

It was a good and challenging week for us - living in intentional community, even for a week, is hard.  I quickly came to the conclusion I would not have made a good monk!  We rose to the sound of a bell, ate all our meals together, had various chores assigned to us, began and closed each day with worship.  In between meals, chores, and worship services there were various workshops to attend or outings to take advantage of - it was a full week.  The girls loved the routine of each day and listening for the bells.  Emma was assistant window cleaner for the week, while Brianna rode around on Jay's back emptying the trash bins each morning.  They sang heartily at the worship services, and Brianna's new word this week was 'aleyuda' (alleluia), which she would shout out periodically.  I was really challenged this week to reconsider how I think about work and vocation, the links between manual labor and prayer, and to be more mindful of God's presence and glory in routine tasks and in the people I encounter each day.

Challenging as life with others can be, the week was tremendously nourishing for us - lots of time outdoors in a beautiful setting, lots of opportunities to talk with folks who love Jesus deeply, and lots of space to sing and pray.  It was a wonderful conclusion to our trip.

One of the days we participated in a pilgrimage walk around parts of the island.  Emma was full of her usual questions, and as I tried to explain to her what a pilgrimage was, it struck me again that pilgrimage has been the rhythm of this whole trip.  "We walk for a while and then we stop and learn and listen and pray, and then we walk some more."   We travel and then stop for a bit and learn and listen and pray and then travel some more.  And it has been rich for us in encounters with new folks and places and in encounters with God.  And now we're glad that the time for travel is almost done and we'll be heading back to Michigan in a few days.

peace,
Elizabeth

misadventures of the week - Jay getting sprayed in the face with toilet bowl cleaner by an overeager young fellow guest during morning chores; Elizabeth realizing too late that a week with the Iona Community was going to be a lot like a week of summer camp - yes, there were bunk beds and we were given animal names and there were crafts - sadly, no capture the flag or archery.

Week 9--Northen Ireland (Politics, Peace, and Presbyterianism)

We drove up into Scotland this week and hopped a ferry across to Northern Ireland.  After landing in Belfast, we drove up the coast to Bushmills and Portstewart, at the very top of Ireland.  The scenery, with it's lush green fields and sharp cliffs falling into the sea, has been absolutely stunning. 

The purpose of traveling here has been mainly to reconnect with a good friend from seminary, Philip Wilson, and his wife, Hannah.  Philip pastors a Presbyterian church in Bushmills--our first real connection with the Calvinist tradition in Britain while on our travels--and has been a tremendous resource in helping us process our experiences so far.  He has a good understanding of both the church in America and in Britain, the challenges each faces, and has been able to validate and/or reshape some of our perceptions of the state of the church here in Britian.  Both he and Hannah have together made us feel very welcome here.

One thing we've realized on our travels is that the history and geography of each particular church greatly shape that church's ministry--and the same is true of each region as well. It's very clear here in Northern Ireland.  The politics and history are such a deep part of the culture here, and while peace between the Protestants and Catholics has taken hold for the last five years or so, the conflict is still something that affects everyone's lives every single day.  As Philip commented, "a significant part of my role is as peacemaker." 

It struck me when he said that his primary way of addressing this is not to take a public stand or to host a demonstration when violence or persecution erupt, but rather to begin asking how they as a church might reach out to those who are on the fringe of those participating in the persecution, and, in turn, how they might help these people see how destructive their behavior is.  The hope, then, would be that these people would be able to influence those participants who are even more hardened in their views.  I wondered what this might look like at Boston Square in Grand Rapids where racial and ethnic tensions continue to be present and immigration reform continues to be a pressing issue.  Please pray for Northern Ireland, that the peace may continue to take hold and that true reconciliation might be birthed between the Protestants and Catholics.

It was good to worship in a Calvinist setting again and the service reminded us of many in the Christian Reformed Church back home.   In general, it seems like the Presbyterian church in Scotland and Ireland has not experienced the same extreme secularization that the Anglican church in England has.  The Irish Presbyterian church, however, certainly faces its own challenges.  For one, because of the violence that has plagued this region for the last thirty-plus years, many of the younger generation have moved away and settled elsewhere.  In general, the Presbyterian church here is fairly conservative and has a deep history, and being able to connect with a quickly-changing culture is a on-going challenge.

On a lighter note, it's amazed us--we may finally have found a land where the weather changes even more quickly than in Michigan.

May God bless you richly this week and always,

Jay

Misadventures of the week:  (1) The "shortcut" Google maps found for us on the way to the ferry did not account for the fact that the roads were so narrow and windy that we could not possible travel the 60 mph speed limit they expected.  (2) We've been initiated into the world of car-sickness in kids.  (3) Jay thought he had saved dinner one night by stopping at the convenience store to buy express microwave rice on the way home from a walk, only to get home and discover that we have no microwave at this apartment.