England Photos 3: Brighton

A beautiful day in Brighton!

Cherith and I took the train from Reigate to Brighton, which is south of London and, obviously, on the Channel. We shopped, walked the pier, ate fish and chips while gazing at the water, and enjoyed the glorious sunshine.

My most quoted line from the trip comes from the conductor of the train who said over the loudspeakers in perfectly accented English: "Please do not put your feet on the seat in front of you. It is antisocial and unsanitary." Upon hearing this, Cherith and I burst into laughter. And, uh, took our feet off the seats.





What I would look like with really long hair.......and with a faceless yet well-built man in my arms.















Brighton had the best collection of hilarious signs.

Example A is above.




<---Example B: This is what death looks like. Not the Grim Reaper or some scary-faced goblin, no, no: death looks like a giant crooked arrow coming down from the sky.


Let's say you're hungry. Guess what? You could eat your shoes!

I'm guessing this means these shoes aren't made of leather or other animal parts. But would they not then be vegan?


This sign made me laugh out loud.

"Oklahoma! Oh-Kay!"

Actually, it was better than OK. It was great! I preached last Wednesday as part of the Wiseman Lenten Series at the First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa. I preached on Isaiah 53, more on the "broken for you" post I had here a few weeks ago. But my part isn't what I want to talk about.

This grand downtown church holds three morning services: 8a in the chapel with communion, 9:30a in the Grand Hall across the street with band, screen, powerpoint, etc, and 11a in the sanctuary. 200 people gather at 8, 250 at 9:30a, and 800 at 11a. And Jim Miller preaches at each service. Jim Miller is one of those people that you sit and talk with and think, "I'd like this guy to be my pastor." Then you talk with others from the church who so obviously love him and you think, "If I lived in Tulsa, I would join this church." And then you start to lecture at the luncheon after the worship service, hear a bit of a twang working its way into your words and wonder if part of you has already moved to Oklahoma.

(That's the curse of being an aural learner: I really do start talking like people around me. In England I was adding the lilt and the diction, in Oklahoma I was drawling and using idioms I believe I have never used before, e.g. "give the devil a foothold the size of Texas.")

It was a wonderful 24 hours of glimpsing what God's doing in that part of the kingdom, and coming away grateful for the glimpse and for the emerging friendships. Thanks for the invitation, Jim! May God bless you richly.

England Photos 2: Weekend in the Country

After the day in Cambridge, Cherith and her friends drove me out to Sussex County where I stayed for the weekend. The weekend included a tour of Hever Castle, and an introduction to the town of Reigate and to St Mary Magdalene Church, which served as the church home for Robert and Cherith Nordling when they lived in England.

The weather was great for this; cold but sunny.

This tree complete with hay bale, gravel road, etc, is the rear of the parking lot at Hever Castle.



Our gang for the tour of Hever Castle: Reigate native Tanya MacIntyre, Gord Fee, Cherith Fee Nordling, Maudine Fee, and me.

(Yes, that Gord Fee.)



Cherith and Tanya stand in front of the Castle. Well, actually they are standing in front of the "Pot Centre," which Tanya wanted to make clear to anyone who would see this picture that "pot" refers to garden, and not, you know, that other kind of pot.

Note: Tanya's brother won the English version of American Idol. Seriously.


Me on the drawbridge into the castle. You can see that it's a wee place, though it has all the castle-y things: a moat, a drawbridge, a maze, spectacular grounds and gardens, and, of course, great history. This was the family castle of Ann Boelyn, and Henry VIII courted her here.

In recent years the castle has been owned by the Astor family, so the tour includes a room full of Astor family history. The Astor's made their money a couple of centuries ago in the fur trade, lost a family member on the Titanic (John Jacob IV), and the most recent residents of this castle redid two wee bedrooms for their little girls. So in one tour you walk through rooms seen by Henry VIII as is and end with these wee bedrooms straight out of the late 1960's.


Cherith stands in the maze. It was a small one and we still got lost. But since those of us who ventured into the maze were women, we had no issue about asking for directions. :-)





This is the church in which Robert and Cherith worshipped when they lived in Reigate for 5 years. They were in England while Cherith was earning her PhD.

Parts of this church have been standing for 1000 years. How Firm a Foundation, indeed.


This is the path from the Girdlers' house to the church. (The Girdler's hosted me.) Imagine walking this every Sunday...

The Sunday I worshiped with them was "Family Worship," meaning that all the kids stay in worship and sit on the carpet between the aisles. We sang kids' songs, heard a message from the youth pastor, and three kids and their mom led the congregational prayer. It was a fun, lively service, and made me understand how much Robert and Cherith loved being a part of this community.

The windows in the Reigate church. The top four panels say "Christ have mercy upon us."

Amen and Amen.

Prairie Home on the Big Screen

[Note: Blogspot seems to have a bit of a cold that's not allowing me to post more photos. So, let this post suffice for now. Also, I'm heading here to preach Tues/Wed, so no new pics until later this week. Oh, I know, yer cryin' in yer beer about that.]

There are a few things in this world about which one may say I not only am a fan, but perhaps may have wandered into fetishism. A Prairie Home Companion is one such thing. A dear friend even gave me a Lake Wobegon deck of cards and a mug with a Garrison Keillor quote on it for Christmas. I wore my Lake Wobegon T-shirt on the plane to England. I played a bit from a monologue in my preaching class last week when I talked about weddings.

And now, a movie! The trailer is out and now that I've watched it, I want to start crossing off days until the movie opens in June. Seriously--Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin AND GK all in one movie? Directed by Robert Altman? Written by GK? This is my movie nirvana.

Yes, I know. I am a bit odd. But that's why you all love me, right? Right?

And for those of you who think PHC is merely home-grown humor fit for those who know how to make fruit suspend in jello, check out this article by GK on our president. Sobering, and right on the money.

England Photos 1: Cambridge

I flew into Heathrow on Thursday night and awoke on Friday morning to join the Calvin students on a day trip to Cambridge.

I love this picture. It's an angel on King's College Chapel. I took it before walking in to Evensong.



A crisp morning in Cambridge. This is the King's College Chapel, where we started and ended our day. In the morning was a tour, and the day finished with Evensong.

Lovely lawn. That's because no one is allowed to walk on it. Ever. I mean seriously. Don't think about it.


This is on a door entering King's College campus from the street. "Mind the Gap" is the most well-known use of "mind" (and believe me, some of those gaps between the train and the platform do indeed need minding!), but it's everywhere. When we climbed towers, signs told us to "mind your head." When I attempted a quick scoot across a busy street in London, a bobby told me to "mind the cars." This almost made me laugh to the point of standing in the middle of the street and not minding the cars at all. In the states I would have been yelled at. Here, the bobby spoke to me in a tone that made me think he was hoping to have me over for tea later and would really prefer if I weren't all bloody from being hit by a car.




Lovely picture, eh? This bridge was built by Isaac Newton. He designed it to hold in place without nails. When the wood started to show its age, folks attempted to remove and replace it. Uh, yeah. They needed nails.





Punting on the Cam.
It was a very brisk day in Cambridge when we were there, or I am sure more of us would have attempted this. During the summer, my guidebook assures me, many folks try to maneuver their shallow boats down the Cam with the use of a long stick. You push off the bottom of the river with the right amount of effort and grace so as to move in a forward direction without falling in. I saw a group of young women in another boat later who seemed to be missing the "forward direction" idea. Circles was more like it.
How much do you want to guess that these two were on a date? I mean, it was really cold.




These red phone booths are iconic England. Unfortunately, with the new technology these old icons were being removed. But the Brits said, in moderate tones, "I can appreciate the view of those who might think the phone booths are now unneccessary, what with the advent of cell phones and all, but couldn't the government be kindly asked to reconsider?" And the government did. In fact, some of these are protected by historical societies.






I love gargoyles. Find them fascinating. Great history, too. Gargoyles were originally decorated drainspouts (hence the name; think 'gurgle') but quickly became a way to remind people what the church was to protect them from (creepy, scary demon-like beings and things that go bump in the night). Sculptors occasionally went creative--adding funny scenes, sculpting faces of their friends, capturing their boss in an undignified pose. Since most gargoyles were usually viewed from a distance, the sculptors were safe. Then binoculars came along. And zoom lenses. But by then the sculptors were peacefully at rest, safe from all things that go bump in the night.

Almost time for Evensong.

Cherith and her English friends Tanya and Karen climbed with me to the top of St. Mary's church tower to gaze at the city. Then we joined the group at Ridley Hall for a brief chat with Jeremy Begbie before joining the line outside the Chapel. (Jeremy's son sings bass in the choir. He would want me to tell you that.) After evensong, we parted ways with the Calvin group and drove to Reigate, home of Tanya and Karen, and former home of Cherith.

Photo Appetizer

As I sort through 8 rolls of film (very 20th century), here's one shot to keep you tied over until a few others are posted.

This was taken at Trafalgar Square by Suzanne Bratt who titled it "Mary spouts off." The Bratt's have a digital camera. Yes, they are that cool.

Housekeeping

I have safely returned from my journey to Jollye Olde Englande where I hadde a fyne tyme. I will post on the details of that trip later when I have pictures to add. Suffice it to say, it was "ab fab" (absolutely fabulous). Truly "brill" (brilliant). Jim Bratt and his daughter Suzanne were terrific hosts and companions, as were my new English friends the Girdlers who hosted me for the first weekend in Reigate, where our mutual friend Cherith once resided. Cherith was with me in Reigate and we joined the whole Calvin group for a day trip to Cambridge. She and I also did a day trip to Brighton.

But before I reminisce about the great 9 days abroad, let me first post some random housekeeping-type bulletins.

1) I have a new email address. It is mary dot lastname @ gmail dot com. Got that? The uiuc.edu address is inaccessible to me, much to my chagrin and annoyance. I'm not a registered student this sem, and the techies at school cut me off with no warning. So, sorry to anyone who's been trying to reach me.

2) When I left, the lake was frozen over and there was an ice-fishing shelter in the middle of it. Today, I returned from church to discover a fishing boat on the lake and the two young children who live next door were, I kid you not, swimming. Brrrr! It was 61 degrees here today, sure, but the water's got to be colder than that! But I took great joy from both of those sightings, as it means I can release the kayaks from their hibernation and venture out again. Hurrah!

3) Yes, I went to church. I'm teaching a pre-profession of faith class at a CRC congregation on the NE side of Grand Rapids. The church is vacant, and a friend of mine is an elder and asked if I'd help out. So for this week and the next two I'll be worshipping and teaching there. It's nice to not have to decide where I'm going to be on Sunday morning. The sermon this morning was by a friend and colleague who did an admirable job wrestling with Psalm 91, which is, incidentally, a really hard text to preach. And there were 18 students in the class ranging in age from 10-23. Well. That's something to pray about now, isn't it?

4) Others have posted their Lenten disciplines (e.g. Bets and Meg), and since I flew off just as Lent began, I have yet to do so. I hadn't decided on anything in the days leading up to Lent, especially since my doctor has limited my diet substantially in an effort to figure out what's causing some imbalances in my chemistry. So all of my loves are already out (e.g. diet Coke, tea, dairy, wheat, etc.). Thankfully he gave me a reprieve for travel, otherwise I would have had to forgo tea in England, which is, I believe, a punishable offence. But now I'm back on the wagon as far as all that.

So I woke on Ash Wednesday with no real idea in mind of how to observe Lent, since self-denial in the food and drink arena was already imposed on me. But as I sat in worship at the college chapel, my friend Laura used this line in reference to Lenten disciplines: "They must clear out space for God," and suddenly a voice said, "The dissertation." And I thought, "Give up the dissertation for Lent? Seriously?" At first it seemed like a cop out, giving up this thing that hangs over my life; the thing I have described on more than one occasion as a low grade fever that never goes away. Give that up? Okay!

But as I pondered this some more, I realized the spiritual strength it would require for me to really release my grip on this part of my life. For this is The One Thing I Can Control. Job? Nope. That's up to various committees in various institutions. Health? Not too much, despite eating more carrots. Romance? Uh, no. Trying to find a mate as a female ordained minister of 36 is so far beyond my control it's laughable, despite the promises of Neil Clark Warren. Finances? Good stewardship can only go so far with so little income. Place to live? I'm outta the cottage at the end of June, and have no where to set to go. Can't really do much about that at this point since, as already noted, I have no job and no money.

So, that leaves the dissertation. The One Thing I Can Control and the thing that I have actually made progress with. The thing that is halfway done. The first half of which was tougher to sort through and the second half of which may actually be more enjoyable to write. The thing which, once done, will open doors into my future. 'Yes, please,' invites Yahweh, 'lay this aside and trust me. Again.'

So, I will. And while at times this allows me to relax just a bit, it also increases my anxiety. What will I do with the time? I increase my teaching four-fold now with the addition of a four-section spring course at Calvin Seminary, so my days will have purpose. But what of evenings, weekends? Uh... Hmm...

And in that quiet spot I hear the voice again, saying, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Go to Jesus. Pray. Listen. Rest. During Lent. I think I know why I need to do this. Housekeeping indeed.

Ash Wednesday

Thanks to all of you for your kind words and prayers. The last few days have been tough. I went to the Ash Wednesday this morning at Calvin, which was simple and lovely, and the drove to the cemetery to participate in the committal. In an odd coincidence, on the way I found myself following the hearse. So there I was, ashes on my head, driving behind the hearse carrying my friend, going to the cemetery. What a stark reminder that we are dust and to dust we shall return.

I will preach at the memorial service this evening at 7p, and then drive to Chicago, sleep in a hotel, and fly to London tomorrow morning. I am eager to have a break after these intense few days, and touring with friends around London should be great fun.

I'll be back on March 11, hopefully rested and glad for the time away. Pray for safe and smooth travel, good laughs with my friends, and good worship with our brothers and sisters over there.

Grace and peace.