Pilgrimage: Day 1

• Please note, due to difficulty to upload my blog with pictures, they may not appear until I have time to update the blog with some visuals. So sorry - I know pictures are better than words in many respects and I hope to figure something out, even if it means pictures not appearing until I have better wifi in the states.

 

For whatever reason, I did not sleep very well last night, so when John's alarm on his phone went off, getting up for a run did not sound like a brilliant idea... I did get out of bed and used that time of quiet to continue in my daily reading through the Bible. I've been reading through Job since Tuesday of last week - so optimistic! ...

We decided to head over to Salisbury Cathedral for Eucharist service at 7:30am. Immediately following the service, a man named Andrew Wells approached me and was very eager to talk and to share about some of the stories within this cathedral that have obviously been speaking to him for awhile. He wanted to know if I had noticed the Amnesty International candle which was just off to the left of the altar. This tall candle is standing on a pedastal made to look like the thorns that surrounded Christ's head - and even standing on this pedastal, the brutal and violent appearance of this piece of further emphasized by the cage with nails that look like they could have been driven into Christ himself sticking out of it. Yet, as one notices, even within the most violent of confines, being held up by violence and brutality, the light which is God's for the world cannot be confined by the cage, and it continues to pierce the darkness even from whence it came.

Andrew pointed out in the stained glass windows where Jesus was, being interrogated by Pilate. He then reminded me of the seemingly simple thing when Pilate asks the Pharisees if Jesus really was their king. Their response: "We have no king but Caesar." It's one of those things that is easy to gloss over as you think about the physical brutality that is happening in the story - but effectively what we see is the religious leaders, those supposed to be leading others to God, denouncing God's authority over them and instead deciding a human being would be better suited. This begs the question: What makes a man abandon the Immortal Author of Creation for a man? I enjoyed my time talking with Andrew - this retired lawyer who is now a chaplain for the courts in Salisbury.

 

After breakfast, I went for a walk with a fellow pilgrim, who happens to be in my small group for this journey. After visiting the Post Office, we took the walking path to Harnham, continually seeing these beautiful and scenic views of the Cathedral.

Lunch came at 1pm as everyone on this journey had gathered at Sarum College. Short introductions followed, then we took a walk to The Methodist Church which stands on the sight where the first preaching house was located at. The history of how this church has evolved over time was shared with us, and it was pretty amazing to see pictures documenting the drastic changes that had been made to not just sanctuary but the entire building itself. We will have more opportunities to be at Salisbury Methodist Church as we join the congregation for worship this coming Sunday.

After our return, a reception and then dinner, we gathered for the first lecture of our Pilgrimage. Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote gave a presentation on Renewal of the Spirit, sharing characteristics of declining churches (Being stuck in a "Preservation" mode of thinking, being stuck in the Institution, focusing solely on the Theory and not practice of our faith and remaining Separate from those in pain instead of engaging and being in solidarity with them). Various churches and people have gone about the issue of how to make renewal happen in many different ways.

As for the Wesleys, their paradigm of a renewal of the Spirit within the church had to do with tackling those very things that landed the church in a Spiritual "low ebb" through:

1. Rediscovering the Living Word,
2. Saving Faith (which came as a result of engaging the Bible),
3. Holistic Spirituality (which comes from devotion, compassion, justice and worship),
4. Accountable Discipleship,
5. Formative Worship and
6. Missional Vocation (putting faith into practice).
   

Then here's the important thing to keep in mind: that renewal can happen anywhere. As long as there are people, renewal can happen because they will have the ability to experience this renewal in both personal and corporate ways and able to put this renewed faith into practice by missions (acts of justice, mercy, etc...).

I know, that's an exceedingly simple overview, but there's been an awful lot of theology already in this post and the day isn't over yet!

After the lecture, we met with our small groups for the first time. Finally, we gathered in Sarum College Chapel for compline at 9:30pm, where we ended the day in song and prayer before being dismissed to our rooms.

During small group time, the 5 of us each shared what we believe a "Pilgrim" to be. I haven't ever really sat down and contemplated this particular question before, but here's what I have come to understand. A pilgrim isn't someone who goes to a place to simply learn - that's a student. A pilgrim isn't one who just goes to a place to experience it - that's a consumer. A pilgrim is one who is open and willing to allow what they learn and experience to transform them.

Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure as to all of the reasons that I'm here. I thought it would be a great opportunity to come back to the UK, a place that I love and feel a little at home at, oddly enough. I knew it would be a learning experience to walk the same roads and hear what the Wesley brothers said and did to help revival in the church happen. But now that I'm here, learning that this is going to be more than what I was expecting it to be, I truly hope to be a pilgrim on this trip, not just learning and not just experiencing, but being open to whatever transformation the Spirit needs me to undergo on this journey.

I'm glad I'm here and taking advantage of this opportunity. My prayer is that I go back to America on July 23 more of the person that God intends me to be.

 

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