Pilgrimage: Day 2 - to Oxford!

Today was a big day. As we will be doing every morning, we got up and shared Eucharist, followed by breakfast. Then, we got on the coach (bus) and headed 2 hours north up to Oxford - which, of course, is the home of Oxford University with its 40 colleges.

Upon getting off the coach, we headed to Wesley Memorial Methodist Church where we were fortunate to have a great Wesley scholar, Revd. Martin Wellings, share with us about that first movement of Methodism which happened at Oxford University. We were given insight into the culture of Oxford in the 18th century, a little bit about how John was sociable but Charles really seemed to be the one who got along with everybody and knew how to have a great time, and how the University wanted to start cracking down on the party school mentality that had been going on there for quite a while now. It was about that time that John came back to Oxford University as a teaching fellow at Lincoln College and, together with Charles and friensds from the various colleges like Ingham and Morgan, began meeting in groups in 1729. It was Morgan who began to talk about doing prison ministry and tutoring children 1730 and 1731 respectively, but it was John who seemed to take the ideas and run with them, making them happen.

So often, John Wesley seems to get credit for nearly everything the Methodist movement did, especially early on. That's not fair, though, because many in the group (Charles and it appears Morgan before his untimely passing in 1733, and many others) suggested or came up with the ideas. John seems to have had a great ability, however, to organize and make sure that it could run efficiently. Originator of ideas: no. One who can creatively make things happen: yes.

After eating sack lunches, Paul Chilcote, one of the leaders of this Pilgrimage, took half of us on a walking tour from Wesley Memorial Methodist Church to Christ Church - the college where all of the Wesley brothers studied at. I haven't been here for 8 years - the last time being during my Shakespeare in England course while attending Hanover. Once again I saw the Great Hall with John Wesley's portrait being the first one in the long line of famous and influential Christ Church students (and yes, where Harry Potter ate in the films). Then, once again, I was able to enter into Christ Church Cathedral, which just happens to be the chapel for Christ Church. While there I lit a candle for a friend of mine who died much too young. Progressing through the Cathedral, I came upon with my group the plaque that is laid right in front of the steps to the pulpit with John and Charles Wesleys' names upon it, saying, "Students of Christ Church, Leaders of teh Methodist Revival, Ordained in this Cathedral." I was tempted to ask if I could stand in that same pulpit that John had preached in but decided not to - surely I would be told no. Then John, shortly after I had left I think, actually did ask, telling the chaplain that he had just been ordained. He was able to stand up in the pulpit himself for a few seconds. Yes, I am jealous a bit!

After Christ Church my small group went to Lincoln College where John's teaching fellowship had been. We saw his bust and the little chapel that he would have preached in regularly, along with taking pictures of "the flat Wesleys" who evidently have been traveling the world... kinda' neat.

After that and a quick pop into a fancy stationary and pen store, we headed off to The Eagle and Child for dinner - where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien sat, discussed, ate, drank and wrote their respective master works. The nerd in me was satisfied!

Then it was back on the coach for 2 hours, compline shortly after we returned, and then to write this blog. Tomorrow will be another day on the road and an overnight at a conference center elsewhere. I'm glad I'm on this adventure and am having fun getting to know the other pilgrims on this journey with me!

Posted with Blogsy

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.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Sunday in England

After all of the traveling and running around of London which was done Friday and Saturday, I slept great last night after FaceTiming with Eva and Micah!

My 5:45am alarm came all too soon, but I got up, put on my running clothes and ran 5k along the Thames. On Saturday, the same walkway I was on was busy and crowded with tourists, bicyclists and runners. This morning, though, this same route was barren. I only shared this river way with 3 or 4 other runners and a couple droplets of rain. Didn't break any records, but got a selfie with Big Ben (it's not a flattering one, but I didn't feel like taking 20 before finding "the one") and memories of now one of my favorite runs!

John and I went to the Eucharist service at Westminster Abbey at 8am. We followed the Book of Common Prayer's worship order. One thing I found interesting is that the service opened with the pastor reciting the Lord's Prayer, cutting short of the ending, and then was bookended with those attending worship reciting it in its entirety. I was surprised at how few people were there, though. I remember watching the series "Rev" on Hulu and finding it sad that he only had about half a dozen parishioners for services in this massive sanctuary. In a very surreal sense, I experienced that juxtaposition as maybe 2 dozen of us gathered in this historic and beautiful cathedral for the Eucharist service. Granted, the main worship would be later in the morning which no doubt will be packed - it just struck me as odd this morning.

 

After the service was over we headed back to the room where just a few last minute packing things needed to happen in order for us to catch a train to Salisbury for what we believed would be the beginning of our pilgrimage. That's when we realized that we had made a mistake... The pilgrimage would not start until Monday at 1, not today. Here we are, about to check out of our room, train tickets already purchased, and no place to stay for the night. There is an expletive that works very well for this situation which I am not about to type. As I write about this part of our day, John and I are on a train, rain just drizzling against the window, and wondering which hotel we will be in tonight in Salisbury. This should be fun!

Waterloo National Rail Station - time to head to Salisbury!

 

First Day in England!

I made it! I'm here! Despite flight delays and arriving close to 2 hours after we were originally scheduled to land, I made it safe and sound in the UK!

Today has been a lot of walking... seeing Big Ben:

eating fish and chips at a well established pub, Blackfriars:

going to the Globe Theatre (unfortunately not able to take a tour due to a dress rehearsal):

And so much more from seeing Trafalgar Square and its many street performers, "mastering" the Underground and even eating pizza out at St. James Park in front of Buckingham Palace!

It's astounding when you stop and think about all of the history within these old historic buildings standing amongst all of these new architectural feats going up between them. London really does seem to be a city that takes pride in its past as it moves forward into the future.

As John Huff and I were going all over London, the Facebook group about our pilgrimage kept being updated by the other clergy that will be joining together in Salisbury. Today has been primarily getting to the country and sightseeing, the class portion of this Wesleyan Pilgrimage will begin tomorrow.

With all that we've done today, both of us are pretty wiped. I'm hoping to get a run in in the morning along the Thames River which means that I need to be getting more than 3 hours of sleep tonight if I'm actually going to pull that off! With that, I'm off to sleep!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Still in Chicago!

"So, one of the most fun things ever in the airport is when your flight is delayed!" said no one. Ever.

Right now, my 6:10pm flight is looking to be 7:56pm according to the updates. It's all good, though.

I recognize this is post #2 today. I expect to not be posting this frequently during the trip. (In all honesty, I am killing some time at the airport!)

Last time I flew to England I was a lot less tethered down by electronics. Now I'm trying to make sure I don't accidently incur international data-roaming charges but still be able to use my iPhone wifi exclusively, and hoping that my Nike running app's GPS data actually doesn't use that expensive data like the internet told me.

I'm also realizing that this trip will be much different from my trip in college. Back then, I didn't have a two year old beginning to potty train and taking his first plane flight. I'm missing some firsts. Back in college - I was surrounded by my friends on a trip for class, which was my life back then. Yes, these are the things you think about when you're traveling as an adult...

This is a good example of how there are give and takes in all your decisions. I'm glad I have this opportunity to take this trip and actually doing it! I am also thankful that I have a supportive family and congregation backing me in this endeavour.

With all of that being said, boarding time is quickly coming up! Next time I post, I will be in the UK!

 

Posted with Blogsy

On my way...

I have made it to Brooke, IN to pick up John Huff - the pastor at Brooke UMC. Going over last minute details, copies of passports, little bit of lunch, etc... Soon we'll be headed up North to Chicago O'Hare International Airport.t

It's hard to believe that it's been 8 years since the last time I was in England. This trip will obviously be very different. Whereas I spent most of that trip in Stratford-Upon-Avon studying Shakespeare at the Shakespeare Institute, this time around I will spend much of my time in Salisbury at Sarum College learning about a very different man. What was only a sight-seeing trip last time around will be homebase. Now I'm constantly wondering what will be different, what will be the same, etc...

But first thing's first: get to London safe and sound!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Introduction

Me being a United Methodist pastor, I have heard an awful lot about John Wesley. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Wesley, John and his brother Charles inadvertently started a new denomination out of the Anglican Church - a group which would be initially referred to in a derogatory manner, but later appropriately and respectfully known as "Methodists."

John and Charles Wesley both saw in their student days at Oxford that people would go to church, do their holy thing on Sunday morning, but they would not continue seeking God the rest of the week. (Sound familiar?) The Wesley brothers sought to live a life where holiness was constantly sought after - to experience walking closer with God on a daily basis. Recognizing that Christianity is not a solo journey and that others coming alongside you for accountability and encouragement is beneficial in growing spiritually, the Wesley brothers began forming what they referred to as a "holiness club."

In this club, those involved would come together and discuss the latest in theology, seeking out understanding of God's grace in the world and encouraging one another in their struggles. For all of the rules that the societies would practice (which others would deem as "fanatical" in some instances), there were really 3 basic rules that they followed: Do no harm, Do good, and Stay in love with God.

Now, with all of these rules about fasting and reading scriptures and ministering to others, people noticed that there was a method that this group was using in order to try and seek out holiness. Even though many thought this was a group of fanatics, this methodology to better know God was working not just for this small band at Oxford, but eventually all across the nation. The method of using small groups and living life together was actually awakening a love for God in these people's lives! Since this "method" was working, it no longer seemed a negative stereotype but a suitable name for this movement for seeking out holiness.

In July, I have the opportunity to walk some of the same streets and see some of the same sights as John and Charles Wesley. I will have the opportunity to know more about these two and how this movement they initiated was started. I will be traveling with other clergy to Salisbury, England. As we learn about Wesley and discuss what his successes and failures were, the hope is that we might be able to take some of that same zeal back to the States with us so that we can encourage others in our home communities to seek out holiness on a daily basis and not just Sunday mornings.

While I am gone for those two weeks, however, I would like to share some of my experiences of my time in England. Needless to say, I am excited about this opportunity to return to the UK and I would like to share some of this experience with my family, friends, congregation and whoever else would like to join me in my journey!

I would like to ask for prayers during these two weeks; prayers for safe travel, good health and for an open heart to be transformed over the course of this pilgrimage.

Thank you for reading - and I'm looking forward to sharing this adventure with all of you!