Day 30, "The day the tube station was on fire"

Well I slept in this morning and when I went to get the 10 o'clock shuttle to the tube station at the airport it never came so I had to get the 10:40. When I finally got to the airport the station at terminals 1,2&3 was closed and I needed to find a train that went over to terminal 4 or 5. When I finally got to terminal 5 and got onto the tube they announced that terminals 1,2&3 had reopened so we'd be stopping there. Awesome.
Well because of all the delays I headed straight to Westminster Abbey and attended their 12:30 Eucharist. It was really odd because there were all these tourists walking around the side of the nave. When we went up to the rail there were people standing off to the side watching us which felt really odd.
After the service I walked up to Trafalgar square again. I made my way over to a Starbucks got a beverage and sat for a little bit and then headed back early again so I could get prepared to leave in the morning.
It's been a great 30 days and I've really enjoyed everything but am ready to go home now. I can't wait for a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee...

Day 29, "The day I gave up my seat to Apollo and his children"

This morning on the tube ride into the city a family with three little girls got on when there were no available seats so myself and a couple other guys near me got up for them to be able to sit. After a couple minutes I realized the guy looked really familiar and another minute or so of trying to place him I realized he looked exactly like Lee Odama. So when I got back that night I checked it out on the interwebs and he's British and has three young daughters. After this thrilling tube ride I went to St. Paul's Cathedral and met up with David and his wife for the sung eucharist. The service was pretty good, the building is amazing but I strongly dislike sound systems in churches and this one sounded very much like a sound system (but we were able to hear everything in such a large place so we gotta be thankful for that). Afterwards we went to a pub nearby for lunch. It was really good to be able to interact with people in depth. It's been pretty lonely these past couple of days wandering about by myself.
After lunch we parted ways and I decided to head over and check out covent gardens. It was pretty neat. I didn't stay too long but walked around a little bit and checked out some of the kiosks in the apple market. There were a bunch of street performers around, some musicians and some other acts (one guy was juggling knives while balancing about 10 feet up on a ladder). After a little bit here I decided to call it a day early and head back in as I was beat from the past couple days of walking around the city.

Day 28, "The day I saw the tree of life"

I got into London about the same time as yesterday and headed right over to St. Paul's Cathedral to inquire about the event Dean Willis told me to go to, turns out it was by ticket only and very exclusive. I then headed over to the London Museum. That was really cool. It had stuff from this area that was thousands of years old, including some human bones. After I was there for about twenty minutes a free tour was announced looking at all the religious and superstitious stuff. The tour was pretty good, although the guide had some wrong information at times but nothing major. After this I headed over to the British Museum. This place was huge and packed with people. It was filled with lots of cool old stuff as well though. I really liked the tree of life in the Africa exhibit. It was made out of old gun pieces. Once I left here I wandered around the city for a while and got a pasty at a little shop in the entrance to the underground. I eventually made my way back to St. Paul's and saw the closing out of the St. John's Ambulance stuff. I then went in for Evensong. The inside of the cathedral was breathtaking, the colors are just so vibrant. Evensong was alright, I still prefer Canterbury Cathedral's though.

Day 27, "The day I lost a little respect for England"

Today I woke up and headed into London. After a slight delay on the tube (which resulted in having to change trains) I landed a slight walk form Buckingham Palace and had enough time to get there before the Changing of the Guards. This was a bit lame. First off it's way too touristy and crowded for me. Secondly, one of the bands that marches in with them played Abba songs (I figured out it was Abba when people around me started singing 'Mama Mia' along with them, they also played 'Fernando'), that definitely brought the UK down a few notches in my book. Then I walked up the Mall to Trafalgar Square. I grabbed a quick lunch (and cheap, under six pounds for a sandwich and coke) in the cafe in the crypt of St. Martin in the Field. After this I headed into the National Gallery. There were a few really good Monet Pieces. I really liked 'Water Lilies, Setting Sun' and then looking at another painting a little bit away discovered that 'Water Lilies, Setting Sun' looks so much better from an angle about 15 feet away, it was just so much more real and alive. I also thought the 'Snow Scene at Argenteuil' was amazing. After that I walked down towards Parliament and back up by the Thames. I eventually found myself in a Starbucks and read and drank some coffee for awhile enjoying being off my feet. At about four I headed towards Westminster Abbey and at 4:30 made my way in for Evensong which began at 5:00. They seem to focus more on the men's choir than on the boys choir compared to Canterbury Cathedral (at least that's the impression I got tonight). Overall I liked Canterbury's Evensong better, but it was still amazing. I then headed back to the hotel and grabbed something to eat. Now I'm just planing out tomorrow. I'm thinking St. Paul's (to check on tickets to the event in the afternoon that Dean Robert told me to go to and look for him at. After that depending on if I'll be going to the thing at St. Paul's in the afternoon I'll head up to either the London Museum or the British Museum (or both if I won't be returning to St. Paul's for the Order of St. John event). And I think I'll close out the day by attending Evensong at St. Paul's (so either way I'll end up there again that day) and if I like St. Paul's I think I may attend their sung Eucharist on Sunday morning.

Day 26, "The day we all said goodbye"

Today's Matins wasn't in the quire but rather in the chapel by the Altar of Sword's Point. I think Ed said this was where it normally is held when they don't have large groups like us. It was nice to be in a smaller space for this, the quire usually seemed much too large.
I left Canterbury at noon and got to my hotel at two and have just been hanging out unwinding. Tomorrow I'm heading into London to explore. I think I might check out the Natural Gallery tomorrow.

Day 25, "The day of the first goodbyes"

Today we had a final session with Kathy where we looked at the accounts of Paul gathering funds for the church in Israel. After that Ed has us do an activity to sum up our experience as a group. After that Anne left, she was the first to leave. After lunch we had nothing to do until the final service at five. Before that service Paul and Hector took off. For the service we went to the old St. Augustine's Abbey. After that was our final dinner where the Dean handed out certificates saying we completed the program. I sat with the Dean and Ed's wife during dinner, it was cool to get to talk with them for a good period of time.
After dinner Anna, Elyse, Jason and I went to the Thomas Becket one last time.

Day 24, "The day I had ice cream"

Today we finished up Philippians in the morning then looked at how the logic of the Christ hymn can be seen elsewhere in Paul's writings. After lunch we had the afternoon off so I went to the gift shop and got a gift for Max and a piece of stained glass for myself.
After that Paul and I got some ice cream right outside the gate. Tonight after dinner there was the exchanging of gifts (we were all told to bring a small gift representing us and where we're from). I ended up getting a really cool black rock from the shore of Newfoundland from Paul and ended up giving my old taize cross that I got from Roy Green on my first Happening weekend to Anne (the way it worked was we gave our gift to the person to our left, and I happened to be seated between the Canadians). The rock is really cool and Anne seemed to really appreciate the cross and the explanation behind it so I think it worked out well. After this a bunch of us went out to the Bishops Finder for one last pint with Hector, Anne and Paul as they are all leaving tomorrow. It was a good time and I'm really glad to have had the time to get to know them.

Day 23, "The day I went to a pub with Kathy Grieb"

This morning we headed to a village called Bishopsbourne which is home to about 200 people (about 12 out of 200 attend the parish church, St. Mary's). St. Mary's is the church that Hooker served at and is now buried in (somewhere underneath the chancel). While there we heard from a bunch of different people. The vicar of the church told us about the place and how there are about 16,000 parish churches in England and how about 10,000 of those are medieval churches which are both a great icon to the surrounding community but are also very expensive to keep up (especially when your congregation is about 12 people) and how preservation laws severely limit how they can adapt these buildings to make them more manageable. Then we heard about Hooker and his life & works from a local professor. After lunch we heard from two curates about what it is like to be a curate in the Church of England. One of the interesting things they mentioned was that with so many churches being so close together what some tend to do is have a small group of parishes specialize (so one church will focus on youth and families with young children, another will focus on seekers, another on more traditional styles of worship), they said that the danger of this is that it is very easy to feel that they are bad at a bunch of things rather than being very good at a few things.
This evening we went to the Thomas Becket again. This time Kathy joined us. It was a good time. It's been really great getting to know these people and hanging out with them.

Day 22, "The day I talked with the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral about Rhode Island"

There was nothing scheduled today. So I read until church at 11. After church I talked with some locals and then with the Dean for a bit (when he found out I was from RI he started talking about a friend who has a retirement home there), he seems like such a great dude, very into what he is doing. This afternoon Kathy organized a conversation with the Arch-deacon and one of the Canons about the place of women in the Anglican Communion. It was alright, nothing outstanding though.
The day was pretty relaxed. Did a lot of reading and hanging around with folks. I got a bunch of video footage of people singing choruses in the computer room, hopefully I'll figure out how to get it online. Tomorrow we head to Bishopbourne, the town where Hooker served and is buried now. The program ends in a few days, it doesn't seem like it's been that long. I'm really glad I did this, it's been amazing and I've met some really awesome people.

Day 21, "The day I walked seven miles to Canterbury"

This morning we took a bus ride to the ruins of a Roman fort dating back to the third century AD. It's now some stone walls and foundations. It is probably the spot at which St. Augustine landed when he came to England. We then walked part of what would have been his route to Canterbury (we took the bus to another spot and walked the last seven miles of the route). Unfortunately the area was a full on assault to my allergies. Aside form not being able to breathe the walk was great. We started at 11:30 and got back to Canterbury at 3:00, just in time for evensong (for some reason on weekends evensong is at 3:15).
After dinner twelve of us went out to the Thomas Becket for a drink. One of the ladies from Namibia came with us but didn't really understand where we were going. When we got there and she realized what it was she left upset that a bar was named after a saint. I never really thought about that connection and how wrong it can seem to someone not familiar with things such as that happening. Thinking about it there definitely is something not completely right with it but at the same time I don't think I really find it offensive. It might be the context of this exact pub how it is just a street over from the Cathedral, but it just doesn't seem wrong in this case. I do see how in other cases it could be very inappropriate though.

Day 20, "The day I talked with the Dean of Canterbuy Cathedral about the Red Sox"

Walking out of matins today the Dean made a comment about my life is good shirt, the Fenway edition one. So I mentioned it was a sox shirt and was about to explain I was wearing it in honor of the third sweep of the Yankees this season when he told me he was in Boston for the 2004 World Series parade and later he told me he bought some sox cuff links while he was there.
The day has been fairly normal. Philippians with Kathy bothin in the morning and afternoon. We also heard about obedience and vocation from a lady who works for the Church of England in their national office handling discernment type stuff.
This evening we had a candlelit tour of the Cathedral given by Ed, the Canon who is leading our program. It was amazing to both be in there with it so quiet and somewhat dark (the sun was setting when we finished, but the lights were mostly off so it was fairly dark in there) and also to experience it in a way the pilgrims have for hundreds of years. We ended around the site where Becket's tomb was up until the 1530's and stood in a circle praying around it. You can see the grooves in the stone leading up to the site made by the knees of pilgrims making their way to the end of their pilgrimage. At times it seemed like I could feel the weight of history and tradition pressing down on me, much like how in the silent church at Taize I can feel the silence.

Day 19, "The day I truly realized just how lucky we westerners are"

Well I had more alarm problems today, it decided to go off roughly 40 minutes after when it was set. So needless to say I missed matins again. In the morning bible study we looked at Philemon with Kathy Grieb to get prepared to look at Philippians in depth over the next week. In the first session with Philippians we looked at the first chapter and just went verse by verse with Kathy giving commentary on nearly every verse. It was nice to have Kathy going that slow with something, so much different than NT3 with her.
The thing that stuck out to me the most today was when we broke into small groups. One of the guys from my group is from the Sudan and all of a sudden in the middle of our conversation he started looking really nervous. One of the girls from Kenya instantly knew what was going on and said "you're not in the Sudan, it's ok" or something like that. Then we realized that the grass was being cut outside and the noise of the mower (which I had just blocked out because it's so common) was freaking him out. We talked about it in the group for a bit after that and he told us that in the Sudan if you see a plane coming you run for the bush. It was such an astonishing discussion for me and really drove home how fortunate we are.
In the afternoon was +Josiah's last session with us. He discussed interfaith dialogue & conflict. That was also another reminder of how fortunate we are. In many places throughout Africa Christians are second class citizens to the Muslims who runs a lot of the countries. His stories and experiences were so foreign to me. Also, he told us he's seen as a 'western stooge' because he works with Muslims trying to foster a better, peaceful way of existing together. It really is astonishing how different our experiences are from each other and how much that shapes how we view everything.
The evening ended by going out to the Bishop's Finger with David, Jason, Elyse and Paul. It was fun and nice to get out of the precincts.

Day 18, "The day I climbed Bell Harry"

This morning I decided I'd sleep in and show up for eucharist but miss matins. I reset my alarm for 7:30 so i could be up and be there for 8am. Well, I fell back asleep and after a while woke up and felt I had slept too long but the alarm hadn't gone off yet. I got up and checked the time and it was 8:15, once again I haven't exactly figured out all the intricacies of this alarm.
The morning followed the same format as usual. Ed led an Ignatian bible study in the Chapel of All Saints, which is up a normally closed off staircase. Afterward +Josiah led another teaching session on the bible and context and the limits of relativism. The general tone of his lecture seemed somewhat biting to the west. He was, however, very upfront with the problems and troubles that they experience in Nigeria. I haven't agreed with him on everything but I've been deeply impressed with his honesty and humility.
In the afternoon a group of us were able to climb up Bell Harry. It took a while to get up to the top but once we did it was amazing. Half way up we were able to walk around the interior balcony of the tower and look down on most of the cathedral because of its central location, that was really neat.
The day ended as usual, dinner then talking with the Canadians about +Josiah's session this morning. Now I'm watching 300.

Day 17, “The day I didn’t write again”

Today was a fairly normal day. We had a bible study and a teaching session with +Josiah again. We had dinner at the Deanery again but this time with the Cathedral Council (an ecumenical council that consults with the Dean and Chapter and serves as ambassadors to the neighboring community and churches). Afterward a group of us headed out to a pub called “The Thomas Becket”. That was the day pretty much, nothing terribly exciting.

Day 16, “The Day I talked to the Arch-Bishop about the Red Sox”

We left for London just after eight this morning and got to the Anglican Communion offices a little after ten. We talked with a few employees there including the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. There was interesting talk about the trinity and views across the communion regarding the Trinity. Anne had a great comment about Rublev’s icon of the trinity (which we were using as a focus for our discussion). She raised the point how each of the angels is tilting their head to another and this is how they find their identity. It is only through reference to the other that they are known. She went on to talk about the chalice between them and how it is only filled so that it can be emptied again and how this defines us as Christians. We are filled with God’s love only to empty ourselves for others and be filled again. She of course said it much better than this and I’m probably missing parts, but it was very insightful.
After the ACO we headed over to Lambeth Palace where we got to talk with the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and then have tea with him. He spoke for a while about the great commission and the three verbs used (go, baptize, teach). Afterwards I got to talk with him one on one briefly and we started talking about VTS. He asked about some professors and then about +Dyer. When he mentioned +Dyer I told him I had never had a class with him but I’ve talked with him pretty regularly about the sox since we’re both fans, and then I told him about +Dyer’s sox mitre. After that we had Evening Prayer at Lambeth Palace and then headed back to Canterbury.
On the ride back we pretty much sang the entire way back. It was a blast. Most of the songs were in English but every so often some would be in the native language of a group member. We all taught each other songs and sang songs from all over the Anglican Communion. I’m in awe of the constant energy and passion that they seem to have all the time, it is very inspiring. I would certainly love to have as much energy and passion as they do.

Day 15, "The day drinks actually meant drinks"

This morning we celebrated the Eucharist at the cathedral with the congregation there. It was fairly similar to back home, as I’ve already mentioned about the language it’s close enough to back home to be comfortable but different enough to not let me go on auto-pilot. The demographics were about the same as well, mostly old white folks with a little bit of young folk with families and a few people of different races throughout. Afterwards we met with the congregation for drinks, which I had assumed meant tea and coffee maybe sherry. Nope, red and white wine, with a little bit of apple and orange juice as well (they love OJ here, it’s served at nearly every meal). We met some interesting folk from the area. I got to speak with the Bishop of Dover briefly (he was celebrating his 40th anniversary of being priested by celebrating at the cathedral).
We had a teaching session in the afternoon with Bishop Josiah Fearon from the Diocese of Kaduna, Nigeria. It was really interesting, he talked about the Nigerian perspective on being Anglican. He was very upfront about what needs to be fixed in the Nigerian church as well as what they do well. He spoke a lot about the Anglican Communion as a family and how we need to pray and work hard to keep this family from breaking up. He was upfront about his differences with the Episcopal Church but spoke about how important it is to stay together so that we can keep each other in check.
Tomorrow we head into London pretty early and do some tuff at the offices of the Anglican Communion offices then go to Lambeth and get to meet Rowan Williams. That should be really neat.

Day 14, "The day I was out of the country for two weeks"

Today's morning was much the same as the others although things were at different times since it wasn't a week day. In the bible study part we talked about what the gospel means to us individually and what gospel we need to preach back home. I was amazed at how much the church is about healing in other countries. I guess since everything has been medicalized in the west it's easy to overlook that. It was also interesting to hear other group members talk about how they have problems back home with people saying they're Christians but not really going to church, I guess it's a problem all over. Of course I expected it to be elsewhere but not to the degree that it's one of the main problems according to young clergy from these dioceses.
We had the afternoon off again so I chilled in my room. Before Evensong I did some Greek and read some church history afterwards I read a novel. It's been nice to just relax in my room this evening. I haven't had too much time just to myself outside of just before going to bed.
We talked in the teaching session this morning about priesthood. Ed quoted, or rather paraphrased, George Herbert saying when you go to visit a congregant don't presume to thing that you are bringing God there, for God is already there and the people you are going to see are the people God died for. The role of the priest is not to bring God to them but rather to recognize and show that God is already there. It reminded me about a story I heard about a famous sculptor being asked how he creates the beautiful things he does out of stone, to which he responds that he isn't creating anything just showing what's already in the stone.

Day 13, The Day I better understood the Body of Christ"

Today started off similar to yesterday. In the bible study we talked about Anglicanism in our own cultures. The most interesting part for me was hearing form one of the guys who spoke about how the things the Episcopal Church does affects how Anglicans are viewed in his country. I've heard that before but neecr directly, it's quite different hearing it first hand.
Afterwards we had a teaching session on mission. We talked about the Anglican five marks of mission. Being:

• To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom
• To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
• To respond to human need by loving service
• To seek to transform unjust structures of society
• To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain the life of the earth

The point Ed was stressing was that even though evangelism is fundamental to Anglican views of mission, mission is much more than this. What I liked about this was that they seem to encompass the MDG's but in a Christian context. This has been my biggest problem with all the praise given to the MDG's in the church, they're great things to do, but the Church is more than a relief agency. These five marks in a sense are a baptized form of the MDG's.
The tour of the Cathedral wasn't as good as I had hoped but it was still interesting. We had to skip a bunch of stuff which was what I didn't like about it, but by doing so we were able to hear a lot of interesting stuff about what we did look at.
After dinner we went to a lecture on Anglican Identity in England. One of the more interesting points I took from it was that as an established church they've split the country into geographical parishes and everyone living in a parish is a member of the local church. The Anglican Church includes everyone in England whether or not they attend, they are available for everyone.

Day 12, "The day I discovered that there is a beer named after me"

This morning began with Matins at 7:30 followed by Eucharist at 8:00. The services were similar enough to back home to make me think I knew what was to be said next but were different enough so that I was normally wrong. One of the guys from Nashotah pointed out to me that their liturgy speaks more about being a family than ours does, I didn’t quite notice that but I wasn’t really looking for similarities and differences.
After the service we had breakfast and then moved on to stark up the program. We began with a bible study of the road to Emaus Story which led to us each talking about how we found a home in the Anglican Communion. I was really touched by the stories of some of the members of my group. I won’t go into detail about their stories as they are not mine to tell, but the Anglican Church was there to help them through some very tough times.
We broke form this for coffee then went back for an introduction to the program. It seems like it’s going to cover a range of ground but all seems very interesting. Kathy Grieb will be with us for a week and with her we’ll look at the letter to the Philippians all week, I’m psyched for that. Also, on Monday we head to London and will hear some pretty interesting sounding lectures but more exciting is that we’ll get to meet Rowan Williams.
After this was lunch and then the afternoon was our own. I came back to my room and crashed. Evensong was the boys choir tonight. They were marvelous. I found out later that the boys live on campus and attend a school nearby. The Cathedral also pays for two thirds of their school fees.
We all had dinner over at the deanery tonight. The house is amazing. It is the former priory of the monastery that was here pre-reformation, and includes old roman walls in its construction.
After dinner Jason, David, Ann, Elyse and myself went to a pub right outside the main gate. The conversation was similar to last nights with Jason & David but it was nice to hear from the girls. We also discovered that at this pub they have a beer named Greene King IPA. Unfortunately, it did not live up to what I expected from the name.
Tomorrow we get a guided tour of the cathedral which I’m pumped for. Which reminds me, I talked to Tom Lewis tonight on the interwebs and might get a chance to meet up with him after the program ends here.

Day 11, "The day I drank a Bishop's Finger"

Well the alarm technically worked this morning but I slept until about 9am. The reason for this being my computer was on mute and alarms aren’t much help if they can’t make noise. So I woke up at around 9am, went out to Burgate and got a calling card and some coffee then came back to the lodge. I went down to the library and read about St. Thomas of Canterbury until lunchtime then ate lunch. After lunch I figured it was late enough back home and called home. I talked with my parents for a while (found out my brother was promoted to the rank of Captain in the USAF!) then went down to the cathedral.
It is amazing inside the cathedral. I brought the self-tour guide they sent us and walked through that and took pictures. It was especially amazing to stand at the site where St. Thomas was martyred after having just read about him all morning. The whole place, though, is truly awesome. It was a little distracting because there were a lot of school groups being loud but regardless of that everything there was incredibly moving. Walking through I really felt a connection with the history of the church.
After that I cam back and met some guys from Nashotah House. On my way over to Evensong I met a girl from Chicago who goes to Duke, and on our way back we met a girl going to school in Toronto.
After dinner the Nashotah guys and myself walked around Canterbury and ended up at a bar called the Bishop’s Finger. The beer was pretty good and it was nice getting to know the guys better and hear about their experience at Nashotah.
Tomorrow the actual program starts up (albeit somewhat slowly to allow people to adjust to the time difference) and I’m quite excited to get on with it.

Day 10, "The day I could see Canterbury Cathedral but couldn't quite get there"

Last time I came to Taize the night before we left Lyon I could not sleep and ended up getting maybe an hour or two. This time I was able to get maybe three. Last time it wasn't that big of a deal because I was traveling in a group and only had to switch planes at one point. Today I had to take the picadilly line to hammersmith, get of and jump on the District line to Victoria then get a ticket and find the right gate for the train to Canterbury. There was a lot of room for error if I were to nod off at the wrong time. I made it though, the place is beautiful and the little neighborhood outside the cathedral seems neat.
I haven't done much since getting here, being quite exhausted. I took a small walk outside the gate but mainly just settled into my room. I've got a west facing window and I can see the liturgical south (and actual south) side of the cathedral from the window (which has a little bench to sit on and enjoy the view).
I'm excited for the program but I also miss home. This should be great though. I'm hoping tomorrow to get up early and go to Matins and Eucharist, we'll see how tired I am though (and if the alarm clock widget I installed tonight works).

heads up

I am adding postdated entries I hand wrote at Taize, so look for them starting at 5/24/09, they should all be up by tomorrow.

First update post-Taize

Written updates will come soon, but for now check out the link, "pictures", I added somewhere in the upper right corner of this page (I think). As of right now there are not many up (the internet at this hotel is rather slow) but I will be adding them as I am able. peace.