Where To Now?

Well, it took a while but I wanted to wrap up our quick little Latvia trip. Sunday morning worship was a blur for me, as I wasn't feeling well. Unfortunately, I had to step out of the Sanctuary to get some air and try to feel better... so I missed the sermon. I was, however, able to hear the beautiful sound of Latvians singing. They are so talented... seemingly every single one of them can sing beautifully. Must be in the genes. While I was sitting by the open window in the fellowship room, I had the benefit of watching the behind-the-scenes scurrying of busy hands setting out a beautiful spread of food for the group to enjoy after worship. I can't believe I didn't get a photo when it was all ready.... it was stunning! Alas, my mind was preoccupied with my own self. Hmpf. I even missed them calling me up to thank me for coming, and their subsequent prayer for me that I would feel better. All were very concerned, and I appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers. A...

Well, I gave out before I got this written last night, so it's now Sunday morning. When it comes to the second day of Annual Conference, and you didn't sleep through the night, it can be a challenge to stay focused and alert. I have to confess to experiencing some head nods on Saturday... but we persevered and had a great day! Today's sessions involved more of the business of the church. Richard and I stayed for the Bible study time, discussion of the Bishop's address, worship and food, of course. When the lay persons and clergy persons split up for their meetings, we cut out to go visit Wesley Camp. It's always beautiful out there, but today even more so as we were able to see for the first time the new cabin that is being built on one of the platforms. You can see the new addition to the camp skyline on the far right when you approach from the road... It's going to be a great addition, and allow for longer use of the camp in spring and fall if it...

Today was a full day of fellowship, worship, reports, discussions, prayers, messages, food, hugs, cool breezes, smiles, and more food. It took a little time to get the translation going, so I missed some of the content of Edgars message, but I'm sure it was great. This was his first message to the annual conference as its District Superintendent and he looked like he was enjoying himself. Bishop Alstead shared a good message about transformation (and in English so no translation needed). Before lunch, the group was sent out on a mission to talk to the people of Liepaja... basically street evangelism. We figured there weren't too many English-speakers on the streets of Liepaja, so instead we went shopping. I know. So American. But you can't NOT go to Laima. Those of you who get to have chocolate when I get home will thank me. New Testaments ready to go out to the people of Liepaja Of course, the Latvians know how to walk out on the street and just strike up a c...

After a long and restless flight, we (Richard Payne and I) are safely in Latvia for the 2017 Annual Conference of the Latvian Methodist Churches. After a wind-tossed landing in Riga, we hopped in the car with Gita M. and Ericka for the 3-hour drive to Liepaja. It was cool outside! *sweet sigh* Our only stop was at the StatOil for a potty break and a snack. No hot dog this time, but a very tasty cream-filled shortbread baked wonder. I just love Latvia. We went first to Liepaja LAMB for hugs and for Richard to join the Wesley Camp board meeting. Gita and I helped Daina "correct" the cats tails (i.e. remove unwanted leaves) so that she could love her arrangements more. She and Astra had spent part of the day out in the woods chopping down grass, cats tails, flowers, and berries to use in the arrangements that will decorate the church for the Annual Conference. They are so gifted! We also enjoyed the youth practicing their praise songs for the worship time. Gita and I h...

I've been mulling over my final blog entry for this trip, primarily because I wanted it to be profound. So, since I'm still waking up at 5 AM I figured I might as well go ahead and try my hand at it. Today, I go back to work in the church that descended from John Wesley's work. After a pilgrimage such as the one we've just had, I find myself wondering what I've learned that may impact my outlook on life and work moving forward. I started this trip (the first day, if you recall) wondering about the likability of John Wesley. Awfully presumptuous of me, I guess, to judge the man who impacted the lives of so many. I find myself now thinking more of John Wesley in context. In the same way that we read the Bible with the time period in mind, I remind myself that Wesley's way of sharing life with others was very different for his time period. We modern Methodists perhaps don't appreciate how different it really was. We are "mainstream" now... no long...

Thursday was our day of touring London with a guide on our bus. I've been to many of the key places in London, so I was glad to get a tour that told more about the different areas of the city and how they are changing. The area where our hotel is located is known as the "Silicon Valley" area of London... so you can imagine the people we've seen commuting by foot to work around here. All young(ish). I won't go over all of the places we drove through... if you've been to London you know and if you haven't you can imagine. We stopped at the Methodist Central Hall across from Westminster Abbey for a toilet break and hoping to see the inside. Unfortunately, the hall was booked for a conference and so all we did was have a coffee in the Wesley Cafe and use the toilet. This was one place I didn't get to go the last time I was in London, so I was happy to read a little more about it and go inside, even just for a minute. Central Hall was built ...

Today was to be our "big walking tour" of Wesley sites in London. And big it was. Although it could have been worse... it was certainly the most walking we've done in a single day. We started out walking toward the Wesley Chapel and John Wesley's House. On our way we stopped by the place where the Foundry was, the first building that John Wesley purchased for class meetings (they had outgrown peoples' homes). No photos of that (it doesn't exist anymore and the plaque has been removed). We will tour the Wesley sites tomorrow, so today we just stopped outside to note their location before going across the street to Bunhill Fields, the cemetery where Susannah Wesley and numerous other famous names are buried... Daniel DeFoe (Robinson Crusoe), John Bunyan (Pilgrim's Progress), Isaac Watts (Hymn writer). You couldn't really get to Susannah Wesley's grave to take a proper photo, but it's about center of this picture, back by the tree that...

Before leaving the beautiful town of Salisbury, we stopped in to visit the Methodist Church there. They were preparing to host a guest lecturer for the local arts council, and also receiving their Tuesday mother's day out children, so it was quite a busy hub of activity. They also open up the church daily from 10 AM to noon for tea and coffee, so there were some people taking advantage of that as well. It was good to see the church building busy and being used. John Wesley first visited Salisbury in 1738, then purchased the plot of land where the church stands now in order to build a preaching house in 1759. The current church building was built in 1810, then enlarged in 1835 (you can see in the photo where the enlargement took place). The most recent renovation was in 1992, at which time they changed the orientation of the worship space, removed the traditional altar and pews, and hung a beautiful creation embroidery. The organ remains in the rear balcony. The place is als...