four lectures and a reception; day two of wesley

let me introduce you to sarum college, in the heartland of salisbury, england. the pictures above represent the best place to be; cozy rooms, wonderful food -- vegies and everything, and a delightful space to grow and to learn. i call this day 'bay area weather', and we spent the day in lectures. this college now serves as a retreat center, a place of study; built as a theological center, it dates back to 1092 when old sarum was built; sarum college came to its own in 1677, and became a theological college in 1860, and by 1994, having merged with wells, was closed and converted into an ecumenical center for study. the chapel is intimate, and the place where we end our day with evening prayer and eucharist. our journal entry for today is dated september 30, 1754, when john wesley preached at coleford, followed by salisbury. john walked to old sarum (more about that another day, perhaps), which, "in spite of common sense, without house or inhabitant, still sends in members to the parliament...it is now vanished away, and nothing left but 'the stones of emptiness'.

we began our day with the eurcharist, provided for us in this cathedral to the left. the 'walking modonna' greets you, and the two pictures below give you some understanding of this HUGE st. mary's cathedral, that sits in the middle of campus. we lifted up prayers for the sudan ... 'may your light, o god, shine in the bitter places of the earth, where your children live in the darkness of injustice, cruelty and pain...' the service ended and we headed to breakfast at 8 am.

salisbury is in soughtern england, near stonehenge, and is known to have the tallest spire in britain. the other picture is just one of the stately homes in the area. also known as salisbury cathedral, built in 38 years during the 13th century, i will share more about this another time.


the lectures, four total, dealt with the works of mercy and piety, re-claiming a mission centered church, john wesley and the poor, and leadership in the wesleyan spirit. we learned that the laity sat in the nave, meaning boat, and when the priest spoke the eucharist mass in latin, facing away from the congregation, all the congregation could hear was the words, 'hocus pocus'; hence the early church, once domestic (meeting in homes during the 200's) began to believe that once they came into the formal church building (or "the boat of jesus") the "mystery" of god was actually "magic". is church magic or mystery? could that be why clergy still are the only ones to share the mysterious words during communion? what is under that white towel? (grape juice), and why use a cloth towel anyway? (to keep the flys out). so much for the magic and the mystery. fortunately, god is still gracious! and that is the real mystery! why IS god so gracious to us?

we learned songs in swahili -- our african sisters and brothers were evangelized because they found out that 'god is love'; that was the mystery they had to figure out! we sang lots of wesley hymns, and were reminded to do no harm, do good, and stay in love with god (not such easy tasks, really, since they all involve being in positive relationship with ones neighbor.

the early church pilgrims were a people of hope. and what is hope, you ask? well, in our theological discussion (or god talk), we heard the powerful true story of how hope can change lives. one of our professors shared the experience of meeting a man named moltmann, who was a visiting lecturer at his seminary. they got to talking about this young student's new church; it turned out that moltmann knew one of the couples there, and shared this story...moltmann was a captured german prisoner during wwii; this couple asked the community leaders that each sunday, they be sent a prisoner with whom they would spend the day. moltmann was one that spent the day with this couple; they treated him with a sense of dignity, care, and offered him the gospel, which changed his heart. following the war, moltmann became a believer, went on to finish a faith-based education, and became the author of a whole new theology, called the theology of hope. see how lives are changed? (ironically, that is one of the books i read in seminary! i still have a copy, if anyone would like to read it).

for so long, the church preached only social justice or evangelism, but not both. finally we discovered that jesus was about both belief systems, and so during the late 20th century, the social-holiness movement was born. of course, john and charles wesley began this movement in small groups, and eventually, without meaning to, created a whole new denomination; the methodists, who taught the bible, and cared for the needs of the people, and addressed their long-term needs.

leadership was introduced with focused examples about women, they helped formulate a design in the early methodist movement, focusing on gracious imitation (think amazing grace; we never asked for grace, we never expected grace, but god gives us the opportunity to live anew over and over and over again; living in faith means that we eventually have to recognize this grace, and accept it, freely, and then pass on the message -- gracious imitation!) we are called to serve, and we are called to learn; mary and martha are our examples of this. note that one style isn't better than another. both are important; both are necessary. both are 'grace-filled'. the wesleys would say 'just do it', and keep doing it!

a little known fact about charles wesley, our hymn writter. charles wrote hymns for people he knew who died in the faith; kind of like a way to work out his grief, and to honor his friends who had died. he would put their life in the form of words, and set them to music. isn't that a positive way to work out our grief? just thinking out loud here...journal, like hymn writing, is a spiritual practice, worth, well...practicing!

we need to keep practicing our faith, and share what god has so graciouly given to us -- that would be things like...life, opportunity, internal gifts, the ability to share...just to name a few.

so, it is nearly 11 pm and i have to pack for a two night, three day trip; don't worry, you'll get to 'read all about it'. but i have to be ready by 7 am.

oh, by the way -- kris marshall says hi; she bought cheese and bread to share with the group; what a gracious, hospitable way to get to know a bunch of pastors and church leaders....does that give you any ideas about the upcoming warmer months? is there someone you haven't gotten to know yet? new to the community? lost contact with? holding a grudge that needs mending?

there are many ways to do no harm, to do good, and to stay in love with god. so take the next 24 hours and be prayerful about what YOUR next step is...i'll sleep on that thought. bye for now... pj