the wesley days in london; our last day....

the word for today is aldersgate; the experience where both wesley's have their hearts strangely warmed. we begin, howbut ever, with the 'bust' collection. there is so much wesley 'stuff' that i can hardly believe. but i thought these to the left were great!

a small known fact is that john wesley was carved in marble to be included in westminster abbey -- and yes, big ben does sound like the abbey chimes! anyway, when the carving was done, it was declined. another memorial has sense been included there. much of england appreicates john and charles wesley.

john does share this in his journal: my temper for the rest of the day was, mistrust of my own great, but before unknown, weakness. I saw that by faith I stoood; by the continual support of faith, which kept me from falling, though of myself I am ever sinking into sin. I went to bed still sensible of my own weakness, I humbly hope to be more and more so, yet confident of Christ's protection.

we truly walked the streets of london; of course, one can't go to england without a little shirlock holms.... and i must share with you that emma thompson was in town and walked right past us after we visited charles wesley grave. isn't it amazing that we can be so excited to see a 'star'? what a hoot!

part of the morning was spent learning about the hide street methodist church; this church was made up of many slave holders, in a very poor spot of london; the wesley's came there to preach, and to remind those who had slaves to change their ways.

this is the current building of the wesley chapel. the welsh pastor, who is also a lord and busy in government, shared about suzanna being burried in their gravesite, and how this was the building that was built after the work of ministry at the foundry; it is the center of ministry, and this is where a reminder to work with the poor, the infirmed, the children with their education, social services and even loans were provided. ministry to those on death row as well. our wesley ministry isn't a social gospel, but the gospel of jesus christ being proclaimed. we don't support, we do!

here is the memorial to suzanna wesley. she always wanted to be buried in the anglican church property, but it was not to be.

among other things that we saw today was the remaining wall of the city, below. parts of england are right next to existing property that is being developed or has already become a "place to read about". lots of those readings are around the city.

for instance, the placque below is really suppose to be charles wesley's aldersgate experience, but it didn't upload onto this site, and i can't figure out how to get rid of it. so, needless to say, this is actually the marker we think is charles wesley's conversion experience. this younger brother continued to let john take all the glory, and you'll see the difference in a few moments....

within john wesley's home next to the foundrey and wesley chapel, is what remains of a life that influenced england and the world. this is john's death bed -- famous because it is his belief until the end, that god is with us! the heavenly banquet was something we prepared for here, and mixing ministering to everyone was what life was all about.


this is john's marker for death, in the backyard of the church. american methodism helped to provide the means to preserve this history.

to the right is the marker about john's aldersgate/conversion experience. it rests outside a london museum. we sang 'and can it be' as we stood taking pictures. it was a moving experience -- in harmony, no less!
so many things; you just had to be here; i hope this little bit of information has been helpful.

we finished our day before heading back on the train line, and tube/underground -- which had some trouble today -- so that we could dine and finish our pilgrimage with the eucharist at st. katharine's where we are staying.

so, by now, you have probably recognized st. paul's cathedral. we celebrated evensong there at 5 pm. evensong is a service that celebrates the incarnation of god in christ, as experienced by mary. no pictures are allowed in here, so you only get outside pictures. some have asked about westminster and st. paul's. westminster is really the royal chapel that serves as the place to have regal ceremonies; the clergy are hand-picked by the queen -- she never did have tea with me; high or otherwise!

but doesn't this bring to mind mary poppins? many believe this could have been the concept for that famous scene where the woman is singing 'feed the birds, tuppins a bag...' as the banking industry is in this area.




and this is the remarkable picture of st. paul's from the neighborhood; notice how in england, the buildings are modern and classical. remember that wwii experience where domed buildings were not bombed?

well, back in london i forgot to tell you that during wwii, the wesley center and the undergound tube stations became air-raid shelters. at the center, the people didn't want to go home because of the connections people made over the years they slept together in the shelter --- hum... that doesn't sound right, but you know, i hope, what i mean.

when london was re-built, the "old style buildings were not

re-created. it gives london and england that old world charm, and the cutting edge newness!

we completed our evening with the eucharist in st. katherine's chapel; this icon is something that spoke to me, so i captured this icon to share.

please keep people on this trip in your prayers. traveling begins early morning tomorrow; some are even getting up at 2:30 am to train over to the airport.

i, however, will sleep in and be ready to catch my train to PARIS!!!

thank you for coming on this journey with me. may god move your heart and inspire your efforts to be in mission to the care of those around you and beyond. prayers were lifted up today for the struggles in korea. our world is so small...when will we learn to care ... enought?

bless you on your journey. and, hey merced! i'm coming back! let the spirit move us in the ways of christ! love, pj