That’s not completely true, although it makes a boastful title. We did not experience an Israeli summer yesterday, but we experienced the other three. We departed from our hotel on the edge of the Sea of Galilee and headed towards the ancient ruins of Bet She’an. It was a beautiful spring day. The bougainvilleas were in full bloom, reds, purples and even a yellow or two. We were in high adventurous spirits as we began the tour, exploring the ruins. But as we emerged from the bathhouse the clouds above were laden with rain, and it became dark and menacing. Suddenly spring had turned to fall, and fall did the rain.
But we donned our foul weather gear of various colors and effectiveness and continued on the tour. This is a chance that won’t pass this way again, so a little rain should not slow you down. The guide was kind enough to find us a sheltered place, tell us what we were about to see and what to pay attention to, and then send us on our way. He continually repeats, Chop chop and shake a leg, which ominous sounds like an accented break a leg. We would scurry through the sprinkle and downpours to the next sheltered location, and completed the tour.
From Bet She’an we proceeded to Caesarea and on the way the rain became a real frog choker. And weather turned from fall to winter, with hail that lined the roadway like snow. At Caesarea we watched a couple of interesting films about the construction of the harbor there, and the innovations in concrete usage (volcanic ash and water) to create a breakwater. All of which has been destroyed by the sea and multiple invaders. But the weather was too harsh to walk any of the ruins, so we returned to the bus. And no more than a mile down the road we had returned to fall. So we were able to get out and view a first century Roman aqueduct, right on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Fall stayed with us for the remainder of the day. We ventured to Megiddo a high plateau fortress that overlooks the valley of Jezreel or as it is commonly referred to Armageddon. From the heights of the plateau, we overlooked an original excavation by the University of Chicago that revealed elements back to 3000 B.C.E. And then we scaled the depths, and that is what it felt like, as we went down 183 steps into the spring for the fortress which is still functional.
Our next stop was to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. A beautifully constructed church housing a first century home, similar to the one Mary would have been visited by the angel Gabriel. The first floor of the church is simple, and the second housing the Catholic worship space is ornate and splendid. From this magnificent structure we visited the Greek Orthodox Church of the annunciation (no they are not the same because as Christians we can’t agree on most things). This church was much smaller but no less ornate. It housed the spring of water for the town of Nazareth and it too is still a functioning spring.
The day was filled with thin places, but none more thin that the camaraderie we shared as 40 wet, cold pilgrims.
Friday, January 13, 2012
All God's children
It’s an aircraft. It’s a big aircraft, with 10 seats across divided by two aisles. It is divided into sections; first, business, coach and the back of the bus. Now the designation of back of the bus is not one that the airlines recognize, but for those of us enroute to Tel Aviv there was no doubt about it – there was a difference between coach and the back of the bus. First, of all this aircraft was no outfitted with personal video in the headrest of the seat in front of you, but everyone was expected to watch the four movies selected by someone in authority in the order they had selected. Now 20 years ago this was a big screen. By today’s standards, it wasn’t even medium screen. I can’t tell you about the quality of the resolution, because in the back of the bus, the video was not operational. 10 hours no video.
Well, video is not all that important or significant. It’s only a ten hour flight (perhaps you fly to places too far away when 10 hours sounds reasonable). You could always read for some of that time. Except that in the back of the bus the overhead lights do not work. That’s not completely accurate. Through about an hour of experimentation one of my seat mates discovered that the lights did work. Our switches controlled the lights seven rows in front of us. And while that was entertaining for awhile, particularly when the people in that row couldn’t figure out what was going on; it did not have the capability of sustaining our interest. However, the lack of lights did completely eliminate the possibility of reading while in flight. 10 hours no video, no reading.
That left the options of sleeping and people watching. And while sleeping is possible on an aircraft in the back of the bus, it is by no mean comfortable. And the opportunities for people watching were endless. In the back of the bus with me was a group of young people from New York who were as a group going to Israel. They were Jewish, and many spoke fluent Hebrew. One was the chief negotiator and reshuffled people around in their seats so that they could be with loved ones, or ones they wanted to love. Several of them crisscrossed the aircraft by walking across the armrests. I think that is an activity reserved for the very light and graceful.
But the best people watching began as the sun peaked out over our horizon. First the Muslims came to the back of the bus, spread their blankets and began to pray. Then the Jews came to the rear of the aircraft and began their prayers. Women with head scarves, and bearded men with shawls, together in the back of the bus praying to their god. And this Christian watched as nothing divided us and we prayed together.
This is a thin place.
Well, video is not all that important or significant. It’s only a ten hour flight (perhaps you fly to places too far away when 10 hours sounds reasonable). You could always read for some of that time. Except that in the back of the bus the overhead lights do not work. That’s not completely accurate. Through about an hour of experimentation one of my seat mates discovered that the lights did work. Our switches controlled the lights seven rows in front of us. And while that was entertaining for awhile, particularly when the people in that row couldn’t figure out what was going on; it did not have the capability of sustaining our interest. However, the lack of lights did completely eliminate the possibility of reading while in flight. 10 hours no video, no reading.
That left the options of sleeping and people watching. And while sleeping is possible on an aircraft in the back of the bus, it is by no mean comfortable. And the opportunities for people watching were endless. In the back of the bus with me was a group of young people from New York who were as a group going to Israel. They were Jewish, and many spoke fluent Hebrew. One was the chief negotiator and reshuffled people around in their seats so that they could be with loved ones, or ones they wanted to love. Several of them crisscrossed the aircraft by walking across the armrests. I think that is an activity reserved for the very light and graceful.
But the best people watching began as the sun peaked out over our horizon. First the Muslims came to the back of the bus, spread their blankets and began to pray. Then the Jews came to the rear of the aircraft and began their prayers. Women with head scarves, and bearded men with shawls, together in the back of the bus praying to their god. And this Christian watched as nothing divided us and we prayed together.
This is a thin place.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Another search underway
The search for thin places begins anew, but this time I am visiting the Holy Land of Israel with about 110 friends. And if the seating arrangements on the plane are any indication, some of us will be much closer by the time we return.
As a reminder, Celts talk about “thin places”, places where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin that the two blend together. Thin places are locations or settings where spiritual beings find themselves drawn nearer to the spirit. For me, as a Christian, that would be the spirit of the Trinitarian God, but for others it may take different shapes or spirits. There are places that are traditionally thought to be “thin places”; the Isle of Iona off the West coast of Scotland is certainly an example. And for Christians, Jews and Muslims, this Holy place of Jerusalem and the Middle east certainly is a thin place.
Part of my quest in this search for thin places is certainly to explore those places with the tradition of “thinness,” but more importantly to seek out and locate those places that are thin but could easily be missed. What if we could all find thin places in our day to day journeys? What might our world look like then?
As a reminder, Celts talk about “thin places”, places where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin that the two blend together. Thin places are locations or settings where spiritual beings find themselves drawn nearer to the spirit. For me, as a Christian, that would be the spirit of the Trinitarian God, but for others it may take different shapes or spirits. There are places that are traditionally thought to be “thin places”; the Isle of Iona off the West coast of Scotland is certainly an example. And for Christians, Jews and Muslims, this Holy place of Jerusalem and the Middle east certainly is a thin place.
Part of my quest in this search for thin places is certainly to explore those places with the tradition of “thinness,” but more importantly to seek out and locate those places that are thin but could easily be missed. What if we could all find thin places in our day to day journeys? What might our world look like then?
Monday, October 10, 2011
Ancient temples and sweat
Today we spent the day in Angkor Wat, the largest temple complex in the world. We visited Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Angkor Phom. Angkor Phom is the place where Angelina Jolie filmed the movie tomb raider. That temple complex was in the process of being destroyed by nature when the French found it in the 12th century. Abandoned for several years by the Cambodian King, the trees had begun to uproot the foundations. Despite several centuries of restoration, and a couple of wars, the trees are still winning. What do you think that has to say about how we take care of things?
It was an all day expedition, in the heat and humidity. We were all soaked. And we are all in one combined room, preparing to depart. But it felt so good to be showered and clean. Next, on to dinner, and then the airport. Homeward bound.
this was a thin place sort of day.
It was an all day expedition, in the heat and humidity. We were all soaked. And we are all in one combined room, preparing to depart. But it felt so good to be showered and clean. Next, on to dinner, and then the airport. Homeward bound.
this was a thin place sort of day.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tourist time
We are in Siem Reap. This is the tourist Mecca of Cambodia, primarily because of the Angkor Wat temple complex nearby. And the town is like any tourist town. The prices are higher simply because of the location. Our day Sunday was a busy one, but I would like to recount it in reverse order.
The team attended the Cambodian Royal Dance and dinner at the Kulen Theater. It is essentially a dinner show, but the show consists of young men and women dancing traditional Cambodian dance. And the only response is wow. The costumes are elaborate and the dance grace filled. Some dances celebrated rituals, like the coconut dance for youthful relationships or the fishing dance for the tradition of fishing (and youthful relationships), while others told complex stories or fables. Although the dancers moved relatively slow, it was difficult to get good images because they were always moving.
Earlier in the day we had gone to the Silk Farm. This is a program to train young men and women different sustainable crafts such as silk weaving, stone carving, and silk printing. Our tour started with a visit to the mulberry bushes where the food for the worms was grown. But these are special worms, they don’t come to the plants, the plants are brought into them. We were then taken through each stage, from cocoon to string, to raw and fine silk, to weaving, to finishing, and of course, terminating in the store. Because it was Sunday there were only a few workers present and their primary duty was to be available to show tourists the production, so it was a privilege. And yes indeed, we impacted the Cambodian economy.
But our day started in worship. We went to the first Methodist church in Siem Reap, built in 1995. However, that congregation has already outgrown that structure and they are in their new building, which by the looks of it they need to head towards two services or a bigger structure. The old building is now the children’s wing, which also serves as a classroom for preschool children through the week. The music was all played with gusto on traditional Cambodian instruments. Our challenge for the day was crossing the flooded out drive to the church. The Siem Reap area, and nearby Thailand, have suffered very serious flooding this year due to unusually strong monsoon rains. Only last week the Night Market had been flooded. Many of the smaller rivers in the city are still well out of their banks. Getting into worship meant going through about 20 yards of mid calf high water. Solution. Moto.
Much of Cambodian gets around on Moto’s. Scooters. Men and women hire themselves out as mototaxies. You hop on the back and they will take you where you want to go. In Cambodia, it is more economical to travel by moto. So it is not uncommon to see as many Cambodians as possible on a moto. Our record this trip is seeing seven Cambodians on a moto. That was four adults, one child and two babies.
But we had a church member on a moto, who agreed to ferry us in one by one, through the water. What a way to get to church! And what a way to eliminate excuses. A packed church that had to wade through a flood to come to church.
This is a thin place.
The team attended the Cambodian Royal Dance and dinner at the Kulen Theater. It is essentially a dinner show, but the show consists of young men and women dancing traditional Cambodian dance. And the only response is wow. The costumes are elaborate and the dance grace filled. Some dances celebrated rituals, like the coconut dance for youthful relationships or the fishing dance for the tradition of fishing (and youthful relationships), while others told complex stories or fables. Although the dancers moved relatively slow, it was difficult to get good images because they were always moving.
Earlier in the day we had gone to the Silk Farm. This is a program to train young men and women different sustainable crafts such as silk weaving, stone carving, and silk printing. Our tour started with a visit to the mulberry bushes where the food for the worms was grown. But these are special worms, they don’t come to the plants, the plants are brought into them. We were then taken through each stage, from cocoon to string, to raw and fine silk, to weaving, to finishing, and of course, terminating in the store. Because it was Sunday there were only a few workers present and their primary duty was to be available to show tourists the production, so it was a privilege. And yes indeed, we impacted the Cambodian economy.
But our day started in worship. We went to the first Methodist church in Siem Reap, built in 1995. However, that congregation has already outgrown that structure and they are in their new building, which by the looks of it they need to head towards two services or a bigger structure. The old building is now the children’s wing, which also serves as a classroom for preschool children through the week. The music was all played with gusto on traditional Cambodian instruments. Our challenge for the day was crossing the flooded out drive to the church. The Siem Reap area, and nearby Thailand, have suffered very serious flooding this year due to unusually strong monsoon rains. Only last week the Night Market had been flooded. Many of the smaller rivers in the city are still well out of their banks. Getting into worship meant going through about 20 yards of mid calf high water. Solution. Moto.
Much of Cambodian gets around on Moto’s. Scooters. Men and women hire themselves out as mototaxies. You hop on the back and they will take you where you want to go. In Cambodia, it is more economical to travel by moto. So it is not uncommon to see as many Cambodians as possible on a moto. Our record this trip is seeing seven Cambodians on a moto. That was four adults, one child and two babies.
But we had a church member on a moto, who agreed to ferry us in one by one, through the water. What a way to get to church! And what a way to eliminate excuses. A packed church that had to wade through a flood to come to church.
This is a thin place.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Thursday fun and Friday Sabbath
We went to the beach Thursday. And it was the start of our Sabbath rest. As you walk onto the beach area the vendor women and children approach and want to make you bracelets, or give you a massage. Some even offered to pull the hairs out of our legs using those thread things you may have seen in the mall. No thanks. That even sounds painful. Out of the 100 participants in the event, ½ have never been to the beach before now. It was such a joy to watch them play in the sand and surf. There were photographers wandering up and down the beach to take photos of the fun. Many of them spent money to get that image. Of course, the four little boys who have been with us this week all had to have something that makes noise. Turns out boys are boys even half way around the world.
When we returned we had dinner and something that roughly translated into Happy night. This was a cross between American Idol and any high school dance that you may have ever been to. They were having a contest between districts for who could sing the best. And when every song started everyone had to get up and dance. And this was magnificent graceful dance. Their feet and hands move in a slow movement that it captivating. And then there were those of Northern European heritage, who simply shuffled around the dance floor. One of our favorite ladies was the winner (you can say little, the peep hole for our hotel room door is at the level of the chest.
We took Friday as a day of Sabbath rest. Our teaching task was completed and today the District superintendents taught on small groups. Pretty much everyone in the group has some type of physical complaint from the snots to the trots. Aches and pains abound, as it turns out when you bounce around the Cambodian countryside in a minibus not everything remains happy. S on the advice of our two nurses and at the direction of the team leader we chilled today. And it was so good.
We held a team meeting in our coffee shop at nine and discussed the things we had seen and done. What we would take back with us to our work in our local churches and conference. Then we made a provisions raid on the grocery store procuring water, sesame crackers, bananas and yogurt. So we skipped Cambodian lunch and had a picnic. Probably from the alternating heat and humidity and the A/C set to stun (17 C to be precise), my roommate and I both have a cough. So as we lay down for our naps, I would cough, she would cough, I would snort, she would chortle. Then we would laugh which caused us to cough. TB sanitariums where never this much fun.
When we returned we had dinner and something that roughly translated into Happy night. This was a cross between American Idol and any high school dance that you may have ever been to. They were having a contest between districts for who could sing the best. And when every song started everyone had to get up and dance. And this was magnificent graceful dance. Their feet and hands move in a slow movement that it captivating. And then there were those of Northern European heritage, who simply shuffled around the dance floor. One of our favorite ladies was the winner (you can say little, the peep hole for our hotel room door is at the level of the chest.
We took Friday as a day of Sabbath rest. Our teaching task was completed and today the District superintendents taught on small groups. Pretty much everyone in the group has some type of physical complaint from the snots to the trots. Aches and pains abound, as it turns out when you bounce around the Cambodian countryside in a minibus not everything remains happy. S on the advice of our two nurses and at the direction of the team leader we chilled today. And it was so good.
We held a team meeting in our coffee shop at nine and discussed the things we had seen and done. What we would take back with us to our work in our local churches and conference. Then we made a provisions raid on the grocery store procuring water, sesame crackers, bananas and yogurt. So we skipped Cambodian lunch and had a picnic. Probably from the alternating heat and humidity and the A/C set to stun (17 C to be precise), my roommate and I both have a cough. So as we lay down for our naps, I would cough, she would cough, I would snort, she would chortle. Then we would laugh which caused us to cough. TB sanitariums where never this much fun.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
we are the church together
It has been my privilege to worship in churches all over the world, and at a church were the world comes to worship. At Iona last summer one of my favorite things during Sunday worship was when we would all pray the Lord’s Prayer in our native language and learned style. It was a cacophony of voices raised together saying the same prayer. Here in Cambodia one of their practices in prayer is to all pray aloud but all saying different things, closing with the Lord’s Prayer together. It is many voices in the same language but with different words. It truly seemed to be the whirlwind of the Acts 2 Pentecost experience.
We return from breaks and meals with the band playing, joyous, cranked up music. Like Charles Wesley the Cambodian church has taken popular music and put words to them. So they become familiar praise songs. This morning during opening worship we danced and sang a song that I am sure was “La Bamba.” And it was sedate as a Zumba class. We hopped and jumped and ran in place. And the team doesn’t understand a word they are singing, but it was a joyful noise.
Interestingly, the theme song of the Cambodian church is Bill and Gloria Gaither’s Because he lives. It is the title of the biography of Joseph and Marilyn Chan and tells of their life in Cambodia prior to Pol Pot, during Pol Pot and their escape to the US. It then chronicles their life in the US and return to Cambodia as missionaries for the UMC. It is their Amazing Grace or Oh for a thousand tongues to sing. And they celebrate it with gusto.
This is a thin place.
We return from breaks and meals with the band playing, joyous, cranked up music. Like Charles Wesley the Cambodian church has taken popular music and put words to them. So they become familiar praise songs. This morning during opening worship we danced and sang a song that I am sure was “La Bamba.” And it was sedate as a Zumba class. We hopped and jumped and ran in place. And the team doesn’t understand a word they are singing, but it was a joyful noise.
Interestingly, the theme song of the Cambodian church is Bill and Gloria Gaither’s Because he lives. It is the title of the biography of Joseph and Marilyn Chan and tells of their life in Cambodia prior to Pol Pot, during Pol Pot and their escape to the US. It then chronicles their life in the US and return to Cambodia as missionaries for the UMC. It is their Amazing Grace or Oh for a thousand tongues to sing. And they celebrate it with gusto.
This is a thin place.
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