Bloomsbury Baptist Visit (the Prof)

Yesterday we attended Bloomsbury Baptist Church here in the Bloomsbury area where we are staying.  It was an interesting mixture of the familiar and the foreign.  In some ways, it felt like any smaller Baptist church you might visit.  The people were very friendly and welcoming.  There was a comfortable and casual air about the way that people related to each other and even to the guy who did announcements (especially when he messed up a time and someone had to correct him from the congregation).  OTOH, the worship had at least as much in common with Westminster Abbey as with a typical American Baptist church.  We sang four hymns.  I only knew even the words to one of them (Take My Life and Let it Be) and it was sung to a different tune from the one I know.  There was more time of scripture reading and a much longer time of intercessory prayer than what an American Baptist church would expect.

The pastor's message was superb.  He preached on the foolishness of Christ being wiser than the wisdom of men and reminded us that many of the things that God calls us to do may not "sound just right" in the logic of secular life, but it is still what God asks of us.

A Day at Oxford (the Prof)

Friday was our first day trip.  We spent the whole day in the home of the oldest English speaking university in the world (though I think Cambridge disputes that).  Oxford is a different kind of university from American universities.  It is really a series of colleges combined under one large umbrella.  Students are admitted to a college and live there, but they may take their courses from faculty in a number of different colleges (faculty in colleges are not organized by specialty--you might find chemistry professors in a number of different colleges).

Anyway, Oxford is a step back into history.  Christ Church (the college we toured) was founded in the time of Henry VIII.  The great dining hall was the inspiration for the Hogwarts hall in the Harry Potter movies.  Lewis Carroll created his Alice in Wonderland characters there to entertain the dean's daughters--one of whom was Alice.  One of the professors there was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's "M" character in the James Bond novels.  John Locke, John and Charles Wesley and William Gladstone all studied there.  Quite a place.

We had lunch in the Eagle and Child; a very nice little pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien met and talked about the books they were writing.  We also made it to the Natural History Museum and got our picture taken with the TRex and Triceratops.  

Eventually, it just gets overwhelming how old things are.  Many of the buildings in Oxford date from the 1500s, but they aren't even the oldest places in town.  Some buildings (or at least parts of buildings) date back hundreds of years before that.  Standing next to a tower built a millennia ago is a rather awesome experience.

Side note: we're going to start signing our posts in the header so it's easy to tell one from the others

Tube Rally

Sent the students all over London looking for information.  They had to use the tube (subway) and the buses and walk a bit.  Helping them get used to getting around London and doing a little group bonding on the way.  They I chased around trying to find them.  The top group's in Westminster near Big Ben (that's Parliament in the background).  The bottom group is in Trafalgar Square in front of one of the lions.  --the Prof

Les Miserables

As teacher mentioned, we saw Les Miz the other night.  What an overwhelming performance.  This was my first time to see a top shelf theatre company do a musical.  They really were superb.  

But the story really is what gets to me.  It's such a powerful message about redemption and the superiority of grace to law.  Jean Valjean is given a second chance at life by a generous priest.  It's a chance he really doesn't deserve (though he's been mistreated by the perverse system).  Through that he learns to be generous with others, even though he doesn't always get it right.  By contrast, the policeman Javert is limited by his narrow view of the world through the eyes of law (he really is the older brother in Jesus' story).  While Javert always sees Valjean as the contemptible criminal who broke the law, he acts unethically in the pursuit of the law himself.  In the end, he cannot handle the contrast of seeing how much better a man Valjean is.  He wastes his life while Valjean turns his into something meaningful.

What a great picture of the redemption message.  The final song calls us all to "come and join our crusade" and make a difference in the world.  It really had the feeling of an altar call. 

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!

Westminster Abbey

Went to church this morning at Westminster Abbey.  It's pretty clear that the building was designed to inspire awe.  It's pretty amazing to walk into that soaring architecture, see the light coming through the beautiful stained glass windows and listen to the powerful organ.  The building and the service are designed to remind us of the awesomeness of God.  (Pictures will have to wait until we go back as tourists--no cameras allowed on Sunday)

While I don't think I'd want to worship that way on a regular basis, it does seem to be a pretty good counter-balance to the possibly over-familiar way we approach God.  True, he is a loving father and he does welcome us into his presence, but he's still God.  He's not a buddy and he doesn't owe us anything.

The pastor's sermon was on the unity of the church.  He noted that while we may not agree about every doctrinal issue, we can unite around the celebration of what Christ has done for us and the mission of the church.  A good message.  --the Prof

The Students are Here!

Thursday brought lots of joy our way as our students arrived! We used Pizza Express to bribe them to stay up and try to lessen the effects of jet lag.  Friday morning we found ourselves leading tours to the local market (grocery store) and the mobile (cell phone) store. Afternoon found our whole team embarking on a three hour walking expedition with our British culture expert. After making our way to Trafalgar Square and catching our first glimpse of the beloved Big Ben one of the girls summed it up perfectly when she turned and said, "now I feel like I've been to London." Exactly.


Tonight we saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theater. Maybe saw is not the best word, let's try "experienced".  Which reminds me, I won't even bother with eye makeup next time....just can't forget the tissues!  To experience Les Miz is to experience redemption. I think someone very smart said after the show, "that's what Christian drama should look like"  - especially the last scene/song.


Tomorrow we send our students out on a "Tube Rally" which is a short way of saying scavenger hunt. Let's see how many paid attention today. The winning teams earn a few pounds.
                        - the Teacher
  

Walking in London

is an interesting experience.  And it's something you get to experience a lot.  Even if using the tube or the buses, it takes some walking to move between them.  I'm getting my exercise allotment met every day.

But it's a new challenge.  There are two things that shake up an American a bit.  First, the traffic has the right of way.  Unless you're in a designated cross walk with a "green man" displayed (as opposed to red for stop), if you step out in front of a car and get it, you are at fault.  Which means that the drivers aren't paying attention to you, you better get out of their way.  Which brings us to the second problem.  Traffic coming from the "wrong" direction.  It's tough to get used to looking right first when crossing the road.  Forty-some-odd years is a long time to build a habit.  A few days practice doesn't break it.  Now, I'm mostly confused when I come to an intersection.  It's definitely a time to stay on your toes.

You also have to be careful about directions.  A Londoner might say "oh it's just a brief walk" and mean "it only takes 30 minutes."  Like I said, I should be in pretty good shape by the end of this time.  --The Prof

These boots were made for walking...

Walking to church......
This morning we attended All Souls Church.  There are churches all around us and one of the neatest things was hearing church bells as I awoke this morning.  We walked about 40 minutes to get there, but bought our Oyster cards so we could ride back. We found out that people from over 99 countries attend this particular church.
Walking to the market (grocery store).
....we found the market on Saturday so we could stock up for breakfast and lunch the next day. Never really thought about how handy my car was to bring home the items I purchase at the store. Stores are pretty similar but you don't buy large amounts at a time due to the walking thing and the storage thing.
Walking to dinner
.....last night we walked to dinner and had "fish and chips", then we walked around several blocks with our director pointing out places of interest. It does seem strange to think about the fact that you pretty much walk to wherever you want to go. Even if you want to use the "tube" or the bus you plan on a short walk.
                                  by the Teacher

Sitting in our apartment in London

to type this.  It's a really cool place.  We'll try to do a video in the next day or two to show it off.  Right now it looks like the luggage area at an airport.

Travel was mostly uneventful.  Had an interesting "someone's praying for us" moment early on.  The lady that checked our baggage in Austin moved from the front baggage area to our gate while we were waiting (I have never seen one of them do that before). There were still 30 people left getting on when they ran out of room for carry-ons.  She came down the ramp to see what was slowing boarding, remembered us and intervened for us since we were flying international.  They found a spot to put our bags.  Otherwise we'd have had to check them and then go to baggage claim (and clear customs again) in Atlanta.  It would have been a close run thing to make our flight if we'd had to do that.

Otherwise uneventful travel (which is high praise when you're flying these days).

The Prof

The travels begin on Friday

The idea of spending four months in London is exciting, but right now the packing for travel is just intimidating.  Lots to do before we leave on Friday.