London...WOW!!!

We left Salisbury this morning for the last time. Leaving our "home base" for the week was bittersweet. The hospitality has been incredible; the walks along their charming cobblestone streets has been a joy; and waking with the backdrop of an elegant cathedral cannot be beat. Yet, each step of this journey is amazing, because today we arrived in London. You cannot arrive in this vibrant, busy city without being awestruck. We walked from Westminster Abbey to Big Ben and across the Thames River to the London Eye. Then we returned to the heart of Methodism in Britain, Methodist Central Hall.

At Methodist Central Hall, we learned about Methodism in Britain and were excited to hear about their many plans to reach people who do not know the love of God through Jesus Christ. Many of their churches are declining also, but they just see this as a new challenge to bring the living Word of God to the people where they are today!

We had our first adventure on the Tube today and did not get separated or lost, praise God! What a joy it was to spend a quiet evening at the Canary Wharf and satisfied our silly craving for pizza at Gourmet Pizza. It was lovely to be outside just the two of us, but we are missing the boys quite a lot today! Tomorrow we hope to have our hearts strangely warmed with John Wesley's memories at Aldersgate! Jolly Good!

Homework, really???

None of us were looking forward to today. We were required to give group presentations about what we have learned on the trip and what we will do with these new found insights when we return. It felt like homework, but like many other homework assignments we have had it turned out to be so worthwhile. It was wonderful to hear other people's insights from the trip and realize how many different ways this has helped all of us grow in our faith. This trip has helped us all get back to the core of who we are as a people of faith. We are to be about loving God and neighbor, and the Wesleys reminded us that grace leads the way. In seminary, we read tons of books about the founders of the Methodist movement, but until this trip they were just characters in a book. Now, they are living breathing people who struggled with what this faith calls us to do and be. They are peopled who realize methods like prayer, fasting, scripture reading, and acts of mercy/justice help us grow into the image of God. Pretty awesome people to look to as powerful examples of Christ followers.

After we finished our group assignments, we toured the Salisbury Cathedral, which has been the backdrop of our life this last week. It was started in 1220, but incredibly it only took 38 years to build (we will be seeing the Yorkminster later this trip whose building also began in 1220, but took 250 years to complete). We heard a boys' choir and their angelic voices raised us up to God. We could not help thinking of our boys and hope they will always want to sing praises to God with the same passion. We ended our evening with a trip to something a little more modern, the movie theater. Seeing Robin Hood while in England was pretty fun, especially since we drove by Nottingham a few days ago.

Love and peace to you all!!!

On the Move(ment)

Today we went to Bristol. The drive was the most beautiful drive on our journey so far. We saw one of the white horses of Wiltshire on the hill (similar one seen in the new Robin Hood movie). In addition, the rolling hills and small towns made for a wonderful tapestry of countryside. We can imagine John riding through this land often. It is said that he rode about 250,000 miles on horseback. We know John was short, but now we wonder if he was bow-legged also. :)

Upon arriving in Bristol, one of the first things you immediately notice are the new buildings mixed in with the old buildings. Bristol was heavily bombed during the war so they had to rebuild the city. The two main locations we were visiting was the New Room and Charles Wesley's house. The New Room was a building comprised of a sanctuary and a preacher's room. This place was central to the Methodist movement because it was a place where the preachers could come and rest, study, and prepare sermons before heading out on their circuits. In addition, it was a central location for ministry with the poor that worked in the mines around Bristol and with slaves coming in on slave ships. John preached strongly opposing slavery right in the middle of the slave trade hot spot. His boldness was inspiring and is an example for us all. To mention a fact, Bristol is where American Methodism began since preachers were ordained and sent to America from here.

Charles Wesley's house was an interesting place to visit because it gave us greater insights into the "other Wesley". Charles is not as well known as John, but still had a major influence on the Methodist movement. This is because he wrote over 7,000 hymns that proclaimed the Methodist beliefs and scripture through music. We still sing some of his hymns today. We stepped into his study and were humbled by just being present where much of his work occurred.

Our afternoon was spent walking around the downtown area of Bristol learning about the history of the city and where Wesley was active. One of the most significant locations was where John preached outside for the first time. After preaching outside to more than 3,000 people, John said, "submitted to be more vile." He realized how significant outdoor preaching could be even though he did not like doing it.

The last thought about Bristol is remembering the story of Charles Wesley and the Kingswood's miners. The miners were unclean and despised by the people of Bristol. Charles brought them to receive communion in an Anglican Church and they were denied because of who they were. As a result, the Wesleys and the Methodist movement began providing communion for everyone. This is why we invite everyone to partake in communion today so that no one is denied Christ's holy supper. God's love and grace is for ALL!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ........Ah, Rest and Sabbath

We enjoyed worshiping with the Salisbury Methodist Church this morning and appreciated the rest this afternoon. We truly experienced the body of Christ while praising God here in Salisbury knowing people in our home areas would be praising God later the same day. The message proclaimed by a lay preacher encouraged everyone to love one another with humility and not to be so focused on ourselves. The heritage of John and Charles Wesley lives on in the singing of hymns. We sang Charles's hymns with the intentionality and gusto John instructed in the front of our hymnals. We received wonderful hospitality from the congregation and enjoyed our conversation with a retired pastor's wife.

This church has a great admiration for Francis Asbury who served as the Superintendent of the Salisbury circuit. Asbury left Salisbury when he was called to mission in America at the age of 23 and never returned to England. He is considered the father of American Methodism. Our connections are strong.

Today, we finally experienced the traditional food of England, fish, chips, and peas. It was lovely. We also now truly understand why the English drink so much hot tea, it is quite cool when it rains. Amazingly, this is the first day of typical English weather during our trip. This made it a perfect day to snooze and read as rain fell outside. We learned the importance of standing back from the curb when raining after a car splashed water in our faces.

Going to dry off now, Cheerio!!!

On the Road Again...

Most of the day was spent on a bus traveling from Bawtry to Salisbury. Toward the end of our journey, we stopped by a lesser known historic site in England called Stonehenge. :) We enjoyed our time walking around the henge as we learned of the place's significance. No, this place was probably not created by Merlin, giants, or the aliens, but by dedicated, creative, and strong people. Though Stonehenge was smaller than anticipated by us, the original users of the place surely found it emposing and majestic as they would approached from the river below. The commitment and expertise to move the 5,000 lb stone slabs from Wales is a testament of resolve and creativity. It is almost impossible to take in the fact Stonehenge has stood for 5,000 years.

Upon return to Salisbury, we ventured out in search of traditional English food and ended up enjoying excellent Indian food with friends. If you ever travel to England, you must partake in Indian food here.

We forgot to mention that we checked in with our almost 4 year old son Drew. The first sentence from Drew's mouth was "I'm cutting." There is nothing quite like the panic you fell from thousands of miles away when you hear those words. Thankfully, Grandma Olsen made sure they were kid scissors as he was cutting the dead heads off of flowers.

Thanks to the grandparents for all of your help!

Holy Moments and Squidgy Moments

Amazing day! We explored Epworth today, the place where Samuel and Susanna Wesley served a church and raised 10 children. After years of reading about the Wesleys, somehow being here today made them real for us. Here are todays highlights:

1. We saw the rectory (house) where they lived for 40 years. Impressive to have a parsonage that is used for over 250 years. It was amazing to see a crib like the one Susanna rocked all her children to sleep in at the rectory.


2. We touched the baptismal font Samuel used to baptize all his children. WOW!


3. Probably most meaningful was standing where Samuel (father) and John preached. The picture with this post is right in front of the Market Cross (city center) where John preached to a large crowd saying "I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ." When John was not allowed to preach inside the St. Andrew's Church because he was too much of an "enthusiast", he stood on top of his father's grave outside the church and preached in the open air. Powerful reminder that nothing should stop us from proclaiming the gospel.


4. Stood by a life-size replica of John Wesley. Did you know he was only 5'2" and 110 pounds. What a powerhouse for God in a tiny package.


5. Learned new English words - squidgy and gorgeous can be used to describe a yummy fudge brownie and moorish describes when something is so good you want more! Please try to use these in a sentence tomorrow with an English accent. :)

Thanks for following our travels. More tomorrow. Peace and grace...

Today's Guide in Oxford: Tasmanian Devil

Wow, we are tired! We had a whirlwind tour of what is considered the cradle of Methodism: Oxford. We learned that the speed for walking in England is fast or hyperspeed. Our tour guide Tim was awesome, but it was difficult to keep up and capture everything that happened in Oxford. Our schedule for the day was insane! And to top it all off, the techie of this couple forgot to bring the charger for the camera so pictures were very selective.

Just to name a few of the highlights from today without full details:

1) Oxford Tower - place where the Wesleys went to visit the imprisoned, which helped them gain a better understanding of the physical and spiritual chains that bind people and the freedom that comes with faith.

2) Christ Church - church where John and Charles was ordained. For many of the early years of Oxford University, Christ Church was the central place of activity. This would be probably more interesting for most to know that we visited the great hall of Christ Church, which was the inspiration for Hogwart's great hall in Harry Potter.

3) Lincoln College - this college (many different colleges, including Lincoln College, comprises Oxford University) was where John Wesley was a fellow (tutor, instructor, mentor for undergraduates). This is the location where John Wesley began the Methodist movement by the creation of the Holy Club (accountable discipleship group). Most personally meaningful for both of us was sitting in the chapel where the Wesleys worshiped daily while in Oxford.

There were so many other highlights, so we'll tell you the rest of the story when we return. If you wonder where we are tonight, we find ourselves in Bawtry, England and will remain here until Saturday morning. We visit the birthplace of Methodism tomorrow when we go to Epworth where the Wesleys were born and raised.

Day 2 - Flipflops and Wesley's Communal Focus

It is only day 2 and we have already been enriched by other clergy and laity all as excited as us about searching out our roots and growing in God's grace. We enjoyed chatting with our “little men” last night by Skype, if even for a few minutes. They are adorable, happy, and well cared for by our parents, even though grandma decided to cut their hair in our absence (love you mom). We are enjoying the time as a couple and have only disagreed once about the best angle to shoot a picture of the Salisbury Cathedral. Pretty great considering jet lag :). Our best shopping experience so far was in Poundland (UK version of Dollar General) where we bought British Flag flipflops for the community showers. I know Wesley wants us to be more communal in orientation, but we still prefer an en-suite bathroom. Okay, on to more weighty matters...

We are experiencing information overload after today's series of lectures and group conversations. The focus of today was to share insights about the Methodist movement and the lives of John and Charles Wesley in preparation for our sight visits tomorrow. We learned about accountable discipleship where followers journey together to grow further in love with God and with neighbor. In addition, we discussed the missional focus of the Methodist movement and their focus on the poor. The Wesleys made it clear how social concern is an outpouring of our personal relationship with Christ. Therefore, to grow in grace, there must be acts of piety (devotion to God) and acts of mercy (serving others). They also clearly modeled how God's love has no distinction of gender, race, and social class. We don't get to choose who we love, but we must love all just as Christ loves all. We who are Methodist come from really exciting roots and we hope we can reclaim the sense of movement versus establishment.

After all this foundational learning, we cannot wait to venture out to see places of historical significance to the Wesleys. After reading and studying our tradition for years, it will be so moving to have context for the words.

Enough for tonight, may your day be as filled with grace as ours!!!

Wisdom from England

On the first day of the Wesley Pilgrimage, we have learned everything from the seemingly mundane to the profound. We learned that it is pigeon mating season, therefore, do not leave the windows open because a pigeon may see it's reflection in the window and see an attractive partner...We'll move on... We have also been informed that when it gets warmer here, the men take off their shirts and it often is not a pretty picture!!! Again...Moving on...

Let's get to the valuable moments in our day. We have learned that John Wesley visited Salisbury (our current location) because his mother Suzanna was living with one of her daughters after her husband Samuel died. The connections to Wesley here in Salisbury are strong and one of the first preaching houses founded by Wesley is here. We visited the church today and will worship with them on Sunday.

The most profound moment for both of us was a reminder of how the Wesleys and the "Methodists" shared a common identity that inspired those who had no identity. Many individuals had "no" identity in the 18th century due to social norms, but Wesley recognized all as blessed and beloved of God. These social norms were centered on class and economic status, so the poor and illiterate were considered throw aways. This was dramatically influenced by the country's transition from an agricultural to industrial society. The distance between the rich and the poor was ever widening and the existing church was not responding. The Wesleys did respond by meeting these people where they were and giving them a voice. The Methodists allowed all people to use their gifts and talents to serve God.

Our parting thought... Are people searching for identity today and is the Church meeting them where they are? Good night, more tomorrow...