Bradford Youth Exchange

The Diocese of Southwestern Virginia has a companion diocese in Bradford, England. An exchange between our youth has been going on for more than 20 years. This summer, a group of six youth from our diocese went to Bradford and spent three weeks exploring Bradford and its rich culture. Next year (Summer 2008), a group of youth from Bradford will spend three weeks staying with host families throughout our diocese.

The following are posts from our trip in the summer of 2007. Please enjoy reading them and sharing in our incredible experience. Please contact Aimee Bostwick if you are interested in helping with the exchange in summer ‘08!

Hello Dio SWVA,

It has been an incredible day here in London. We arrived yesterday (Saturday) at 7:00am and met a few of our Bradford companions who swept us into the Tube and treated us to a fortifying snack of, among other things, Jaffa Cakes and energy bars. We spent a few hours drifting through the Camden Locks Market in a joyful haze, fighting sleep in an effort to stymie the gradual effects of jet lag. From the Market, we traveled under the streets of London to the British Museum to gaze upon the Rosetta Stone and bask in the glory of other ancient relics. Last night, we feasted in the hotel cafe on a sampling of curries to prepare our palettes for the international cuisine we will find in Bradford. Thankfully, everyone enjoyed Bhunsak and Korma and Massalla and, well, you get the idea. Everyone collapsed in their quarters and woke this morning (Sunday) full of energy and enthusiasm.

We darted out the door of our King’s Cross Travel Lodge, jumped the gap and tubed to All Soul’s Church for morning services in what proved to be a truly international church as the congregation was filled with the foreign faces of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Arden played with children from England, Africa, France, and points East in the creche. Our Anglican extended family was cordial and accommodating. After a rousing sermon and some inspiring music, we were treated to a panoply of “sermons” of a different sort in the gathering crowds of Speaker’s Corner of Hyde Park. If you haven’t heard of Speaker’s Corner, suffice it to say, it is the virtual birthplace of free and uncensored speech where speakers gather literally, on their soapboxes (well, ladders now) to express their thoughts on the controversial topics of the day from terrorism to abortion to radical Islam to fundamentalist Christianity, so on and so forth. The hecklers were part of the dance and our students stood wide-eyed as they experienced democracy in action.

To round out our day with our new British friends and our Vicar-turned-tour-guide, Peter Yorkstone, we went to several free museums, took a boat trip on Old Father Thames and rode a double-decker bus after dining on Beef and Abbot’s Ale Pie and fish and chips in a busy little pub in the shadows of the Tower of London. We cannot possibly express the looks of amazement and wonder on the faces of the students as our phenomenal day unfolded. And, this is only the beginning.

Cheers from Shipley!

After a harried bon voyage from Platform 4 of Kings Cross Station (and, sorry to disappoint all the wanna-be wizards, not Platform 9 & ¾ of Harry Potter fame, though we did take a moment for the requisite photo-op at the magically disappearing luggage trolley embedded in the wall between Platforms 9 and 10), we left the city of London and all its human diversity and architectural splendor for the idyllic town of Shipley about 200 miles north of London in the heart of the Kingdom. For those of you unacquainted with the geography of our motherland, the heart of the Diocese of Bradford is almost exactly midway between the Scottish city of Edinborough and London on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, which many, both residents and non-residents alike, claim to be the most beautiful region of England. Shipley, situated at the southern-most end of the Diocese, is nestled in the rolling hills and glens of the Aire River Valley. Last night, we arrived beneath some of the bluest sky we’ve ever seen and stepped from the train into an invigorating breeze as the sun slowly and brilliantly set over the tail-end of the Pennine Ridge, the majestically elevated backbone of the English mainland.

Earlier in the day, we took in the sights of London’s Green and St. James Parks, and, yes, stood amidst the throngs breathlessly anticipating the changing of the Guard near Buckingham Palace, where several of our female companions swooned beneath the gaze of the ruggedly handsome armor-clad regal horsemen. Then, we walked a lengthy section of Whitehall Road from 10 Downing Street, home of the newly minted Prime Minister Gordon “Will He or Won’t He Wear Jeans at Camp David” Brown, to Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Raising the ire of our egalitarian-minded host and vicar, the Church now charges nearly 8 quid (sorry, pounds) for a gander at what is arguably one of Anglican Christendom’s most revered sites. After a moment of lamentation over this unfortunate bit of official avarice, we sped through the Underground to Covent Garden, a bustling marketplace filled with the hypnotic smells of international cuisine and the theatrical sty lings of street performers in their soil-smudged vests and oversized shoes. In Covent Garden Market, one can buy something from Prada or feast on a three-quid curry & pint, making it truly a market for the masses. We left London by rail, floating past sprawling suburbs, dark green wetlands, high-tech wind farms, seemingly ancient hamlets, post-modern high-rises juxtaposed with crumbling industrial millworks, and endless fields outlined with crooked stacked stonewalls. Most of the students agreed that rail travel is the most civilized and efficient form of travel we’ve yet to experience. We landed at Shipley rested and refreshed, eager to meet our new hosts and, for some, to take part in a homecoming of sorts, as we were greeted by past participants in the Exchange, who immediately treated all of us as members of one great big extended family.

This morning, the group toured the model village of Saltaire, a stone’s throw from the town of Shipley. The village of Saltaire, a village built and designed by nonconformist Titus Salt to escape the debauchery and overindulgence of the industrialized city of Bradford, is an official World Heritage site on par with the Egyptian pyramids and the Taj Mahal. After a brief tour of Saltaire, we went on a walk (that’s a hike to all you colonials) to the Shipley Glen, overlooking the River Aire and the town of Shipley, where we lunched and lounged beneath nearly cloudless skies. When we finished a walk along the historic Leeds to Liverpool Canal, the group journeyed to Lister Park, near Bradford, where the students played “quick cricket,” Brits versus Yanks, and rode paddleboats.

Tonight, the group will bowl and dine at an Asian buffet. Tomorrow, the group will serve a meal and work in a thrift shop at a community center in Homewood, a Council Estate (read, public housing project), in the outskirts of Bradford.

Obviously, you all have been praying for us as we have been blessed with great fellowship, powerful experiences and phenomenal weather. More to come.

–
Peace,
Aimee

Final Night in Shipley!

A few paces from the Shipley Terrace along the avenue of Kirkgate (pronounced “kurg –it”) sits historic St. Paul’s Anglican Church, our spiritual home here in Shipley. Founded in 1826, St. Paul’s, one of the so-called “Waterloo Churches,” is among a host of churches commissioned by the Kingdom to celebrate the blessing of peace following the victory of British forces over Napoleon some eleven years earlier. On Wednesday night, our participants treated our hosts to a YMT-style meeting and compline worship, complete with a bit of Aimee’s vocals and guitar. The British youth were ecstatic and commented profusely on the intensity of the spiritual dimension to the program that seemed to grow organically from shared feelings of communion in our common faith. A discussion roundtable of sorts was held at the request of our hosts to gain some insight into how DIOSWVA’s Youth Ministry Team has successfully brought together youth throughout our geographically challenging diocese. It was partially decided that the Diocese of Bradford might try a similar organizational structure with an added emphasis on building a youth community within the deaneries (read convocations) of the diocese.

In the book One Small Corner: A History of Bradford Diocese, Astrid Hansen notes the depth, breadth and origins of DIOSWVA’s connection with this venerable Anglican diocese:

“An American acquaintance asked [former] Bishop Hook whether he

would consider his diocese becoming the partner of an American one.

He was invited in January 1977 to go over to meet Bishop William

Marmion and address the annual council of the Diocese of Southwestern

Virginia. This is one of three dioceses in the State of Virginia and not,

in spite of its name, to be confused with West Virginia which is in

another state entirely. The two bishops got on wonderfully well and

Bishop Hook saw certain advantages to the scheme. Southwestern

Virginia had some similarities with Bradford. It was even founded in

the same year, and had industrial centres and miles of glorious country

with small towns and villages—but also enough cultural differences to

be stimulating. In so many places, he had found, people behave as though

the only church is the one where they happen to live, and he saw the

partnership as a way of broadening vision” (152).

Thirty years later, Bishop Hook’s prophetic vision remains stronger than ever. This fact was eloquently observed by both Tray and Scott, our two male participants in this year’s Exchange, who stated respectively, “I love the community relation we built with the people here so quickly” and “I really love . . . all these new friends—we are really keeping this ‘cross ocean’ community close.” Our common vision has broadened indeed!

Last night, Tony and Jan Hesselwood hosted a barbeque at their home here in Shipley. Their children Rachel and Andrew have been student-participants in the exchange and speak of deep respect for the wonderful families in DIOSWVA who were their hosts. Rachel organized some games for the group, and Andrew treated everyone to some tunes on his accordion. Tony and Jan have been instrumental in organizing our visit, and we are exceedingly grateful for their efforts. Though it is impossible to fully capture the extent of the generosity and hospitality we have received, we would like to take a moment to acknowledge our hosts, Chris and Kate (or who Arden lovingly calls “Miss Cake”) Wontner-Smith. To give you an idea of the longevity of this, as Scott says, ‘cross-ocean community’ and to give a nod to our own Joe Harden, Beth and Steve Wiegandt, and the River Adventure Program, we offer this quote from the Wontner-Smiths’ son Robert’s journal from the 1994 Bradford Exchange:

“AUGUST 4^th THURSDAY . . . we were taken [by Joe Harden] to the church in Roanoke which has memorial windows dedicated to past members of the congregation depicting their interests or some aspect of their life, making the

church seem a lot more community centered. After visiting the star on the hill

we set off for Beth and Steve Wiegandt’s house in Christiansburg, which was to

be our base for the canoeing trip . . . AUGUST 5^th FRIDAY . . . We were then

subjected to a half hours crash course in Canadian canoeing before being

pushed out into a rain swelled river with five or six class two and three rapids

downstream . . . After one rapid we got out and swam down it a few times which

was a great experience and we were already soaked.”

Because of the life-changing experience their son had with Beth, Steve, Joe and other members of DIOSWVA, Chris and Kate Wontner-Smith pledged to host some members of the Exchange, and the Bostwicks have been the beneficiaries of their generosity. The adventure continues!

The last few days in Shipley have been full of unique experiences, like Sarah, Kate and Tray’s experience running a bingo game for some of Bradford’s senior citizens, Charlotte, Scott and Annemarie’s opportunity to serve a meal and work in the charity shop (read, thrift store) at Holme Wood, a public housing estate in Bradford, taking tea with the Lord Mayor of Bradford, and worshiping with Tony, Jan and our other British friends in an historic Anglican church.

Tonight, the Wontner-Smiths will be hosting a lawn party so we can meet other members of the local parish. Tomorrow, we are off to Giggleswick to spend some more time with Vicar Peter Yorkstone and the youth of his parish. Keep checking for our periodic updates and God’s Peace to you all!

–
Peace,
Aimee

August 4, 2007

As we drove north and east on A65 along the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Dales, the blue skies of the past few days gave way to a woolen blanket of gray and mist. “Lest you go off with the wrong impression of England,” explained the Hesselwood’s son Andrew, “we’ve treated you to a bit of the typical English weather.”

Our destination Saturday morning: Giggleswick. Once a Norse encampment, the village of Gigglewick lies adjacent to the historic market town of Settle across the River Ribble. The slightly ticklish name for this village comes from the Norse word “Gaeggle,” once the family name of the owner of the ground upon which the village sits. A “wick, ” also in the Norse tradition, is a stretch of land; hence, the appellation “Gaeggle’s Wick,” which has morphed over the centuries into the delightfully named village of Giggleswick (no doubt to jovially compete with the nearby village of Wigglesworth). As we seemingly drift backwards in time from a suburb of Bradford circa 1820’s to a village with roots extending at least as deeply as the Norman invasion of the British Isles, our accommodations befit our regression through the centuries. For example, Sarah, Annemarie and Nicola (a British student) are sleeping in the Kendra home, which was built in the early 1600’s and is composed of hewn stone over two feet thick.

The oldest complete structure in the village of Giggleswick, though, is the parish hall. A stone above the entry way bears the initials of the original builder and the date 1612. The village church named for Saint Alkelda is one of only two churches dedicated to the Saxon princess who, according to tradition, was strangled to death by some Danish women for professing her faith in Christ. She was allegedly martyred in Middleham where her other church can be found. Another possible, yet certainly less macabre, derivation of the name may be a distortion of the old English “hiliga keld” or holy well, as there are ancient wells near each church once frequented by pagan practitioners before the extension of Roman Christendom into the British isles. Whatever the case, as we arrived at this ancient village, history seemed to press down on us like the soggy English sky.

August 5, 2007

Sunday morning during Family Communion, the students were presented by Vicar Peter to the members of St. Alkelda’s and treated to a lunch of shepherd’s pie, pork pie, and flapjacks. The Post Communion Prayer captured the essence of that gathering:

Holy Father,

Who gathered us here around the table of your Son

to share this meal with the whole household of God:

in that new world where you reveal the fullness of your peace,

gather people of every race and language

to share in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.

We emerged from morning services into a breezy bright afternoon filled with guided tours of church steeples and ornate chapels, belly-busting laughter and awe inspired by the grandeur of our storybook surroundings. After a refreshing swim in the gymnasium of the old Giggleswick School, the students tucked in to pizza and a movie in the vicarage den, but this proved to be no ordinary film.

The film was Calendar Girls, the story of a half dozen cheeky British women who pose for an “alternative” calendar to raise funds for Leukemia research after the death of one woman’s husband John Richard Baker, Assistant National Park Officer for the Yorkshire Dales, from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The students roared at the film’s quintessentially British humor and wept at the heartbreaking story of these tenacious women. After a brief discussion of the film, the doorbell rang. The visitor was none other than Angela Baker, wife of John Richard Baker and The Alternative WI Calendar’s Miss February. Angela, who has recently married a vicar in a neighboring church, shared her story and signed copies of the 2007 Alternative Calendar for all the participants!

August 6, 2007

Monday morning, the group rose early and bounded off for a picnic and some “walks” (read, hikes) through Yorkshire Dales National Park. We visited Malham Tarn, an ancient lake; Malham Cove, a limestone cove formed during successive ice ages; and the Gordale Scar, an immense crack between stark limestone cliffs where the rushing waters of a moorland beck (read, stream) violently descend some 300 feet. Again the generous people of Yorkshire and the diocese at large humbly and patiently share the richness of their home with us: our guide through the Dales, a revered geology teacher at the local independent school, took time out of his busy day to spend time with us, and his wife had tea and freshly prepared scones ready for us upon our return. The day ended as auspicious as it began with the group gathering for worship and song in the soft glow of the stained glass windows of St. Alkelda’s Church. Again, the scripture reading provided by Vicar Peter for this day could not be more fitting:

“When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in

this place . . . ‘ He was full of awe and said, ‘ How awesome is this place!

This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’”

(Genesis 28: 16-17)

Peace, and God be with you!

–
Peace,
Aimee

August 10, 2007

We left Giggleswick on Friday morning and headed down from the Dales into the sprawling suburbs of Bradford. Two nights before, Aimee and Peter led the group of American and British youth to the top of a quarry overlooking the Ribble valley and the flickering lights of the village nestled along the river. Peter commented that, before he was installed at the parish church in Giggleswick, he ascended that granite staircase to survey the boundaries of his new charge in the fading light of what the inhabitants of the Dales refer to as the “gloamin’ time.” Peter remembered believing each house light in the village below was a soul burning in the twilight, and he wanted to share that vision with his new friends. Huddled together in the disappearing light, the group followed the gentle slope through the village streets and into the King’s Wood beneath the modest ridge above. Each participant carried a stone gathered from the vicarage garden. Each stone represented a nagging burden that its bearer wished to shed and leave behind in the ancient quarry. At the crest of the ridge, the group shared their burdens, only to leave them behind and descend lighter than before and ready for a deep sleep that only a grace-cleaned conscience can bring.

On Thursday, the last day in Giggleswick, Peter and Carol took us to the Lake District for a picnic, a few walks, and some time to commune with each other and the dramatic scenery of north eastern England: Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit country—a land where water reflects both earth and sky. Peter and Carol were truly gracious hosts, full of energy and peace, laughter and reflection, and who are practitioners of that sort of radical hospitality that Christ demonstrated to his disciples and calls us to emulate. We left Giggleswick wanting nothing but more time with our new friends.

August 11, 2007

Many of us had been waiting for this day to arrive and were both nervous and hopeful. We heard from our predecessors that this unique experience would become the climax of our time in this dynamic diocese. When we met Reverend Canon Arun John at St. Paul’s Parish Church in Manningham, we could feel the Spirit beginning to move in ways too profound to articulate, in “groans too deep for words.” Canon Arun John is an Indian-born vicar who became a priest and served in India until becoming an Archdeacon in the South African church. From Johannesburg, he was enticed by Islamic scholar, Inter-Faith Advisor to the Bishop of Bradford and our guide through the “Asian” streets of Bradford, Phillip Lewis, to serve as the vicar of St. Paul’s. This extraordinary parish church is located in Manningham, the “Asian” section of Bradford. To the British, the term Asian is used to refer to the inhabitants of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India, who by and large are Muslim. St. Paul’s Manningham, then, serves as the point parish for the inter-faith work in the diocese and conducts services in Erdu, the language of Pakistan and the most commonly spoken language, second only to English, in the city of Bradford. A dynamic and engaging man, Canon Arun John generously spent his Saturday morning with us, sharing his incredible story and tipping us off to the complexities involved in uniting the world’s two greatest missionary faiths, Christianity and Islam, in dialogue, mutual appreciation and understanding. In the person of Canon Arun John seemed to dwell one of the most tangible incarnations of the multicultural and international spirit of our common Faith.

From St. Paul’s, we accompanied Phillip on a tour through the Asian streets of Bradford and caught glimpses of a world heretofore unknown to us: women in burkas, some partially, some completely veiled; street signs written in seemingly mystical script; and mosques tucked into back alleys or arrayed with blue domes. Our tour ended at a giant mosque/community center. A young Muslim professional greeted us and became our guide through the newly constructed multi-million pound facility. He was warm and open and humbly answered our novice questions about Islamic faith and practice. Moreover, he spoke in harsh tones about the more radical elements of the Islamic world and assured us genuinely and authoritatively that the Koran does not support the acts of those who kill indiscriminately in the name of Allah. With a far-away look in his eyes, he shared briefly the story of his pilgrimage to Mecca, the fifth pillar of Islam, and spoke sincerely about the importance of prayer and aid to the poor, which are central to his religious tradition. Many of us felt a sense of peace, despite our unfamiliar yet somehow comforting surroundings. We lingered over our good-byes and each of us was given an English-language copy of the Koran as a parting gift and, perhaps, the gift of hope as well—the hope that the wide gulf between our faiths might be narrowed each time we meet each other with good intentions and open hearts.

August 12, 2007

Since Friday, we have been based in the town of Guiseley, a suburb of Bradford. Though the industrial mills have long been out of use, the houses throughout Bradford and its hectares of row houses and winding streets still bear the marks of a by-gone era. Most stone permanently smeared with the soot and coal ash that once belched from the mill towers. On Sunday, we worshipped with the congregation of St. Oswald’s Parish Church and celebrated the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this ancient church, the parents of those literary greats, the Bronte sisters, were married, and the ancestors of early American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, took communion before heading for the New World. Again, it was in the words of an Anglican hymn, “Cry Freedom” by Michael Forster, that we were reminded of an underlying theme of this Exchange:

“Cry ‘Freedom!’ in the church when
honest doubts are met with fear;
when vacuum-packed theology
makes questions disappear;
when journeys end before they start
and mystery is clear! (verse 4)”

After an English Sunday lunch of roast, gravy, potatoes, parsnips, and custard with our host families, we toured Bradford Cathedral and participated in the Evensong service led by the Dean of the Cathedral, who delayed his August holiday to spend some time with us. One significant corner of the cathedral is dedicated to educating its tourists and congregants about the growing Fair Trade movement within the Church of England. In nearly every church we visited, from the Dales to Bradford city, Fair Trade ideas and reminders abound. The Church of England, in advance of many American churches and organizations, has embraced and pledged to promote a form of commerce that seeks to take the edge off the often unjust and exploitative effects of globalization. Ever mindful of Christ’s admonition that His followers work to alleviate the burdens of the poor and marginalized, Anglican Christians, like those in the Diocese of Bradford, live out the Fair Trade ethic by stocking their churches and vicarages with Fair Trade teas, coffees and other products.

Along side its commitment to just global economic practices, Bradford Cathedral defines itself as a “cathedral eco-congregation”—a place of worship dedicated to living into the Archbishop of Canterbury’s “Shrinking the Footprint” challenge to every parish within the Church of England to reduce its carbon footprint. Bradford Cathedral’s vision and mission statement has profound implications and stands as a challenge to the entire Anglican Communion:

To reaffirm the biblical vision of creation . . . and recognize
that we are part of creation, not apart from it. To strive
to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew
the life of the earth . . . to play our part in working for a
sustainable society in a sustainable world . . .
August 13, 2007

On Monday, we left our urban landscape for another foray into the Yorkshire countryside. In the picturesque village of Kettlewell, we worked our way down the 2007 Scarecrow Trail of the Kettlewell Church and School’s Annual Scarecrow Festival. Most homes and businesses throughout the tiny village—this week inundated with thousands of sightseers—set up creative displays of straw and old clothing, spoofing everyone from members of the royal family to Brittany Spears. This year’s theme was the monarchy and each participant followed the trail using daftly worded clues to figure out which king, queen or ruler was personified in effigies of straw and twine:

He lost us America, that wasn’t too bad
But he sired fifteen children and then went quite mad.

From Kettlewell, we journeyed to the Priory Church at Bolton Abbey, where we walked among the ruins of the nearly thousand-year old house of worship whose construction was halted, somewhat precipitously, by his majesty King Henry the Eighth, when he attempted to uproot the Church of England from its Roman Catholic firmament. Aimee led the group through some prayerful meditation in pews often frequented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and her royal entourage. The youth lit candles as they reflected on the lives and futures they will return to in a few short days and how they have been influenced by this Exchange.

Later in the evening, every participant in the Exchange was treated to a reception by Bishop of Bradford David James and his wife at the Bishopcroft back in Bradford.

Our thanks to all of our wonderful hosts, new friends, and the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Bradford, and may God’s Peace be upon us all!

–
Peace,
Aimee

August 14, 2007

BBC One predicted a swath of low-hanging clouds, swelling with rain and 70 mile-an-hour winds, to cover the bulk of the British mainland. Undaunted, we set off toward the ancient walled city of York, home to an archeological site unearthed in the 70’s revealing an extensive Viking settlement and yet another opportunity for the group to worship together in continuity with our spiritual ancestors. Our first stop was the Yorvik Viking Center which houses the ruins of the settlement and allows tourists to climb aboard a time machine of sorts and travel back into the past among the remains of a once-thriving Viking village, complete with the authentic stench of 866 A.D.

From the Viking Center, we began a mini-pilgrimage to York Minster. The term minster is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “mynster,” which roughly translates as a missionary church. The first “mynster” in the village of York was built as a new center for Christian worship in 627 A.D. Because this church is also the cathedra, or seat, for the bishop of York Diocese and the head of the Northern Province of the Church of England, the Archbishop of York, York Minster is also the largest medieval cathedral in the gothic style in the whole of Northern Europe and the site of continuous Christian worship for almost 1,000 years. It is an overwhelmingly powerful place. During our visit, its hallowed halls vibrated with the sounds of the Cathedral Choir practicing for an upcoming performance. Our guide, the vicar of the parish church at Bail don John Knowles, blessed the group after we participated in a brief prayer service in the All Saints’ Chapel at the East End of the Minster. Aimee found a prayer in a publication of the heavily Celtic influenced Iona Community—a prayer that spoke to the liminal, or transitional, time in the lives of the American youth in this Exchange. Many of you may not know that Scott, Annmarie, and Charlotte will be leaving home to start university only days after our return; Sarah will be entering her final year in high school, a time of anticipation and weighty decisions, and Tray and Kate will be returning to college where they will face the arduous task of determining how they will integrate what they experienced here into their hopes and aspirations for the future. The words we read together in that towering, auspicious place from the prayer entitled “You Keep Us Waiting” might speak to you as well so we offer it here in full.

Leader: You keep us waiting,

You,

The God of all time

Want us to wait

For the right time in which

to discover who we are,

where we must go,

who will be with us

and what we must do . . .

All: SO, THANK YOU FOR THE WAITING TIME.

Leader: You keep us looking,

You,

The God of all space,

Want us to look

In the right and wrong places

for signs of hope,

for people who are hopeless,

for visions of a better world

which will appear

among the disappointments

of the world we know . . .

All: SO, THANK YOU FOR THE LOOKING TIME.

Leader: You keep us loving,

You,

The God whose name is love,

Want us to be like you . . .

To love the loveless and the unlovely and the unlovable,

To love those near us without jealousy or design or threat,

And,

Most difficult of all,

To love ourselves . . .

All: SO, THANK YOU FOR THE LOVING TIME.

Leader: And in all this

You keep us.

Through hard questions with no easy answers,

Through failing where we hoped to succeed

and making an impact when we felt we were useless,

Through the patience and the dreams and the love of others,

And through Jesus Christ and his Spirit,

You,

Keep us . . .

All: SO, THANK YOU FOR THE KEEPING TIME

AND FOR NOW AND FOR EVER AMEN.

August 15, 2007

Today was shopping day in Leeds, a neighboring city of significant size and commercial importance. Riddled with clubs, high-rise buildings stacked with flats trimmed in mirrored glass and posh shops, Leeds is a bit like a London of the North. The group toured an armory museum, mined for trinkets in charity shops and department stores, and dined on Italian dishes served by an operatic waitress with a penchant for romantic song.

Later, we gathered at the home of Fiona and Michael Beevers, our hosts in Guiseley and members of the 2007 Bradford Exchange Committee for the Diocese of Bradford. Fiona also serves as a religious education advisor to the Bishop of Bradford and oversees curricular and personnel issues at many of the various Church of England schools maintained by the diocese. Michael and Fiona, an amazing, thoroughly engaging and lighthearted couple, who are graced with the unique ability to make everyone around them feel welcomed and wanted. Both Michael and Fiona have given of their time, energy, and couch space to make this year’s Exchange a resounding success. Several British youth have even tent camped in their front yard so they could be closer to their American friends!

Fiona, together with Chris Wright (a dear friend of Bishop Powell and Alan), recently journeyed to the Sudan as part of an on-going link between the Episcopal Church in Sudan, Bradford Diocese, and the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Virginia. During the trip, Chris, an IT professional and network manager for Bradford Diocese, installed computer and IT networking equipment funded by the Diocese of Southwest Virginia for several Sudanese parishes. After our evening meal, Fiona shared a DVD created by the Northern Sudan Group of Bradford Diocese and narrated a display of still photos documenting the work undertaken by the link churches. Our students were deeply impressed by the commitment of Bradford Diocese and pledged to work toward continuing the involvement of our diocese in this desperately needed mission. Due in part to the generosity of Bradford Diocese, the Diocese of Port Sudan has constructed a neighborhood school where over two hundred children have the opportunity to attend primary school every day! May God continue to bless the efforts of our Anglican friends!

August 16, 2007

Our final trip was to Haworth, a hillside village of cobbled streets and an aura of highbrow Victorian literature. From these “wuthering heights,” one can view an aging parsonage turned Bronte museum, a village schoolhouse where those literary sisters once taught, and gravestones that bear the Bronte name. In the valley below, plumes of smoke rise from the engine of a fully restored and operational steam train chugging through tunnels and under viaducts of a bygone era. Along the cobbled streets are store shelves chocked full of what our British hosts refer to as “tripper fodder” (read, souvenirs), like Bronte tea towels or Haworth snow-globes. Above the busy village is the Great Moor dotted with what our 21 month-old daughter Arden has joyously discovered as “heep.” No doubt, as our time here begins to toll down in hours rather than days, the sights of Haworth may have served only as distractions from thoughts of leaving traveling companions and hosts that have become more like family than merely friends.

Tonight, after a closing Eucharist led by the Reverend Cayte Norman of St. Oswald’s Parish (another one of our gracious hosts and now a member of our extended family here in Guiseley), we will meet again at the home of Tony, Jan, Rachel and Andrew Hesselwood in Shipley, where our adventure in Bradford Diocese began over a fortnight ago. This is a fitting way to conclude our time here in England as the Hesselwood family embodies the Spirit of this Exchange—Tony and Jan have tirelessly worked to ensure our comfort, our safety and our sense of connection to this hospitable diocese. Moreover, their children Rachel and Andrew have been our constant companions from Shipley to Giggleswick to Guiseley. Tony, Jan and Rachel have shared stories and fond memories of their time in Virginia last summer as well as their time with the Harden family in the UK two summers ago. Indeed, the Spirit of the Exchange may be found in this: the deep connection between the Hardens and the Hesselwoods—both families consider their friendship to be timeless, full of good will and mutual affection, and based upon the Spirit of Christ moving across the Great Pond to unite us in Faith and Fellowship since 1977.

At the close of this afternoon’s Eucharist with Rev. Cayte, we will join with our English friends in the recitation of an African Blessing. Please pray for us as we travel back to Virginia; please pray for the bonds of our friendship with Bradford Diocese to grow through the years, and please offer a pray of Thanksgiving to God for the wonderfully unique, thoughtful, and enlightened young people you have sponsored on this Exchange as they are our hope and our future in Christ!

AN AFRICAN BLESSING

All our problems we send to the cross of Christ.

All our difficulties we send to the cross of Christ.

All the devil’s works we send to the cross of Christ.

All our hopes we set on the risen Christ.

Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you and scatter

The darkness from before your path: and the Blessing of God

Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Be with you all for evermore. Amen.
–
Peace,
Aimee