Oxford and then some

Let me tell you about Oxford..

My goodness I love this place.  For every block of cement and piece of trash I found in London, Oxford has provided me with a tree and a flower.  It is so beautiful and I have found rest for my soul in this place.  It is exactly what I needed.  The trees are tall, the gardens are lush, and the buildings are ancient.  Some of them date back to the 1300's.

The first night here we ate dinner and drank in the pub in which C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien were regulars at- The Eagle and Child.  I do not care that it a tourist cite, I was so so happy to be there.  And tomorrow I will walk the grounds at Magdalen College where Lewis became and Christian, where he and Tolkien tutored Oxford students, and where they met with their group "The Inklings".  I cannot wait.

Today we went to Avebury, Stonehenge, and Salisbury Cathedral.  Avebury was breathtaking.  Green gorgeous countryside as far as you could see, scattered with herds of goats and sheep, and of course-giant ancient stones in rows (Lord knows how they got there).  We all walked and played and took photos and I took long deep breaths and was happy.

I was not intrigued with Stonehenge.  You cannot get very close, there are millions of people, and a great deal of fences.  It just felt like a funny old zoo for rocks.

Salisbury Cathedral was gorgeous.  It sneaks up on you in the middle of this nice little town.  Giant and wonderful.  My favorite part was the stained glass window in the very back.  During the 1600's most of Europe's stained glass windows were destroyed.   They were believed to be putting art before God, minimizing God to an image, entirely unholy (iconicism).  The far windows in Salisbury Cathedral were remade in 1980 and are beautiful and captivating.  Thousands of pieces of dark blues swirling up towards the top with specks of green and gold and red.  I will remember it.


After this very long day, we had poetry class.  I really love it, but today I was not feeling it.  I actually fell asleep in the middle of it and twitched myself awake so hard I threw my pen.  We sat in St. Andrews Church, the chapel that the famous poet George Herbert was the priest of.
Susan (one of the priests of the church) was such a delight to meet.  She welcomed us in her pink priest shirt with the white collar and a lovely smile.  As we walked from St. Andrew's to St. John's church she told me about how dull she found cricket as a sport as we then progressed to discuss the differences between the Anglican and Catholic practices.

St. John's was a much larger church than St. Andrew's.  Susan told us the story of how the church was given and the generations of people who came to worship there.  In the past 5 years the congregation has been at such a decline that they no longer have Sunday worship services.  The organ player left and the choir followed and the families left and people became too old and so on and so on.
It was heart breaking.

They can no longer afford to keep the church running without people using it and caring for it.  They are now in the process of contemplating reconstruction.  This would mean taking out the pews and replacing that space with carpet and chairs- maybe to be used for conferences or children's activities.  They would still keep the most beautiful section for a place of worship.
Though the idea of changing the church is difficult, I was inspired for their heart for the people of Salisbury.  They are willing to do whatever it takes to get people into that church, to get them to the feet of Jesus.  They have "Fun Church" once a month which consists of art and crafts and bubbles and drama.  Anything to get people into that church so they can know love.  Susan was adamant about how they need to know these people.

It was Good News.

And I was so happy to hear it.  I was again surprised (like I was in the service in St. Peter's in London) to find passionate people in a spiritually dying country.  Jesus is good and he is alive in this place and in these people.  And I have hope.
But there is urgency.  Europe desperately needs revival and people to love and care for it.  Most youth in Europe see Christianity as another failed "system" such as Fascism, Communism, aristocracy and the like.  It was a way for humans to control and make sense of their world, and it failed.  And it no longer applies.
And they need to see God for who he really is, see Christianity for what it really is.  And I won't spit you out a simple answer of what it is on this blog.  But I want it for this place, and I do not see that want lessoning in my time here.

If you remember, pray for Europe.  Pray for the people who do not know Jesus and those who are desperately trying to make him known here.  There is hope and the kingdom is now.


Blessings,

Laura