Rome Adventure, Part 1

Hello friends and family!
I have recently returned from an amazing 5 day holiday in Roma - the Eternal City! My trip was amazing, and I've put together the first of two videos highlighting some of my adventures.



Like I mentioned in the video, St. Peter's reaches out across the Roman skyline, peeping through rooftops and tree branches. It became a bit of a running theme in my pictures.

Approaching the Vatican...

Getting closer...

Inside the Basilica

St. Pete's at night.

In addition to lovely and awe-inspiring architecture, I also gawked at some pretty amazing art. Bernini sculptures, frescoes by Rafael and Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel are just the highlights of the Vatican Museum.

A Bernini angel

Rafael's School of Athens

Open-air opera!

And this is Piazza Novona - my front yard for 5 days!

I'll have another post soon - hopefully before I'm off to Barcelona.

Happy Trails!

Long Awaited Thanksgiving Recap

So I had a very British Thanksgiving....

An Australian, a German, an Englishman and a Welsh lady all volunteered to play Native Americans for the Thanksgiving skit...

It was a TON of fun! We didn't have mashed potatoes and gravy (they roasted the sweet potatoes, it was really good!), and there arose a debate about the word pecan. Is it PEEcan, or PeCAUN. I'm a fan of the latter, and "peecan" just sounds rude. And I'm Southern, so I win. :)

I can appreciate the irony of the Pilgrims skit, though. It was the Church of England that the Pilgrims were escaping from, and here I am living with current CoE ordinands. The Lord certainly does work in mysterious ways! But more than that, seeing the churches that stood during the English Reformation, being able to walk in the footsteps of my forefathers and foremothers in faith (and as an American) is incredible. The past is ever present. And giving thanks stretches beyond my identification as a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant in America. It's thankfulness for my God, my freedom to worship that God without fear of persecution, for my security and peace. Thanksgiving should be a time when we remember too, all those people who cannot give thanks for those freedoms, and to hear to voice of God calling us to stand as witnesses against injustice. (okay, enough preaching...)

In addition to the actual Thursday thanksgiving festivities that were hosted by Westminster, I endeavored to cook a traditional Southern-style thanksgiving meal the following Sunday. I just couldn't go without Grandma's green bean casserole, or sweet potato casserole with melted marshmallows (that threw the Brits for a loop). So I cooked, and with the wonderful help of friends, had enough food to feed about 15 people. It was delightful!

Homemade mashed potatoes!

The dinner line-up...the boys were hungry after a morning leading worship!

We has chicken instead of turkey...some sacrifices had to be made.

But all in all, everyone enjoyed it! 

For my first attempt at cooking the traditional (to my family any way) Thanksgiving meal, I think it all turned out well. Maybe I'll do it again next year. :)

And there was SNOW! In November!

I am thankful...

I am thankful.

I am thankful for a family that supports me and encourages me to be adventurous, even when it hurts.

I am thankful for friends that love me through the tough times, who make me laugh and who tenderly wipe away my tears.

I am thankful for a God who sees in me the worth to call and ordain me to His holy endeavor.

I am thankful for a world in which I am free to believe as I so choose.

I am thankful for health, for my body and all my functioning faculties.

I am thankful for Cambodia And all I learned there.

I am thankful for Candler and Queens, because they formed me into who I am.

I am thankful for a broken heart mended.

I am thankful for Praxis UCC and the people who helped me articulate my own passionate faith.

I am thankful for my baby brother who is my best friend and for whom I would gladly lay down my life.

I am thankful for the men and women who serve in the armed forces – even when I don’t agree with the fighting, your bravery and courage is inspiring every day.

I am thankful for love and mercy.

I am thankful for the opportunity to live in England, for the opportunity to fall in love with this place of grey skies and cold winds, and to see myself grow, even over just 3 months.

I am thankful for Wesley House and the amazing people I’ve met here.

I am thankful for home church family who have been an incredible support for me.

I am thankful for numerous people – Marshall, Leah, Tim, Kristin, Sam, Aqsa, Rachel, Jennifer, Sarah, Susannah…you have believed in me, encouraged me, and loved me even when I’m far away; I can never thank you enough.

For the opportunity to see the world, to be bigger than my body, to be greater than the sum of my parts, to be the trembling hands and feet of my God, I am so very thankful.

Amen.

Thanksgiving and Football

Happy Thanksgiving friends~



Clips of my first English football match! I hope t have a video of my Thanksgiving celebrations up this weekend. :)

Baking with Brekke!

So, I am trying to make gluten-free cookies...and I have learned that sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. But if it involves chocolate, butter and sugar, normally it's going to taste okay. :)

Theology on Tap comes to Cambridge

Back home at in Atlanta there’s this unofficial “thing” called Theology on Tap. It was initiated by an Episcopal church sometime in the early 2000s, and has become a mish-mash of small group gatherings, sometimes sponsored or affiliated with a church or other religious organization, but more often of thinking and drinking theologians. I found myself participating in a rather casual, unofficial version of Theology on Tap with my peers at Candler. We couldn’t help but gather around a frosty pint at the Brick Store (a beloved pub around the corner from where I lived that boasted over 300 different beers from around the world!) and chat fervently about theology, ethics, church history and our blossoming love for the Old Testament (thank you Brent Strawn). In many ways, it was these unplanned, ungoverned discussions that shaped and deepened my understanding of what we were studying in the classroom. We weren’t constrained by time limits, or a need to “stay on track.” The discussion could wander and weave as it wished, leading us down rabbit holes that later became serious theological reflection.  It was an opportunity to grow relationships with the Candler community, to connect not just topically with my fellow students who will go on to be my colleagues in ministry once I’m ordained. It was a hearty, honest gathering of people grappling with the various points of theological and religious conversation and owning it, in some ways.

Cambridge is missing this important space. Students don’t (at least not in my context) meet outside of lectures, or institution/denominational commitments to socialize and digest the dense quantity of information they’re being fed. There isn’t a space to let the theological banter roam free, winding around our own predispositions and asking the personal questions which seem inappropriate for the classroom or supervision group. Indeed, discussion in the classroom is a novel irregularity at best (because of the structure of the Cambridge term system). Here, more so even than at Candler, an open space to talk about theology, ethics, church history and how all of these relate practically to our ministries is extremely important. The cross pollinating of theological colleges is important too, since people from the same denomination live and eat together (mostly) and tend to stick together in small, tightly-knit groups. My hope with this first attempt to transplant something from the New World to the Old, is to facilitate talking – about our scholastic work, our personal reflection and across denominational and philosophical lines.

But maybe it’s just me – I mean, y’all that know me, know I like to talk! But I hope that it becomes a regular, useful space for future ministers of Britain to articulate their theologies, to own them, and to enjoy good conversation (and a quality beer) in the process.

So, tomorrow at 8:30pm (that’s 3:30pm Atlanta time) I’ll be “leading” the very first Theology on Tap in Cambridge! Huzzah!