July 13, 2008

It has been a busy 2 days! Saturday morning I printed my sermon so it would be ready for this morning. Then my hostess, Sue, took me off to the International Gathering at the Priory of St. Peter and St. Paul in Leominster. The other bishops in the group here are John from New Zealand, Simon from Tanzania, Martin from Burundi, Patrick from Tanzania, Ken from Ohio and Rayford from Texas. We were welcomed to the historic building that was founded by St. David in the 6th sentury. A Saxon religious communitywas followed by an abbey of Benedictine nuns and then a Benedictine abbey of monks in Normand times. Of course the whole thing was dissolved by Henry VIII, but it has gradually been rebuilt over the centuries to be now a very active city congregation. We were treated to a Ploughman's lunch as part of their regular Saturday offering to the people in the town. We saw and particpated with a group of Morris Dancers, had the opportunity to be in the percussion section with the town brass band, and heard a wonderful handbell choir! Then it was an hour of "Any Questions for the Bishops?" It was a great opportunity to hear about the other dioceses, their challenges and exciting projects. After Tea, we had a lovely short service of prayers and songs. We had each been asked to send a copy of a song. The band and the organist had learned the tunes so we could all sing along. I chose "Here in this place new light is shining" from Common Praise. It was a new hymn for most of them and well received. At the end of the service, all the Bishops were called to the front and then surrounded by the people who prayed for us and for the Lambeth Conference. It was a powerful experience.

We had a break for an hour, so I went for a walk to see the town. There are beautiful gardens, both manicured ones and wildflower gardens. Apparently Leominster won the Towns in Bloom contest in their part of England!

SUpper was served in the Bishop's Palace! It really is a palace with a high stone wall, a gate, gorgeous gardens, an indorr chapel and an outdoor chapel (with modern icons by the bishop's wife, artist, Kathy Priddis). Dinner was another opportunity to get to know more about each other and to share hopes and challenges. The Diocese of Hereford has a number of Team Ministries for groups of congregations, so I has a good conversation with Bishop Anthony. Here, what we call NSOM clergy are called SSM - Self Supporting Ministers.

This morning we were up and on the road for an 8:20am radio interview in Hereford. The interviewer was very polite but didn't really seem to know much about the Church fo England or the Communion as he referred to me as the head of the Lambeth Conference! The next inteview at 8:40am was much better. Hereford Diocese has a fulltime Communications Officer who had arranged for several interviews. Next I was on to the Cathedral for the 10am service. Parts of the Cathedral date from the 600's. It was quite a feeling to preach from a pulpit that has been in use for 1,000 years! The liturgy was very similar to our BAS Eucharist. At the end the 14 children of their Sunday School sang "You shall go out with joy" accompanied by one of the clergy at the piano and several bells and tambourines. After the service we had tea in the Cathedral gardens in the Close (where church volunteers operate a cafe for the public daily).

Then my hostess Sue took me off to a wonderful dinner in a pub on the English side of the Welsh border. I finally got to meet her husband Roger, who has been away on Retreat in a hermitage in Wales. On a drive through the Black Mountains, we stopped at St. David's Church, Llanthony, where a Baptism was just about to take place. We visited the ruins of the Abbey at the same location where enterprising folks have turned part of the ruin into a small hotel! We continued through the mountains to the top of Gospel Pass! Then we started the descent which had several parts like the Cabot Trail but with no guard rails! The views are spectacular - amazingly green fields dotted by hundreds of sheep, small villages of stone and brick houses, and always a grey stone Church of England.

I ended the day with Evening Prayer in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Moccas. The records show that an abbey on this location was destoyed by the Saxons and the plague in 600CE. It is not clear how long it had already been there. It has been repaired and rebuilt many times over the years - a testament to the determined faith of the people of the community. There is an Effigy in the centre of the Chancel thought to be Richard de Fresne (of one of the local families) who died in 1375 CE. The plaque says, "His crossed legs show that he had been on a crusade, and the dog at his feet that he died at home." (That's your trivia for the day!) Following the service (which was almost word for word the same as our BCP Evening Prayer), I had time to talk with the people about our Diocese and to hear about their concerns. It has been a full and happy day!