It was an honor to have my sons, Joel and Adriel, accompany me on my professional development experience.

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Naked Anabaptists & Celtic Clothes

Reflections and pictures of my learning trip

to London, England and Iona, ScotlandApril 28-May 16, 2011

Layover in Iceland!April 29

With the death of Christendom in the UK (and all Europe), there has been a

profound shift in Christianity in recent decades.

Prologue:

Lava fields

They are searching for new models of radical faith that can help the church be relevant and authentic in this new era.

Steam geysers

There has been a rediscovery of some of their own past found in Celtic Christianity

caves

As well as a discovery of radical movements on the continent, like 16th century Anabaptism

mountains

lighthouses

These movements can be a beacon of hope to all of us in the 21st century

In the backyard at London Mennonite Centre

Part 1: London

We stayed in the guesthouse here and I spent some time reading and doing research, and even met a “naked” Anabaptist!April 29 – May 6

There were no Anabaptists in the UK between 1575 and 1950when this was opened.

I found a mug

with my personal

motto on it

Highgate Cemetery close to LMC(inset, grave of Karl Marx)

Some people in history have become overly radical!

London has its tourist sites where the rich and powerful establishment ran the British Empire and the Church of England.

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

I am not a royal watcher so we did not pay to go in to see the wedding decorations!

St. Mary’s Church(Henry VIII and other royalty buried here)

St. Paul’s Cathedral

The British Museum:

Full of wonderful (and pillaged by the

Establishment) items relevant to the Bible and ancient history,

e.g. the Rosetta Stone

Gareth & Socrates:Any resemblance?

Houses of Parliament with statue of Oliver Cromwell

And then there were some establishments that traded one for another,and if they didn’t get their way they started over on another continent.

A walk on the other side of the city where Anabaptists and other nonconformists lived and were killed

The nonconformist graveyard…

where…

…and other religious and political dissidents were buried

Smithfield Common(where the last Anabaptists were executed in 1575)

Anabaptists came over the channel from the Netherlandsto preach the good news but met an early death

Bunhill Fields, where Quakers worshiped and are buried

The Society of Friends (Quakers) were an English radical group beginning in the 17th century

Founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers)

John Wesley also broke the status quo another century later as he proclaimed, “The world is my parish”

The plaque on Aldersgate St. where he had his conversion experience

Traveling to all these places helped us to get to know the underground transportation system in London quite well.

We also visited a few places of popular interest…

Abbey Road

View of the Tower Bridge from the London Bridge

Hamlet at the Globe Theatre

Peter Pan flying at

Kensington Gardens

Part 2: Iona May 6-13

It was a pilgrimagejust to get there…

train from Glasgow to Oban

Celtic Christianity took root on the fringes of the Roman Empire in Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

View from the train

Columba founded a monastery on the Isle of Iona in the 6th centurythat became a focal point for Celtic Christianity

View from the train

ferry from Oban to the Isle of Mull

bus on a narrow one lane road across the Isle of Mull

Welcomed by the Iona community

The topic for the week- “Becoming Human, Becoming Spiritual: An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality”

Celtic Christianity is characterized by:

Bay at the Back of the Ocean

The ancient monastery where we slept, ate, learned, worked and worshiped.

1. Monasticism

Daily Schedule:• Rising bell• Breakfast• Morning worship• Chores• Teaching Session• Lunch [1 PM]• Afternoon walk• Tea time!• Supper• Teaching Session• Evening Worship• Lights out

The altar in the chapel

2. Local liturgies

Part of the group taking a break on a pilgrimage around the island

St. Martin’s Cross at dusk

3. Martyrdom

Martyrs’ Bay

“A thin place”

4. Focus on Creation

Panoramas of the island

Marking an

important

spiritual experien

ce at Columba

’s Bay

Driving on the other side of the road illustrates an alternative way of being Christian

Driving from Glasgow to LondonMay 14-15

Epilogue:

Hadrian’s Wall, 122 CE

Wall of the Empire

Hiding place of a dissident

Which English radicals met here?

We also met here to discuss the books we were writing.

Stonehenge

The mystery of faith continues…

The pilgrimage of faith continues…

Walking toward North America on Iona