Church Pictures!

Finally, as promised...pictures! Many thanks to Pedro for taking the pictures! Enjoy.

http://revsarah29.tripod.com/churches/

I just posted a few minutes ago with an update...so read that below, too!

Peace.

Survival...

I hate being sick. It is 5:45am and I've been up for 2 hours. That's after laying in bed wide awake for at least an hour before that. Not that I'm the only one ever to be sick or that I'm really all that sick, but it still stinks. But, since I'm awake, I might as well be productive. I've already but together 2 worship bulletins for tomorrow (today) and so this is next in line for time fillers.

The past few days have actually been pretty good...a few bumps in the road, but that's life. The Thanksgiving meal at my cousin's was fantastic. It turned out better than I dared hope. He and his wife were very welcoming and his friends were lots of fun. There were 5 Americans, 4 Brits, and an Aussie in attendance, plus 2 kids. A (somewhat) sad commentary on my life...I realized that these folks were the first non-work-related people I've met over here. I've got to get out more.

The funeral went off without a hitch. As Frederick used to say...she didn't get up and walk out, so I'll take that as a good sign. Nothing much to note in the difference between English and American funerals....at least in the crematorium, there's no opportunity for an open casket, though the coffin is placed at the front of the chapel on a platform with rollers on it (to wheel it through the hatch). At the committal portion of the service, luckily, we don't have to see the coffin wheeled out, but I simply push a button and the curtain closes. That's about all I can think of on that.

Last night (tonight?) we had our big Thanksgiving meal at the church. It was fantastic. There were about 44 people in attendance and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. The sweet potato casserole was a big hit (Thanks Martha!), though I don't think I'll be looking at sweet potatoes again any time soon. Those who hadn't had pumpkin pie before also enjoyed this new delicacy. Two of the ladies at Trinity put in a lot of work to pull this all together. It was fantastic. I am so blessed. They all really wanted to share this holiday with me. I received cards and good wishes from a lot of folks. I feel very humbled that they cared enough to go to all this effort and come out on a Saturday evening...especially since we have another big weekend next weekend. It was a great evening of fellowship and food (do you really need anything else in life?).

Anyways, that's the update. Pictures coming soon...maybe in a few minutes....

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I chatted with a couple of friends online today, it struck me that my week looks very different from what it would if I were home. Most of you will have a shorter week...by at least one day, unless you're unlucky enough to work in retail (sorry Dad). On the contrary, this week, I will put in more time than I'm supposed to instead of less. It makes me a bit homesick not to have a short week, but oh well, such is life.

On the subject of Thanksgiving, there are two notable events here this week. Firstly, I will be sharing Thanksgiving dinner with a cousin of mine (5th cousin, 5 times removed or something...) and his wife and some of their American friends. I'm really excited to meet him and to have Thanksgiving with other Americans. Also, as reported a few weeks ago, we will be having a big dinner at one of my churches with the traditional thanksgiving menu. The last headcount had us expecting about 50-60 people. It should be lots of fun. I'll let you know how it goes.

This is indeed a very busy week. I have my first funeral on Friday. I never met this lady and her next-of-kin lives out of town (out of region), but that's not altogether unusual in these parts. The service will take place at the crematorium and I have a 30 minute time limit. In all of Norfolk, there are only 3 crematoria...which means everybody (and their brother) has their services at one of the 3 crems. Plus, business picks up in the winter months, so they have to limit the length of the services. I'll let you know how that goes as well.

Had a great visit with Pedro and a lovely time in Bath. Did lots of sight-seeing last week. I've officially been to Cambridge. Pedro and I took the train over on Saturday and spent the day walking around the town. We were both exhausted when the day was done and very glad we had taken the train. It was my first English train ride, so that was fun for me, too. On Friday, we also went up to the coast. Pedro took several pictures while he was here (he's quite the good photographer) and when he sends them to me, I'll try to post them (if I can remember how...).

I hope you all are well. Enjoy your turkey and football (*snif*)!

Life goes on...

Yes, I know. I'm horrible. I really meant to post this time last week. I had it all typed up and ready to go...and then I lost my connection and consequently all I had written. Then this week happened, and all my good intentions to write got put on a back burner.

Lots has gone on since I last wrote. First of all, I took my first holiday! Yep, took a few days off and travelled down to Poole, which is on the south coast. We spent all day Sunday travelling around--went to the ruins of an old castle, to Lulworth Cove, and Durdle Door (yep, that's what it's called!). On Monday, we went to Winchester and Salisbury to see the Cathedrals. We "laid in" (slept in) that morning, so got away late. Thus, because it takes forever and a day to get anywhere in this country, we didn't get to see Salisbury Cathedral in daylight...which I'm told is a must. However, when we got there, the tourists had all vacated for the day. It was so nice and peaceful and even holy. The shadows and quietness was amazing. I almost wished I didn't have anybody with me so I could just enjoy the moment. But, such is life! On Tuesday, we spent most of the day in the car and travelled to Devon and saw an old castle. We had just as much fun driving up as we did at the castle itself! We saw lots and lots of pheasant. Then, on Wednesday, on the way back, we stopped at Windsor Castle...which was really cool.

Then, I got back here and things all went haywire. Nothing bad happened, really. It's just that having been gone and the way the preaching plan has worked out, I feel very out of touch with my congregations. This week will be the first week in a month that I'll actually be at one of my churches on Sunday morning. This is definitely a system I'm not falling in love with.

Went to a liscensing service for the new Vicar in one of my villages on Wednesday. It was a very nice service except for the bat that stared at me the whole time (saw another one last night, actually). And then there was the part where he had to pledge his allegiance to the Queen and to the Bishop. I cringed at those things. But otherwise, it was a rich and meaningful service. We even sang some cool hymns (though the organist was as old as the building!).

Other things to note. One of my churches doesn't have heat. I had a two hour meeting there last night. It was really cold. And they made fun of me.

It gets dark at 4:30 now. 4:30. Insanity.

Going to Bath (not to shower or cleanse myself) next week. Should be a good time, though couldn't come at a worse time.

But a very exciting thing...Pedro's coming to visit! Yay!