December 2012 – Page 2 – Teachable Moments

London Chronicles #15: Now What?

adventure, art, London, real life, Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 132012

Once the service at St. Paul’s was over and we had Skyped with our kids to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving, we were a bit at loose ends. Of course I had a list of things that I wanted to do while we were in London but, honestly, we were totally mentally exhausted. Since we were also on a pretty tight budget, we were looking for something free or cheap to occupy our Thanksgiving night.

Opting for “Free”, we headed up Oxford Street to The Photographer’s Gallery to browse their free exhibit featuring the portrait photography of an Irish photographer named Tom Wood. The exhibit was called “Men & Women” and was a simple room divided in half. The photos featuring men ran along two walls in an ‘L’ shape while the ones featuring women ran along the two opposite walls. We savored the photos and chose our personal favorites, 3 from the men and 3 from the women. I had to expand the rules to allow 3 black and white and 3 color from each category since I couldn’t narrow it down. One of my overall favs is called “Three Wise Women” and features three elderly ladies shuffling through the dirt lot of a ‘car boot sale’ in Liverpool. They each carry an item as they navigate the ruts and trash. My other favorites are not as popular: Rag & Bone Owner” (image #6) featuring a middle-aged blond bombshell driving a forklift full of trash around her warehouse and “Charlie and Alan” (image #1) another black and white of an old man and a young boy.

The gift shop of The Photographer’s Gallery was full of art and photography books, any of which could have occupied me for hours, but instead we bought a postcard featuring a black and white photo of the Sex Pistols messing around at a diner in Luxemborg in 1977. (Postcards are a great way to collect your favorite art and photos for cheap!)

Since we weren’t hungry yet, we decided to do a little wandering and explore Soho.

We stumbled onto Carnaby Street which had been the center of Mod fashion in the 60’s as well as the stomping grounds for bands such as Small Faces, The Who, and The Rolling Stones.

They were holding a 20% sale at every store in the lane and various stores had brought in live bands to entertain the crowds.

Since we had no desire to shop for clothes and no room in our suitcases anyway, we stuck to soaking up the atmosphere. We strolled past the Shakespeare’s Head Pub and underneath giant record displays celebrating The Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary and advertising their 2012 compilation album “GRRR!”

Just off of Carnaby Street, there is a giant mural celebrating local artists called “The Spirit of Soho.” It’s quite amazing to see what a rich history the area has: Handel, Mozart, Casanova, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Dylan Thomas, and Karl Marx are each featured along with 49 other local luminaries.

After walking for a few hours, we were ready for dinner so we scooted off to Oodle Noodle (before they closed this time). Hubby ordered duck in the spirit of adventure and we warmed ourselves with Green Tea before we called it a night.

London Chronicles #14: Bow’s Bells and Cafe Below

adventure, family, God, London, real life, Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 132012

With my feet throbbing in protest, I followed the group past the courtyard of St. Paul’s which used to be used as a marketplace for booksellers and publishers including John Newbery (considered the Father of Children’s Literature and namesake of the Newbery Medal). We walked over a few blocks, past Milk Street and Bread Street (those clever Brits), to St. Mary-Le-Bow Church to have Thanksgiving lunch in the cafe now housed in the crypt.

It may sound like an odd choice for Thanksgiving – no turkey, no stuffing, no pumpkin pie, no football – but it was outstanding on many levels.

The twelve bells of St. Mary-Le-Bow are called Bow’s Bells and it is said that to be born within the sound of Bow’s Bells makes you a true Cockney. Having once played the Artful Dodger in Oliver, I felt right at home.

It was also the sound of Bow’s Bells that the BBC World Service broadcast into Occupied Europe during WWII.

The crypt itself dates back to 1090 while the current church building was designed by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666 and completed in the 1670’s. The steeple had to be rebuilt after it was destroyed by a bomb during the Blitz and it took 20 years to get the bells ringing again.

The courtyard of St. Mary-Le-Bow contains a statue of Captain John Smith, founder of Jamestown and leader of the Virginia Colony who worshipped here when he wasn’t off in the new world.

As we settled into the crypt, it was great to sit back and reflect on the morning. Hubby had a hamburger and I had the most delicious Beef, Mushroom and Guinness Pie. We split a Treacle Tart for dessert. Treacle Tart is Harry Potter’s favorite dessert and is much like a pecan pie without the pecans.

Since my feet were screaming bloody murder by this point, I limped back to the Tube and headed straight for my tennies back at the hotel. We had told our children that we would Skype them that day, so we headed over to Starbucks to make use of the free WiFi (the hotel charged). Our connection was not strong enough to support video so we stuck to audio to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and find out what they’d been up to. They seemed to be surviving so we kept it short. Once we hung up, all our have-to’s were done for the day. Next came the want-to’s. What to do? What to do?

London Chronicles #13: Loose in St. Paul’s Cathedral

adventure, God, London, real life, Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 122012

After the service, I expected to be hustled out of the Cathedral. It is, after all, a sacred space and a functioning tourist attraction. Instead, we had free reign to stand inside the main dome, take a few pictures, and wander around.

I took in as much as I could upstairs and then headed back to the crypt to retrieve my things and say goodbye to my guys. (Their story here.) We went out the massive front doors to assemble on the steps to film a thank you video for our financial backers.

Except for the crazy London winds that caused us to take shelter in the corner of the front stoop in order to stand upright, it was magnificent to stand and look around at the city from that vantage point.

I immediately wanted to start singing “Feed the Birds“.

The steps of St. Paul’s would be a great place to write if I lived nearby. Sigh.

London Chronicles #12: St. Paul’s Thanksgiving Service Concludes

adventure, God, London, real life, Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 112012

As I’m writing through the Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s, I realize that this is probably excruciatingly boring and you’re ready to get on with the good stuff. I apologize and thank you for your indulgence. I wrote for nearly two hours on Thanksgiving night because I didn’t want to forget the experience. I did it for me. I’m reliving it here. You have permission to skip ahead.

The service concluded with the hymn “Now Thank We all our God” and the final blessing by the Dean. I summarized it in my journal as: May God pour his blessing upon you that you may use his gifts to his glory and the welfare of all peoples.

Amen.

And then it was over. Done. The event we’d been working towards for months and talking about for nearly a year was finished.

I had a few minutes to talk with a friend afterwards. I asked her about her experience of the service. Was she nervous? Was it amazing? She explained that right before we sang, she had a panicky moment when she thought she might get thrown out of the cathedral. Her thought: when they invited the choir to sing, they might not have meant her.

My feelings were similar: honored and undeserving. It didn’t feel like I did anything special to DESERVE this opportunity. It was a gift handed to me that I just accepted and will continue to be thankful for and make the most of. Blogging the trip is just part of that. It’s my way of bringing you all along and sharing the honor with you.

London Chronicles #11: The Thanksgiving Service, The President’s Declaration, The Ambassador’s Remarks, and The Pastor’s Sermon

Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 102012

The service continued with the U.S. Ambassador, Louis Susman, reading President Obama’s Thanksgiving Declaration. He then made some of his own remarks. By the sound of things, he’s planning on retiring soon. You heard it here first. You can hear the Declaration and his speech here.

The Thanksgiving prayers were led by a group that included two teenagers and a former member of Glendale Pres who is now the Director of Student Ministries at the American Church in London. There were a few memorable bits:

“For setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you, Lord.”

“For disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on your alone. We thank you, Lord.”

And then we got to sing “America the Beautiful”! After watching the marines bring the flags in, it was really cool to sing: “O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life!”

The hymn was followed by the sermon by John D’Elia, the Pastor of the American Church in London and the person who invited us to London in the first place. You can read his sermon here.

London Chronicles #10: The U.S. Embassy Thanksgiving Service, An Epiphany

adventure, God, London, real life, Teachable Moments 1 Response »

Dec 102012

As they collected the offering for the local Homeless Cold Weather Shelter, we sang a song that finally made sense to me: “Sure on This Shining Night”, words by James Agee. For months we’d been talking about the poem and what it meant and I’d never been satisfied that I understood it.

Sure on this shining night

Of star-made shadows round

Kindness must watch for me

This side the ground

The late year lies down the north,

All is healed, all is health

High summer holds the earth,

Hearts all whole

Sure on this shining night

I weep for wonder

Wandring far alone

Of shadows on the stars.

There in St. Paul’s in that moment, I got it. For me, it tells the tale of someone journeying through a cold, dark patch of life that is so black that only the stars give enough light to make shadows. Then a stranger, a caring messenger, provides some comfort that keeps him from death and despair and causes restoration and healing. The journeying one is deeply touched at the gift because he thought he was all alone.

London Chronicles #9: The U.S. Embassy Thanksgiving Service, The Beginning

adventure, God, London, real life, Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 102012

The service itself began after we sang three spirituals. The U.S. Amabassador, Louis Susman, and his wife were escorted in while we sang “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”. The hymn ends with the words “Come, ten thousand angels, come” and I felt like they were there in that lofty dome of St. Paul’s – as if they were built into the architecture itself.

We were then officially welcomed by the Dean of the Cathedral (who is also the ex officio Dean of the Order of the British Empire). The text of his welcome was printed in the order of service, but he added the phrase “Welcome to those…….from Glendale church.” That stunned me. I’m not one who exalts celebrity or values someone because of their status, but being welcomed by ‘name’ by the Dean of one of the most famous churches in the world was quite a thrill. It gave me a sense of what it might feel like to hear God say my name. Okay, that might be going a bit far, but I was giddy.

And then we sang a piece written by Scott Stroman, our director – in 7/8 and 7/4 – in Latin. Not an easy piece! “Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te.” which means “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to all. We praise you.”

The “Canon in Residence” who is in charge of the music in the cathedral read Deuteronomy 6:1-9. The part that I heard deep in my soul was: “Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” This one of the reasons I started this blog.

Our next hymn was “For the Beauty of the Earth” which made me cry. This was not what I expected. I knew I’d cry during the service, I even dreamt about it the night before, but this is not what I thought would trigger the tears. It happened during the fourth verse: “For the joy of human love, Brother, Sister, Parent, Child. Friends on earth and friends above” I was suddenly filled with the awareness of my family and friends in the states and those that have passed away and felt their love and support. For that I am truly, deeply, profoundly thankful.

Please know that right then and there in that place filled with such a rich history of faith, in the presence of God and 2,000 people, with tears streaming down my face, I thanked God for you all.

After I pulled myself together, the next scripture reading was by the Area Director of Young Life (Yes, they have Young Life in England). She read Philippians 4:4-9 and when she said “The Lord is near,” I believed her. In the majesty of St. Paul’s, I felt the God of the universe draw near.

What happened next? Read about it here.

Posted by Alisa at 07:56

London Chronicles #8: The Crypt

adventure, art, God, London, real life, Teachable Moments 1 Response »

Dec 092012

In between rehearsal and the service on Thanksgiving Day, we were allowed to wander St. Paul’s Cathedral at our leisure. I chose to explore the crypt. I poked my head around every corner I could while no one was looking. Even if I was allowed to take pictures, Hubby was upstairs with the camera, so I have nothing to show except pictures that are posted around the internet.

The walls and floor of the crypt were filled with 200 memorials. There were statesmen and war heroes, old and new, alongside ‘ordinary’ people like the woman who worked to make sure the boys of St. Paul’s choir were educated and well taken care of. Some people might have been thrilled at the famous sights of Lord Nelson’s or the Duke of Wellington’s tombs, but not me. The ones I found most interesting were dark figures laying on marble tables engraved with names and dates. There were just a handful, but they all were missing their arms, legs and noses. I wondered if they were depicted this way because they died together in battle or a horrible accident.

I asked the security officer and she explained that these memorials had stood in the Old St. Paul’s, built in the 14th century, and had ‘survived’ the Great Fire of London in 1666. Their missing limbs and noses were a result of being burned. I immediately returned to look at them again. Since they were not guarded or alarmed in any way, I ran my hand over one of them. I got a crazy thrill touching something that was nearly 400 years old.

Posted by Alisa at 20:56

London Chronicles #7: Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s

adventure, God, London, real life, Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 092012

*In the interest of clarity and not boring you out of your gourds, I have broken this day into multiple entries. This is the pre-service part.

22-11-12. That’s the way I wrote the date in my journal. It was Thanksgiving Day and I was in London. I was so amped up that despite the late night, I woke before my alarm. In order to give ourselves plenty of time to catch the tube at rush hour and pass through the heightened security at St. Paul’s Cathedral with Hubby’s suspicion-arousing camera gear, we headed down to breakfast early. Hubby decided to give the Bangers a try and immediately regretted it. They were flavorless and mealy – let’s hope that’s not typical or I’ll start to believe what they say about English cuisine. I decided to stick with what I (thought I) knew and had Special K. Except Special K in the UK is whole grain wheat not corn – Yum!

We ran up to the room so I could change into my fancy shoes and then met up with a majority of the group in the lobby. The tube station was packed as expected. We compressed about 90% of us onto the first train requiring the last one on to duck her head so the doors would close. She spent the short ride with Hubby’s tripod pressed squarely into her side. We’ve nominated her for a citation for valor.

As we walked the short distance from the tube station to St. Paul’s, I was impressed by the size of the building itself. It stands on the top of Ludgate Hill and can be seen for miles, but I had no idea how massive it was.

They had set up K-rails and barriers all around the structure due to an increase in international tensions and we were subject to bag searches as we passed through security. The guards ‘ticked’ our names off the master list and directed us to the side door into the crypt. At the crypt door, everyone was given a badge that said ‘Choir’ to wear regardless of whether they were actually singing. Apparently being part of the Choir gave you the highest level of access possible that day.

We gathered upstairs for rehearsal, passing by 100’s of people buried in the walls and floor. As we entered the cathedral, I was gobsmacked by the magnificence.

I stood in awe a few moments trying to take it all in until I realized that I wasn’t capable – it was just too much. We were allowed to take just a few pictures inside the Cathedral – a rare privilege. When the youngest member of our group made her way up the stairs and arrived in the main Cathedral, I swear her jaw hit the floor. She plopped down next to me in the choir stall and after a few moments of stunned silence said, “Is anyone else having trouble concentrating? I can’t stop looking at everything.” I assured her that we were and passed her a copy of the order of service.

As the pre-service rehearsal began, we soon realized that Scott was justified when he insisted we listen to him with our eyes.

The sound in the cathedral seemed to rise straight up, bounce off the dome, echo around and come back as mush – beautiful, delicious, harmonic mush. As we practiced, we heard our voices, not as we normally do surrounding us and our neighbors, but calling back to us from distance lands in a less recognizable form. We lengthened our rests to make the most of the acoustics, crisped up our ending consonants, and practiced staying together by watching rather than listening.

Our practice ended nearly a half hour before we needed to be in our places for the service, so I got a change to wander the crypt while Hubby found a seat in the congregation. You can read more about the crypt here.

When it came time to ascend into the cathedral once again, I realized that I wasn’t nervous and hadn’t been all day – zero, nada, nil, nothing, no nerves. I spent a minute trying to savor the experience, but it just didn’t seem real. It certainly didn’t seem real to look out and see Hubby in the front row VIP seats with the American Ambassador! It turns out that the Pastor of the American Church in London, who was delivering the sermon, had offered him his extra seat.

Before the formal service began, we sang three spirituals arranged for us by Scott Stroman: “Jesus is a Rock,” a swing version of “In the Garden” (or, as we called it, ‘the Hoo-Hoo song’) and “The Storm is Passing Over”. We sang all three of these songs from memory and it feels like they’ll be with me forever. As we sang, the thousands of people were still coming in, talking and greeting each other. As we closed the last song, we began to clap along which startled quite a few people and caused a few of St. Paul’s wandsmen to smile and smirk.

For more on the St. Paul’s Thanksgiving service, you can keep reading here.

London Chronicles #6: I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead

adventure, London, real life, Teachable Moments No Responses »

Dec 082012

After visiting the British Museum, adventuring and beer tasting in Greenwich, and a marathon choir rehearsal, we decided to go out. For the average person, going out after 9 p.m. is not a big deal, at least for the average Angeleno. For me, the quintessential morning person, this requires strength, determination, and the promise of some great reward. In this case it meant the opportunity to go pubbing with friends and my first fish and chips in London, I thought.

We spent quite awhile debating the merits of each pub. It finally came down to two: the one with good beer or the one with good fish and chips…..Since a majority of us hadn’t eaten dinner, including a teenager, fish and chips won out.

We plotted a course to the Tottenham. Smuggling the teenager through the pub on the upper level, we filed down the stairs into the restaurant. We were halted midway down by a stern sentry – the kitchen was closed. We reversed course and mustered in the back of the pub while a scout scanned the street for options. The mission focus narrowed: Find Food.

An intelligence officer remembered that Noodle Oodle, the restaurant our travel agent recommended, was nearby. An advance guard took off down the street to reserve us a table while others stayed behind to update the rear guard on our new location. Just as we arrived at Location Bravo, they turned the sign to ‘closed’ and secured the location.

Our options were becoming limited as the minutes ticked by so it was time to narrow our focus: find someplace open that was still serving food. We back tracked to the only place we recognized as a food establishment: the Cornish Bakehouse. We squeezed into the tiny take away shop next to a local who viewed our presence as an invasion which required him to defend his position by gathering all the chairs at his table close so as not to lose them to the opposition.

I requisitioned a Lamb and Mint pasty and took up a strategic position in the opposite corner while the troops filed in for chow. The meal was typical enlisted sustenance: warm and filling. Long after curfew, we wended our way through the ever-present maze of London pedestrians back to our barracks: mission accomplished.

Older Entries Newer Entries