Berlin and the autonomy of the church…

On Sunday evening I arrived home from 5 days in Berlin at the BWA Symposium on Baptist Identity. It was really more about defining what the ‘local’ church is, how autonomous is it, how autonomous should it be and that sort of thing. Some of the conference was interesting, some of it not, but I got the opportunity to meet some really interesting people, so for that alone, it was definitely worth it! We also had a good time exploring Berlin a little… firstly by guided bus tour, which was good and then on the Saturday evening we went out for dinner in the city centre too. We ended up in an Australian restuarant, which felt a bit strange seeing as we were in Germany and all… they even offered Fosters beer..! Who would drink Fosters if you were in Germany?! On the Sunday it was a gorgeously beautiful sunny day, so after church (where I heard the worst sermon of my short life… filled with anecdotal stories about American life… and little else) we headed into town and walked around past the Reichstag, the Brandenburg gate and along the canal. It was amazing! Berlin looked lovely in the sunshine and everyone was enjoying the day. Unfortunately it was a bit hectically busy due to the fact that the EU leaders were meeting in Berlin to celebrate the jubilee of the EU… but it was still great.

Tony (General Secretary of the EBF) and Helle (Tony’s Assistant and my boss!) outside the Reichstag. Notice the dome on the top of it… you can go up there and below you is where the German Parliament meets and you can watch them… pretty cool..! Certainly portrays the Government as ‘under’ the people too!

 Memorial of where the wall had been which separated East and West Berlin.

Bridge over the canal which used to be in the area where the wall separated East and West Berlin.

All in all, a fun time..! This week has been a bit crazy as the pressure continues for me to finish my papers and also keep up my involvement with church-related activities, but so far, its OK… I have 7 weeks left of official academic term-time… so the end is kinda in sight!

If anyone has any good ideas of dissertation proposals…

I have a summer job!

 

I just finished an interview with a lovely lady from Embassy CES and she is doubly lovely because she offered me a summer job! Yay! The plan is that Phil and I will work in Belfast for the month of June and then head for sunny England and work for July and some of August. By securing a job as an Activity Leader, part 2 of the grand plan is partially complete! (of course, Phil needs to be offered a job as an English Language Teacher in order for part 2 to be really complete, but I’m going to trust God and Phil that he will be offered a job too! His interview is later on this week… please pray for him.) Once Phil has been offered a job (holding thumbs), then we will figure out where exactly we will be working. Embassy CES runs English language and activity summer schools, so that’s what we’ll be doing, but we don’t yet know where, or with what ages we will be working. Phil will be working as a English teacher, and I will be doing activities and that sort of thing..! It sounds pretty fun and a good job for the summer, so I’m well chuffed! As I look out onto a very grey day in Prague, a gorgeous summer is enticing me… oh I can’t wait!

Here I am..!

Hello everyone… I am alive still… just not been feeling the love for the old bloggage really! Its been a busy couple of weeks… last week Phil and I were practicing our parenting skills as we looked after a 12 year old boy and his 9 year old sister as their parents went on holiday to Portugal for 6 days! It was an experience, that’s for sure! They are good kids though, so that made it much easier. But it made me realise how much running around and general organisation parents have to do! Oh my word, how do they ever manage to do anything for themselves? It was an eye-opener, and made me appreciate much more what my parents did for me when I was younger. Isn’t it annoying/frustrating that we only realise how much our parents did for us once we’re already grown up? Anyway, we’re not totally put off children, so that’s good!

This past week IBTS has hosted a group from the Northumbria Community in the UK, which has been so interesting and inspiring. I would really encourage you to visit their website and find out what they are about. This is some of their blurb: “Inspired by, drawing from, and living in the spiritual tradition of monasticism, the Community is geographically dispersed and strongly ecumenical but with an identity rooted in the history and spiritual heritage of Celtic Northumbria.” Their website has much more info, and I think that the spirituality that they base their faith and life on, is an excellent resource for 21st century Western Christians. Its probably unlike anything that you might have come into contact with, but I have really been inspired and challenged by their thoughts, words and actions. The whole of this week we have been sharing ‘Office’ together (a fancy way of saying ‘Prayers’) in the morning (when we have Chapel services anyway) as well as midday prayers and evening prayers (for the keen-os!). The same basic words are said or sung according to the different times of the day, and I have come to love those times as time for reflection, being quiet before God and seeking his face in the midst of the busy-ness of life, work and study. I hope that it might be helpful to you too!

On Wednesday morning I am off to Berlin for the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Symposium on Baptist Identity..! What a name for a conference! I think that it will be interesting though, we will be looking at the role of the church in society, and that sort of thing. Phil will have to fend for himself from Wednesday to Sunday evening, so hopefully he won’t starve! I will be taking my laptop with me, so hopefully I will be able to post some news if anything exciting happens. I’m taking the train from Prague to Berlin, which I’m really looking forward to, although feeling a little nervous about too! I haven’t travelled around Europe on my own, so it will be an adventure, but my lack of either Czech or German worries me slightly. Anyway, hopefully I’ll arrive in one piece.

Enjoy your weekends, wherever you are!