Third Week of Ministry: June 22 - 28

This week we started a men's Bible study on the book of Galatians.  Six men attended the first meeting at which we read through the entire book together and discussed some introductory questions of the occasion and purpose of the letter.  We expect three more men to join us next week. 

"Open Abbey" is a ministry of the church in which we simply open the doors of the church, invite people to come in and engage them in conversation.  Our hope is that we will have an opportunity to speak to them about Christ and the gospel of grace.  This week we had several opportunities to do that.  But the most notable part of the week was when a local homeless man came in.  William is mentally disturbed.  He came to "Open Abbey" for most of the day on Friday and Saturday.  During that time, he was rummaging around in the church and muttering to himself.  When we engaged him in conversation, he told us that Abbey was his church and that we didn't belong there.  During those two days we tried to talk to him many times.  Paige Larson seemed to have some success in speaking to him.  Luke Whipple's music had a calming effect on him.  But eventually William became angry.  Also, two knives went missing from the church kitchen after he was seen there.  So, sadly, we had to call the Guarda and have him removed from the church.  Of course, that didn't stop him from coming to church on Sunday.  Fortunately, he did not cause a disturbance and sometime towards the beginning of the service left quietly.

That same service seemed to be the one in which the largest number of people attended since we've been at Abbey.  Perhaps it's because it was a communion Sunday.  Nevertheless, it was great to see the center section of the seating rather full.  Also, some of the people we saw this Sunday were people we met at Open Abbey during the week.  One was a Hindu woman named Nita from Maritius (off the SW coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean).  She came with us to dinner after church.   Nita is Hindu and speaks English, French, Hindi and her own country's language.  At Stephanie's suggestion she has been reading the Gospel of John.  She's up to chapter 5 and has been asking Stephanie all kinds of questions about what she's reading.

Please continue to pray that the Lord will bring many in Dublin into his kingdom of grace and glory. 

Second Week of Ministry: June 15 - 21

Monday was our day off.  Robert and Sandra Poynton took Katie Manley, Kathy and I to join them for a day at Glendaloch in Co. Wicklow.  It was absolutely beautiful. 

On Friday and Saturday the entire team went to the Irish Bible Institute here in Dublin to attend a seminar on Worship led by Marva Dawn.  Our team gives her presentation a mixed review.  Some of her teaching was helpful to a few of us.  At many points our team members regarded her teaching as controversial or even somewhat offensive.  After the weekend, the IBI seminar became the source of considerable discussion at our team meeting. 

Friday evening prayer meetings continue with 20 to 30 people from various nations around the the world.  These meetings are some of the most inspiring experiences of prayer Kathy and I have ever known. 

Saturday evening the team of interns went to the Boals' home for a barbeque and were engaged in their usual Sunday ministries at Abbey.

But on Saturday afternoon Kathy and I traveled to Portadown to visit Stafford and Patricia Carson, the PCI minister there.  Stafford and I met at the Pastors Summit, a research group in which we participated for two years.   On Sunday morning, Kathy and I attended 1st Portadown, the PCI congregation of which Stafford is the pastor.  Since we've met many of the people in that congregation at our last visit to Ireland in 2006, we feel that we have made friends there.  On Sunday evening I had the opportunity to preach there.     Later that evening, Stafford, Patricia, Kathy and I drove out to Portballintrae on the north coast of Ireland for a brief visit.  Later on Monday we stopped to visit Clive and Carole Kyle, relatives of Michelle Bounds.  Carole Kyle is Patricia Carson's sister!  What a small world!  Unfortunately, I forgot to take photographs of the Kyle family.  But some of you may have the opportunity to meet them, because they will be visiting Shippensburg very soon.

First Week of Ministry: June 8 - 14

We've just completed the first week of ministry here in Dublin. 

Sunday the Summer Team, accompanied by Katie Manley and Luke Whipple, led the Abbey congregation in singing "O Church Arise," a song that I personally hope will be our theme song for this summer.  After church we all gathered for a church picnic at Phoenix Park where we met members of the congregation from Angola, Nigeria, Korea, Kosovo, China, Brazil, Cameroon and some other countries I can't remember at the moment.  What a great experience of the multi-cultural kingdom of God! 

 

Since Monday is our day off, Kathy and I took the train to Dalkey, a quaint (and wealthy) suburb of Dublin that used to be home to 6 or 7 castles.  Only 2 remain.  We toured one, led by real characters from the 15th century, including the local barber/surgeon who offered to pull our bad teeth and drain the bad blood from our bodies.  We, of course, politely declined.  :)

 

On Tuesday we had our first "staff meeting" in which Alan Boal, the pastor of Abbey Presbyterian Church, reviewed with us the tasks and responsibilities for the week.  This past Tuesday Stephanie White and Paige Larson led us in a team devotional from 1 John on the theme of love for each other that grows out of God's love towards us.  A large part of this first meeting consisted in planning an RTE (Irish radio) service for July 13th.  Alan, LIzi, Jacqueline and I planned the outline of the service, including the music and the mini-messages for the morning.  That may not sound terribly exciting to those of you who are reading about it, but, as we examined the text from Ecclesiastes (That's what Alan has been preaching lately.) we began to see Christ foreshadowed there.  And we saw the gospel afresh.  Tuesday also began "Open Abbey" in which the interns greet visitors to Abbey Church's historic building and look for opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those visitors. 

On Tuesday evening the team gathered in the "ministers room" at Abbey to hear a presentation by a street preacher named Mickey Walker.   He is an American "refugee from California" who came to Ireland 26 years ago with Operation Mobilization and has been preaching the gospel on the corner of O'Connell and Talbot Streets for the past 20 years.  In his presentation, Mickey described his gospel presentation and prepared the members of our team to assist him the next day.

Wednesday began at 9:00 AM with team devotions from Gospel Transformation followed by "Open Abbey" from 10-2.  Those not assigned to Open Abbey went to assist Mickey Walker in following up on members of his audience.  Members of our team were dispersed through the small crowd that gathered around as, on three occasions, Mickey and an associate explained the gospel in an engaging and respectful way to those passing by the corner of O'Connell and Talbot Streets.  After one gospel presentation Stephanie White had an interesting conversation with an avowed atheist.  After another, she followed an angry heckler for four blocks, engaging her in conversation, until her heart seemed to soften and she was willing to accept a Bible and have Stephanie pray for her.  Several others had conversations about the gospel to those in the crowd who had stopped to listen.

Kathy has taken responsibility for organizing team dinners.  Each night she and two interns prepare dinner for the team.  Wednesday was her first experience food shopping alone, finding her way around Dublin alone, and using foreign currency (on this trip).  Luke Whipple and Wes Lyle provided us with a little before dinner musical entertainment.  At dinner Lizi Guthmann commented that it felt like we were a family.  Afterward we all went back to "number 5" to watch a film together.  All in all the evening was one in which we began to feel more closely united to each other. 

Thursday:  Team devotions at 9:00 AM was followed by Open Abbey (10-2) and a meeting to organize our first prayer meeting.  Paula, a young Portuguese woman who we met our first Sunday at Abbey, invited the interns to dinner at her apartment.   It turned out to be a lot of fun for the interns, who learned a few things about "break-dancing" from one of Paula's friends, and a great opportunity to build relationships with Paula and another Portuguese man named Vladimir (doesn't sound Portuguese, does it?)  While the team was at Paula's, Kathy and I had a little time to meet with Alan and Ruth. 

Friday:  Our Team devotions have been focused on doing ministry from a heart that is resting in the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ.  During Open Abbey, Stephanie White had an opportunity to share the gospel with a Mexican student named Daniel who is studying in Scotland, but who is visiting Dublin (How's that for cross-cultural ministry!)  Since she speaks Spanish, Stephanie spoke to Daniel in his native language and led him to faith in Jesus Christ!!!  That evening Daniel joined us for a prayer meeting attended by about 30 people (9 interns, 2 mentors [that's us], Alan Boal, and about 20 people from Abbey Church.   This is certainly the most amazing prayer meeting we've ever attended!  Christians from Angola, Mexico, Nigeria, Korea, China, Brazil, Ireland, and the United States gathered to pray, using the Lord's Prayer as our outline.  Each one prayed in his or her native language.  We prayed for two hours and the time just seemed to fly by!

Saturday:  We staffed Open Abbey and practiced the song the team would sing for Sunday morning.  Later that day the team attended the Street Performers World Championship at Merrion Square across town.  Joining us were Paula and Vladimir (from Brazil) as well as Henry (an approximation to his real name) from the Czech Republic.  Henry is visiting Dublin for a few days with his family and decided to stop in to Open Abbey.  So we invited him to "hang out" with us for the afternoon. 

Kathy and I left the rest of the team to shop for dinner.  All week we could feel the fatigue growing.  Since the sun doesn't set until nearly 11:00 PM and it rises about 4:00 AM, it has been difficult to avoid staying up too late and getting up a little early.  We have been constantly active, either in spending time with the interns or with the ministry tasks that occupy us all.  So, on Saturday afternoon we were physically tired, emotionally drained and longing for the peace and quite of Orrstown. :) Frankly I was irritated that the people on the sidewalks wouldn't get out of my way, that nobody seemed to speak a language I could understand, that the open market on Moore Street smelled like fish left out in the sun too long and that my feet hurt.  (Was this the early onset of "culture shock" I wondered?)  Kathy and I grumbled through the shopping only to find that another church group was using the basement of Abbey where we had been having our team dinners.  So we had to move the whole show to "number 5."  But in the end, the evening turned out great.  Kathy cooked a wonderful authentic Irish meal, and we spent the evening / night talking to the interns about personal and theological issues, and just playing a game together.  It was another one of those "family" experiences. 

Sunday (today):  We attended worship at Abbey, then went to the home of David and Pat Colvin to enjoy their extraordinary hospitality from about 1:00 PM until about 10:00 PM.  Can you imagine spending nine hours in delightful conversation with people you've only just met but who are quickly becoming old friends?  That's what it was like.  Before we left they said, "Be sure to tell Scott and Lindsay that we are praying for them to come back to us."  That's the message we hear, not only from David and Pat, but also Robert and Sandra, Alan and Ruth, Deirdre (sp?), and almost everybody at Abbey Church.  I know it's perhaps amplified by our sense of parental pride, but it seems we are continually being told by the people of Abbey how much they love and appreciate Scott and Lindsay's ministry here.  It makes me hope all the more that their support can be raised and that they can return to Dublin soon. 

The End of Orientation Week

Well, we've just completed our orientation week.  Since the interns arrived last Saturday we have been almost constantly on the move.  Let me try to catch you up on our activities.  First, it was the Saturday evening dinner, in which each summer intern met their adoptive Abbey family.  Then it was the Sunday morning worship service in which a team of bleary-eyed summer interns and a couple of tired mentors introduced themselves to the congregation.  That afternoon we went down to the Dublin Docklands for the Maritime Festival where tall ships and small ships were tied up to the docks adjacent to the Customs House and vendors from Ireland and Europe were selling what to us seemed like exotic foods: everything from German sausages to Dutch cheeses to "king prawns and garlic potatoes" and Turkish delight.  ("Can I have some more, please," said Edmund.  "I could eat twice as much!")   

Near the Docklands is a monument remembering those who died in the potato famine.  Bronze ghostly figures stand as permanent representatives of an Irish holocaust.  On one of the plaques listing contributors to this monument I discovered the words "ICS, Scranton, PA, United States."  Apparently, the International Correspondence School in my hometown had supported this project. 

Monday was our day off. It was a "bank holiday."  So Kathy and I took the DART (train) to Dun Laohaire (pronounced "Dun Leary"), a lovely seaside town about 7 miles south of Dublin.  It was filled with young families enjoying a day in the sunshine.  We've had five days of that rare commodity here this past week!   

Tuesday began with team devotions that focused on Philippians 2 and our call to follow the pattern of humility set by Jesus, a pattern which we saw would only be a crushing requirement were it not for the fact that the cross is not only a model for us, but the means by which we are forgiven, accepted and adopted into God's family.  The rest of the day was our orientation to child protection guidelines, safety and security guidelines, and general team guidelines.  That evening Katherine Manning and Christy Rodriguez led the team on a walkabout tour of Dublin that ended in a "picnic" dinner at St. Stephen's green.  

Wednesday's meetings began with team devotions on James 4:1-12 and Luke 6:42-45.  The subject was peacemaking and conflict resolution.  We talked about how conflict emerges from the desires of our hearts that have become demands / idols.    The remainder of the day was an orientation to the religious and social history of Ireland, the history of Abbey Church (including a tour of the facilities), and a documentary film entitled "The Pope's Children."  This last item is available on DVD and was packed full of information that is very helpful in understanding the developments of the last couple of decades in Ireland generally and Dublin in particular.  (I recommend it, if you can get it.  But beware, the language is a bit rough.)  That evening, the team gathered in our apartment at "number 5" to watch the film "Once," a story of loneliness and disappointed aspirations in cosmopolitan Dublin.  (If you want to get a glimpse of life in this city, that may help.) 

Thursday morning we left for Rostrevor Renewal Center, a retreat center on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.  There we looked at the role of Presbyterianism in Ireland with a view to presenting a positive view to those who would attend "Open Abbey," a daily event in which Dubliners are invited to tour the historic building of Abbey Church. 

Friday Alan Boal presented a theology of evangelism and social outreach which I must say I found quite inspiring.  Frankly, I think it's something from which we at Hope Church can learn.  The rest of the day was filled with presentations on the Arts Ministry at Abbey, an Introduction to Psalm-Praying and a variety of other topics.   Honestly, we were all exhausted and suffered from "information overload" by the end of the week.  Harry Smith, the director of the Rostrevor Renewal Centre told us about a pub in town that had good music.  So, about 10:00 PM we all went in and...wow!  It was certainly the best experience of Irish folk music that Kathy and I have ever had.  Perhaps a dozen musicians gathered in the back room of The Corner House Pub and played Irish tunes and sang ballads until after 1:00 AM.  It was an amazingly joyful experience!

Saturday after breakfast we all took a long walk before catching the bus back to Dublin via Newry.  I think almost all of us slept on the bus.  When we returned we practiced some music including "O Church Arise," which we will be singing in the morning worship service tomorrow morning.  After that, there's a church picnic in Phoenix Park.  Next week, orientation is over and we begin the ministry here in earnest. 

Please pray for Christ's kingdom to come in Dublin.  Pray that God, by his Spirit, would bring many into his kingdom of grace.  By the way, almost everybody here has expressed appreciation for Scott and Lindsay's ministry in Abbey Church.  They are eagerly anticipating their return, along with the rest of the Dublin Team (the Pickens family and the Baker family).  Please pray that Scott and Lindsay would be able to raise the approximately $11,000 in monthly support that they need to return.

The Interns Have Arrived!

  

Today (Saturday, May 31, 2008) we picked up the MTW Interns at the Dublin Airport.  Their flight had left Atlanta about 6:00 PM the evening before; and after a layover at London/Gatwick they arrived in Dublin about 12:30 PM.  While they were still suffering from 'jet lag,' we took them to Harvey's B&B, dragged them around the center of Dublin for a couple of hours before dinner at Abbey.  At dinner most of the interns met members of their 'adoptive' families from Abbey Church.  Afterward, they returned to the B&B and (I imagine) crashed until morning. 

At the end of the day, Kathy and I each commented that this team of interns seems well-prepared, respectful and cooperative.  This is the fourth team of interns to come to Abbey Church for the summer program of ministry.  And it is the largest so far.  Please pray that our ministry will bear fruit for the sake of Christ's kingdom.

Here are some photos from the day:  Upper photo:  Stephanie White (foreground), Paige Larson (left) and Luke Whipple (right).

 

Left to right:  Katie Manley, Wes Lyle, Robert Poynton (Abbey), David Colvin (Abbey), Paige Larson.

Left to right in front of the famous Temple Bar pub:  Jacqueline Lamb, Luke Whipple, Wes Lyle, Lizi Guthmann, Stephanie White, Katie Manley, and Paige Larson.

The interns in the "sweet room," where they can take breaks from ministry without going back to the B&B:

 

A Day in Bray / Bre'

The sun was shining on Thursday so Kathy and I decided that it was a good day to get out.  Lindsay had recommended that sometime we take the train from Connolly Station in Dublin out to the countryside and a little town called Bray (Bre' is the Celtic).  So we decided that this was the day for it.  Who knows when we'd see another day like this?  Once you get off the train in Bray it's about a five mile hike along the coastal cliff to the town of Greystones.   We had packed a lunch and ate it on the way.  Just before we entered Greystones we met an 80 year old man walking the opposite direction.  His name was Herbie Doyle.  He told us his life’s history.  Among other things, he said that ‘Doyle’ is derived from a Norse word meaning “dark stranger.”  We talked about his life in Ireland, his brother’s / cousin’s life in America, the EU, the Lisbon Treaty and a few other things thrown in for good measure.  We'll probably be taking the interns to Bray soon after they arrive.  Learning to use the train, convert currency and the hike itself may be good team-building exercises. 

After returning to Dublin, we decided to return to the Temple Bar area for dinner.  We ate at the Gallagher’s Boxty House.  They have family style seating.  We had an interesting conversation with a retired couple from Tucson, AZ (Ben and Rosie) who travel a great deal.  We even talked about religion.  I tried to give a brief explanation of the gospel as part of our conversation; and I asked what he thought was the greatest objection most people had to Christianity.  He told me his objection to Christianity. It was its lack of scientific proof.  (He would like to see more miracles. But perhaps he should read Psalm 19 and Romans 1.)  On the other side of us was a family from Wales here for a few days on holiday.  We talked about the state of the church in Wales and Europe in general and the revivals that once occurred among the coal miners there .  They attend a church that is part of a circuit of seven churches!  (The preacher is at one of the seven each Sunday, then moves to the next church on the list the next week.)  After the couple from Tucson left, a younger couple sat down in their place.  We had an opportunity to talk to them about the summer Arts Ministry at Abbey Church.  They live in Dublin and said they might show up.  It was invigorating to engage people in conversation about things that matter. 

We saw several Buskers (street performers) in the Temple Bar area of the city.   I got some video, but I can't seem to insert it in the blog. 

A Wandering Wednesday

Today we had our first "staff meeting" with Alan Boal, the pastor of Abbey Church.  He's pictured here standing in front of the church building.  We spent the morning reviewing the schedule for the next several weeks, and clarifying some expectations.  Alan has to be away at the Presbyterian Church of Ireland (PCI) General Assembly (GA) during the orientation week, which is the week immediately after the MTW interns arrive, so I will be leading some devotionals and orientation sessions with them. During the latter half of that week, we'll be taking the entire team up to a place called Rostrevor Renewal Centre in Northern Ireland to finish out our week of orientation and team building. 

After our "staff meeting," Kathy and I were able to see see a few more famous places in Dublin.  First, we visited Trinity College where the Book of Kells is housed.  The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels that dates from about 800 AD.  Next, we visited The Chester Beatty Library where we saw fragments of the four gospels and Paul's letters dating from the second and third centuries.  After that, we stopped in to see Christ Church (c. 1030 AD), the original cathedral of Norse Dublin .  (Dublin was settled perhaps as far back as the 1st century BC, but it was established as a town by the Vikings about 840 AD.)  Finally, we visited St. Paul's Cathedral, which is he National Cathedral for the Church of Ireland (Anglican).  Jonathan Swift, the famous author of Gullivers Travels was once dean of St. Patrick's; and he is buried inside the cathedral. 

Despite the all the evidence demonstrating the long history of Christianity's influence in Ireland, it is also evident that Christendom (the privileged position of Christianity in the West) is now dead.  For instance, on the way back to our apartment ("number 5") we passed an old church named "St. Mary's" that had been turned into a pub and restaurant.   This is not the only church building like this.  Others are being used as museums and shops. 

Every day the need for the gospel of grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is evident in Dublin. 

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

Well, today was supposed to be our free day to get oriented to the city.  We had planned to take the Dublin City Bus Tour.  But it rained 'cats and dogs' until about the middle of the afternoon.  After that, it didn't stop raining; it just lightened up a bit.  So, Kathy and I spent the early part of the day preparing some materials for our orientation meetings with the MTW Interns, who arrive on May 31.  Finally, at about 2:30 PM we joined a group of four other tourists on the bus who had braved the elements to see the sights.  (The photo above is the view out the rain-dotted window of the Guinness Brewery lounge that looks out over the entire city of Dublin.)  Then it was back to "number 5" for dinner and more preparations. 

By the way, the forecast for tomorrow is for (you guessed it)...rain. 

Safe and Sound in Dublin

Well, we made it.  Kathy and I left Shippensburg about 2:30 PM on Sunday, May 25th for Dulles Airport.  Our British Airways flight took us to London's Heathrow Airport.  Then we caught an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin.  Everything was delayed due to weather.  Then we were delayed due to the queue (line) at the immigration checkpoint.  But everything turned out well in the end.  It was a sunny day in Dublin.  We met Alan and Ruth Boal (Alan is the pastor at Abbey Church) and they took us out for lunch at a nice little tea room that was part of the Botanic Gardens, which reminded us of Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia.  We had a nice long walk and chatted about the ministry at Abbey and the plans for the summer.  We talked about the Boal's visit to the United States during the month of August.  I hope they can visit Hope Church so that you all can meet them personally. 

Later we got ourselves installed at "number 5," the apartment in which Scott and Lindsay spent eleven months, and in which Katherine Manning and Christy Rodrigues (MTW interns) have been living.  They welcomed us very warmly.  And after a little chat we headed out to walk around the city with Christy's mom who is visiting for a few days. 

The interns arrive on Saturday, May 31.  Between now and then, Kathy and I have an opportunity to recover from jet lag and prepare for our part in their orientation to the ministry in Dublin. 

Please remember to pray "Thy kingdom come" in Dublin.  Pray that men and women will be brought into the kingdom of grace, and that God will use our team as his instruments to that end.

Launching the Dublin Project

As many of you know, Kathy and I have been invited by Mission to the World and Abbey Church in Dublin, Ireland to serve as mentors for a team of interns during a special outreach during June and July. Our job will be to assist in the spiritual formation of the team as they work to extend Christ's kingdom in Dublin's artistic community. We will also be assisting with conflict resolution and cultural adaptation.

Please pray that the kingdom of Christ would be extended through this project. Please pray that our team would be united in a way that demonstrates the love of God in Christ. Some of you have been asking "When do you actually leave?" and "Where do you stand with your support?" Well, we leave on the evening of May 25th and (as of May 14th) we have raised $8577 of the $13,000 MTW estimates it will cost to send us.