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.