Travelogue

   I’ve gone on some cool adventures over the last few months. Forgive the long post but I’ve been a pathetically bad blogger.
   Back in December my friend Rob Mathes invited me to come to London and hang with him at Abbey Road Studios where he was recording horns for the new Panic at the Disco CD. I was surprised at how moving it was to walk around Studio One and Studio Two. Studio Two is where all the great Beatle records were recorded (not to mention records by Pink Floyd, U2, The Hollies, and countless other legends). It was moving touching the grand piano in the middle of the room. This is the place where the soundtrack to my childhood was recorded! Down the hall is Studio One, which is the largest purpose-built recording room in the world. Some of the greatest symphonic recordings and soundtracks known to humankind were recorded in that room. While there Rob introduced me to a guy playing on the Panic session who played French horn on all 22 James Bond Soundtracks and on the Beatles’ Sgt Peppers record. May his tribe increase.
   Two days later I was in another famous albeit very different room. I attended a dinner at Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The meal was served in the Guard Room where Sir Thomas More refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry VIII as the head of the Church in England in 1535. The Archbishop’s wife gave a humorous talk about some of the paintings that adorn the walls. The Archbishop along with Bishop Tom Wright joined us for dessert and gave a beautiful benediction. Needless to say, it was a very stirring evening.
   After being in these remarkable spaces I realized that Thomas Merton was on to something when he wrote about the ‘spirituality of place.’ Merton believed that sacred spaces where important events had taken place retained a magnetic, numinous quality. I guess this explains why the feelings I experienced at Abbey Road weren’t all that different from the ones I felt in Lambeth Palace. It was sheer awe and gratitude.
  I also spent some great time in London with Ian Mobsby who was kind enough to see me despite having the flu and with Maggi Dawn in Cambridge. These are two wonderful people doing remarkably innovative things for the Kingdom. I’m hoping Ian will come to Trinity in June to speak to our staff and leadership.
   One week after returning from London I attended a conference for peace builders in Kampala, Uganda. One hundred peacemakers from all over the “genocide belt” (Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Congo) were in attendance. There were Anglican priests and bishops, Catholic priests, Mennonites, World Vision staff, folks from ALARM, as well as staff and faculty from Duke Divinity School's Center for Reconciliation, the sponsors of the event. The worship was very moving. Every night representatives of a different country led singing and prayer. The stories people told were both inspiring and heart wrenching. It was a privilege to be in the presence of such a cloud of witnesses.
   Coming home I spent a great few days at home with Mike King from Youthfront. Mike is quickly becoming a great friend. We’re hoping to attend an Enneagram retreat led by Richard Rohr in Assisi this June. I’d be grateful to spend time in Francis’ old haunting grounds again.   
   Keep a lookout for a blog interview I’m doing with Michael Spencer on Internet Monk next week! I’ll be talking about my book Chasing Francis and my church in Connecticut.

Comments

[maggi]

Hi Ian - it was great to have you over here! hope to see you again before long. Maggi

[Wes]

...extra good hearing from you

...think of you and pray for you often

...thankful for you!

[Discount Christian Louboutin]

Money the best friend of the masses, the support of the classes, the aim of the lasses, the ruin of the asses.

[Herve Leger Clothing]

To do great work a man must be very idle as well as very industrious. (Samuel Bubler, American educator)