A New Era of My Life Begins

I want to give you just a quick update of the last ten days.
I sense that one era of my life has ended and a new era has
just begun. I am excited about how the next period of my
life will slowly blossom.

On Thursday, June 5th, I had two hours of interviews with
representatives of the Church of Scotland about my inten-
tion to transfer my ordination in the Presbyterian Church
(USA) to the Church of Scotland. On June 24th I will be in-
formed by the Ministries Council of their decision whether
I proceed or not with the transfer of ordination.

Friday, June 6th, was a very hard day for me. I said my
goodbyes to so many people, packed up all my belongs
here, and prepared to leave St. Andrews, my home for
over four years. It was a hard day for me, but I got through
it all. I mourned the loss of a very special place full of good
friends, friendly surroundings, and precious memories. I
wondered if I would ever get over the sense of loss of this
very special place.

On Saturday, June 7th, I moved from St. Andrews to Holy
Island/Lindisfarne, a tidal island in the far northeast corner
of England. It was the ancient site of a vibrant missionary
community of women and men of faith that evangelized
the pagan people of Britain from the sixth century to the
tenth. A good friend of mine, a fellow doctoral student,
picked me up at 6am, prepared a wonderful breakfast for
me, and drove me to the train station. From the moment I
got on the train to when I laid my head down on my pillow
to sleep on Holy Island, I was engaged in rich conversations
with special people. I was so wrapped up in listening and
talking that I did not miss St. Andrews. Truly a new era
had begun, and I was eager to get on with it.

The past week has whirred by, and it has been delightful!
I am volunteering at the Open Gate, a Christian B&B on the
island. The staff of three seeks to provide hospitality to up
to ten people a night. I'll write more about them later. The
important thing is that they quickly accepted my offer to
volunteer to help them for at least seven weeks. Hopeful-
ly I can give them eleven weeks. My week was full of cut-
ting vegetables, washing dishes, changing bed linen, doing
laundry, washing dishes, cleaning toilets, preparing rooms
for guests, wahing dishes, putting out seed for the birds,
dusting, preparing coffee and tea, washing dishes, hoover-
ing (in American English, vacuuming), leading evening
prayer, washing dishes, and, over a meal, listening to peo-
ple share from their lives. It wore me out, but it was won-
derful!

Today was my day off-boy, did I need it! I'm back in St. An-
drews for a farewell party. I and the families of five other St.
Mary's PhD students are leaving St. Andrews during June
and July. It was a special time to have fun and say goodbye
to close friends. I am fortunate that I will come back to St.
Andrews every ten days or so. Tomorrow I will return to
Holy Island. It gives me much joy to be there! I will miss
the people here, but it is no longer an aching loss. That is
what being at Holy Island has done for me. I thank the
Lord that I am there!

Blessings, and all the best,