Back Again

Yes, yes, yes.  I know.  I know.  I have been reminded several times of late that I have not posted for a while.  Well, okay -- it has been a year and two days.  That is a bit long between posts, so one of my resolutions for this year is to post at least once a month.  How does that sound?


This year has started off in a rather lovely manner.  My cousins Jerry and Mary Hilton are spending a few days with me (Jerry's dad and mine were first cousins).  They are experiencing a Scottish winter so that when they go home to Wimberley, Texas, they will appreciate the heat there even more.  After worship yesterday, we took a driving tour of the Winchburgh, Kingscavil and Abercorn areas of West Lothian before winding our way down to the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh.  Those of you who have read my previous posts will know that these are the places I served during my year of familiarization.


Today we ventured in a northerly direction, to Stirling.  The castle awaited our presence in the wind and rain (and nearly snow).    It was my first chance to see the refurbished palace area and wow!  It is marvelous -- a definite must-see if you want to get a sense of royal living in the 17th Century.


2011 ended with a quiet night for us all.  We had thought about going into Edinburgh for the Hogmanay festivities, but decided that we were old enough to know better than to stand out in cold rain.  Yeah -- that's what we will call it -- old enough to know better.


So what is it like in Armadale now?  We have managed to avoid the depth of snow that we had at the end of 2010.  A couple of flurries have come in, but they have disappeared.  I had ten baptisms, three weddings, and more than 50 funerals (I think it was 56, but I haven't done the final count).  The balance is still a bit off there, but it is life in Armadale Parish.  The most difficult funeral I have had was a 21 year old woman who had a six-week-old baby.  There are no answers to the painful questions that arise from this kind of situation, no words to say that can adequately plumb or assuage the depths of the pain.  One can only walk alongside and offer a hand or a shoulder.  


What does this year bring?  Who knows?  Whatever it is, the adventure will continue.  My brother and sister-in-law will visit in the summertime and I am already excited about that.  In between now and then, I am sure that I will continue to "match'em, hatch'em, and dispatch'em," as I have heard it said through many years.  We will hope for a heavier concentration of the first two.....

Let's Go Out....with a Blaze of Glory

December 31.  How in the world did we get to the end of 2010 already?  I don't know about that, but I do know this -- I am ending this year with three funerals and one wedding.  Not quite a movie, but close enough, I suppose.  


This has been an eventful year.  I have served three different parishes in the space of 2010.  Just a year ago, I was nearing the end of my familiarization time with St. Anne's Parish Church in Edinburgh.  In February, I began the next bit of that work with the Abercorn Parish Church linked with the Pardovan, Kingscavil, and Winchburgh Parish.  THEN, on August 1, I preached for and received a call from the Armadale Parish  Church, where I began my ministry on September 1 (after moving into the manse on August 12).  Since then, I have celebrated one baptism, solemnized one marriage, and officiated at 21 funerals.  Hmmm -- no wonder I feel a wee bit weary!


The role of parish minister is different from any I have had before.  Because I am responsible for a geographical area, anyone living within that area can call on me for pastoral services, usually weddings and funerals.  I have also been part of the school life here in the two Primary Schools and the Secondary School.  If the parish minister role was something new, then the opportunity to talk about faith with students IN THE SCHOOL is even more out of my realm of experience.  When I mention to teachers that this is something I would never have the opportunity to do in America, I get blank yet astonished looks in return.  It is such an integrated part of their way of thinking -- that children should be taught about faith (not just Christianity) so that later in life they know what they are choosing -- that they cannot imagine not having it in the schools.


I will say that my first winter here has been made more notable because of all the snow we have had.  I think we had 28 inches on the ground at one time.  Asher and Anna are a mere 8.5 inches high at the shoulders.  They were not amused.  I shoveled a path for them, then Asher figured out that he could stay right by the side of the house and get a good way around it.  He doesn't much care for taking walks in the cold -- but at the age of 12, I suppose he has good reason.  Anna would run anywhere.  Timothy prefers being by the fire.  Then again, he is a cat.  They say that this has been the worst winter since 1962 or so.  And they had to save it until I got here....


As I end this year here, I can't help but think about some of the things I have learned....

• Soup is good, and even better when it is homemade and someone brings it to you.
• Sweeties (candies and cookies -- aka biscuits) are ever-present and home-bakes are the best.
• You must always prepare for the worst weather, even if the day looks sunny when you leave the house.
• Warm snow boots are essential.
• An umbrella is even more essential.
• Sunglasses and umbrellas go together.
• In theory, Americans and Scots speak the same language.  In reality, not so much.
• There are a lot of different Scottish accents, but even here they can't understand people from Aberdeen.
• Gas fires are incredible on long, cold winter nights. You turn them on, then turn them off.
• Short-legged, long-haired dogs are seriously not feasible for muddy terrain -- unless you like bathing them a lot.
• Hat hair is inevitable in the winter.  Soggy hair is generally inevitable in the summer.
• Kilts on men are....well, what can I say?
• It is possible to go a lot of places on foot or by public transport here.  It isn't always convenient, but it can be done.
• The English are still suspect.
• Riding in a hearse is really quite comfortable -- as long as you are in the front seat.

I am preparing for my first trip back to the USA next week.  It is the first such sojourn since I arrived here on July 24, 2009.  I can't help but wonder how I have changed and how it will be evident when I get there.  What I know is this -- the odyssey that began in my heart in 2003 and became a reality in 2009 is continuing.  People here ask why I came to Armadale, a very unlikely destination for an American immigrant.  All I can say is that I am home.

Yankee Doodle Came to Town

Each weekday afternoon at 5:00 p.m., I hear the tinny yet cheery strains of "Yankee Doodle" coming down Mount Pleasant.  That is the signal for the children to come out because THAT is the tune attached to the ice cream truck.  Oh, and it comes at 6:00 on the weekends.

The first time I heard the truck coming, it rather took me aback.  It seems so odd to hear that tune  floating up a small street in Scotland -- perhaps because I am (to many Brits) a Yank, which is a more generic term for Americans here than it is in Georgia, where I was decidedly not a Yank.

Still, there is some truth in the song title, because I have come to town.  While I don't wear a feather in my hat -- I don't much care for hats, except in bitter cold weather --  I do have good lips and know how to wear my lipstick.  This has not escaped the notice of the ladies and girls of Armadale.  

We celebrated Communion yesterday, formally at the morning service and less formally at the monthly evening service.  While I followed the general form for the Lord's Supper in the Church of Scotland, I also used bits that I brought with me from the States.  In the Presbyterian Church USA, as in many other denominations, this was observed as World Communion Sunday, the Sunday in which we note that churches around the world all observe communion at the same time.  

Odd thing -- that concept had not been heard of in Armadale.  Nor was it anywhere mentioned in any of the Church of Scotland information I viewed during the week.  It would seem that World Communion Sunday may not be as "world" as I had always thought.  Still, we shared in the Supper yesterday and because Yankee Doodle had come to Armadale, the good folks of this town are now part of the tradition.  We sang "I Come with Joy," a more recent hymn that truly rejoices in the family meal.  This was, from many reports, the first time that this church had experienced a celebratory Communion as opposed to a funerary one.  

It was just after the evening service, as I was greeting participants at the door, that one lady went out saying, "Well, that was different."  I had to laugh, because when I say that, I know that I have not yet made up my mind whether or not I liked something.  I have a strong suspicion that it probably meant all of that and perhaps more.  Still, it was a good evening, a good day.  And around the world, the faithful are celebrating communion with one another this Monday, whether we are around a table or not.

Prejudice in the Land

I am between job elements at the moment.  I have been at one of the local primary schools today leading their Friday morning assembly and will leave in a bit for a funeral of a community member.  She was not a member of the church, but she was still part of my parish and receives my care at this time.  Both of these situations are very different from ministry in the States -- but I think I like it this way.


There is, however (and completely unrelated to either of the above activities), a prejudice in this land.  It is pervasive and not hidden at all.  It is a prejudice against.....tumble dryers.  Yes, tumble dryers.  


If you ask anyone here about using their tumble dryer, the first response you get is a stare of disbelief -- as in "why would you want to do THAT?"  The second part of the response is a statement about the smell of clothes freshly dried outside.  The third part is a statement about the inefficiency of tumble dryers.  The fourth?  Well, the fourth is a stereotypical Scottish response -- "besides, why waste money when you can dry outside for free?"  Yes, some stereotypes have a basis in reality, and that one about Scots hanging onto their money is quite true in this sense -- and the Scots I have asked about this quite readily affirm it.  


So, when you come to visit me, please be ready to dry yourselves with rather crispy towels.  They will have been dried on the line (as God meant for them to be).  I will be wearing my crunchy underwear (dried on an airer inside -- I refuse to hang my undies out for everyone to see).  


And now -- I feel a need to go hang out some wet clothes.

And Now It Is All Real....

I Am Official.  Last Wednesday night, September 1, I was inducted as the minister of the Armadale Parish Church and have begun walking alongside the members of the church.  

The induction service itself was wonderful.  In addition to a church full of Armadale and West Lothian Presbytery folks, there were two coaches that arrived -- one with St. Anne's members and one with Abercorn, Winchburgh, and Kingscavil members.  It was very moving for me to see  representatives from 5 congregations present.  I have been blessed with the people I have come to know in the past year.  We laughed together during the service, then shared again in the vows of induction -- promising to serve God as we work together in ministry.  

Then came Sunday, my first as the pastor to the parish.  Once again, we laughed and sang and prayed together.  The rounds of meetings have begun for me -- meeting people in the street when we are out, meetings at the church as I get to know the workings of this particular church.  Even after a year of familiarization, there is still much to learn.  While I got the general picture before, now I am learning the specifics of this place and time.  

This is not only a time of saying hello.  It is also a time of saying goodbye.  For the first time in my life, I am not a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) or its predecessors.  I am not certain that this has sunk in completely yet.  This is now my home and the Church of Scotland is my church -- yet there is part of me that still (and will probably always) carry my roots with me.  How can I not?  I was shaped into who I am by what I have known.  That will not change.

It is time now to venture out into the dreich (translate gray, rainy, and cool) day to the church's Thrift Store, one of the services we provide to the community.  I want to see how it all works and to visit with the workers and the shoppers.  They tell me I will also be able to have some coffee and "home bakes" while I am there.  It is all part of coming to know and becoming known to this new community that is now my home.

Twas the Night Before...

It will soon be August 12 (in about 40 minutes) and there are boxes littered around my apartment.  Most of them are filled, ready to be taped and marked.  Four remain, waiting to receive those last minute things -- the bits and bobs of cupboard items, the bathroom things I need for the morning, the papers I needed to make final arrangements for the move today.  The moving van will arrive at my current address sometime after noon tomorrow.  It also has two other stops to make to pick up things that I have either purchased or have been given.  Then -- we are off to the manse in Armadale.


If only my stomach would fit into one of those boxes.  It is in a rather large knot AGAIN this year. This is the third move I have made in just over a year.  I left the US on July 23, 2009.  After a month in one flat, I found and moved into this one because they accepted my pets.  Now, here I am moving again -- and this time the move is open-ended.  I have told my brother I will be staying a while, because I Hate Moving.  Actually, I suspect the staying will be because things are going well rather than because I dislike this process of moving, but in the heat of stuffing things in boxes, one does get a bit exasperated.  I think I have joined the Monty Python "Society of Putting Things On Top of Other Things."


Though I have been in this flat just short of a year, I have put down roots of a sort.  I have made friends in this neighborhood.  Even that little bit makes it hard to leave.  I will miss them, miss knowing how to get around without thinking about it much.  I know my shops, my favorite places.  It won't be long until I have new ones, but this has been my first home in a new country and it will always be so.


In the meantime, my furkids know that something is afoot.  Asher undoubtedly remembers that the last time this many boxes and suitcases came out, we were separated for a long time and then that was followed by The Trip That Would Not End.  Timothy seems the least affected -- but he is a cat.  Anna, the newest baby, is frequently found with her nose on my ankle.  She stepped on the back of my slipper yesterday and pulled it off -- that's how close she is following these days.  I have tried to remind them of that lovely garden they have visited, but it doesn't seem to have sunk in yet.


Ah, well.  Back to the boxes.  Back to stripping my presence from this place.  I wonder if the walls will remember me?

Moving Ahead

It is now August 4.  Three days ago, on Sunday, August 1, I was elected to be the pastor of Armadale Parish Church in Armadale, West Lothian, Scotland.  My induction service is set for September 1.  The vote was 171 for and 5 against.  I was prepared for a much higher dissent, what with being an American AND a woman, so was very pleased with the outcome.


This news is still sinking in.  I went out today and bought a bed frame, an iron and ironing board (for occasional use), a kettle (an essential in this country), and a toaster (an essential for me).  I had forgotten how much it takes to set up a household.  There is still a whole lot of shopping to do.


Being a minister in the Church of Scotland is part of the dream that led me to move here a year ago.  I wanted to live here and work among the people, rather than be a tourist.  It has proved to be all that I had hoped for thus far!


Armadale is a town of somewhere between 11,000 and 14,000 people (I have gotten different numbers).  My new church is the only Church of Scotland in the town.  So, with the exception of the folks who attend the small Methodist and the Roman Catholic Churches there, all the people of the town are considered my parishioners -- whether or not they are actual members of the Armadale Church.


The Church of Scotland considers itself a National Church with a Territorial Presence.  They have made a commitment to make pastoral services (funerals, weddings, baptisms) available to every person in the country.  There are geographical boundaries for each parish church covering the entire country.  I haven't yet seen the boundaries for Armadale, but I suspect I may not be able to walk to every house there in 5 minutes, as some of my colleagues are able to do in their parishes.  Still, I will be in a small town that has excellent access to the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow (it lies exactly halfway between them) and I can see grassland with just a few minutes' walk in nearly any direction.  


I will be living in a manse (translate church-owned house) for the first time.  It has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a large living room, a dining room, a study, a large kitchen, and a utility room.  Best of all, for Asher and Anna, my wee canine beasties, it has a fully fenced yard.  Asher has already performed a full perimeter check and pronounced it acceptable.  I will move next Thursday, August 12.  By the way, with that number of bedrooms, one will be set up as a guest room on a full-time basis.  I will begin scheduling visitors the week after I move in.  And yes, pictures will follow, as soon as I get out to take them.


What is interesting to me is that I have not felt as homesick as I thought I might over this year -- which is probably a good thing.  Monday night I enjoyed a bluegrass concert at the Winchburgh church by a group called Craig Duncan and Friends from Nashville.  My heart felt home with them, but it was different from homesick.  Oh -- if you get a chance to hear them, I highly recommend them.