I'm Back!

I'm back on US soil after seven wonderful weeks in England and Scotland.  In many ways, the trip exceeded my expectations.  It was a rare gift to be able to spend that much time in one place and to experience life as it's lived in another country.  I'll always be grateful for this opportunity, made possible by a three-month sabbatical.

Still, there was a part of my plans I wasn't able to fulfill--I'd hoped to provide regular updates here of our itinerary and experiences.  But with a balky computer and less-than-reliable Internet signals, I simply wasn't in a position to do so.

So now, as a sort of retrospective, I'll share some of those experiences--complete with pictures--in order to give you something of the flavor of those seven weeks.

Check back here regularly to read more about it!

Healing what ails you

“Spirit of the living God, present with us now,

enter you—body, mind, and spirit—

and heal you of all that harms you.

In Jesus’ name.  Amen.”

On Tuesday night at Iona Abbey, a Christian community on the site of an ancient Christian monastery off the coast of Scotland, there was a healing service. 

For many Christians, a healing service is a foreign and even forbidding thing.  It smacks of superstitious faith and the manipulative religion sometimes seen on television.  I must admit to harboring some of those thoughts as well.  But on that evening, whatever objections I had were overcome as I watched dozens of people come forward, kneel on one of the twelve pillows arranged in a circle, and receive the laying on of hands and a prayer of healing.

Some went up for themselves, for the healing of physical or emotional pain or illness.  Others went forward on behalf of others, people who were facing illnesses or difficulties of their own.  Still others went forward on behalf of people in faraway places, affected by war and poverty.  But up they came, waves of people hungry for healing and hope.

I know.  I went forward myself.

I’m not quite sure why I did.  When the invitation came for members of the congregation to kneel on the pillows, I held back.  I watched as the first dozen came forward, followed by two or three dozen who surrounded them.  As I watched them come and listened to the words of invitation and healing, I knew I wanted it for myself.  I’m not suffering from any serious disease or facing a major crisis in my life.   But like most people, I often feel less than whole, less than adequate, less than the person I'm meant to be.  Can prayers like these change all that?  I don’t know, but I’m willing to try. 

We all returned to our seats, heard the final blessing, then walked out in the evening twilight.  Had I been healed?  Maybe, maybe not.  But the sense of peace in my soul was something I’d like to experience more often.  As the prayer put it, I did feel that the Spirit of God had entered me—body, mind, and spirit—and that I had indeed been healed.  Even if it's not healing, it's close enough for me.  Thanks be to God!