Beckah Across the Pond: September News from Beckah at Bath Abbey

Hello everyone! I have survived almost a month here in Bath, England. It has been a long process to get here and the journey has just started. In March, I was accepted to the Young Adults in Global Mission program through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In April I attended a discernment, interview, and placement event at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. At this event my world was turned upside down. It was four of the best and most challenging days of my life. At the end of those four days I knew that I was headed to serve for a year in the United Kingdom. It wasn’t until June that I found out that I had been placed at Bath Abbey. On August 19, I flew to meet my 50 fellow YAGM’s and a team of YAGM alum and Global Mission’s staff for a week of orientation in Chicago.

Orientation was an amazing experience. We engaged in learning and fellowship. We spent time each day in devotions and lectures, building our strength and faith for the year that lay ahead. We focused on the ELCA’s mission model:

ELCA Mission Model (adopted from Latin American Liberation Theology):

Accompaniment- walking together in solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality. In this walk, gifts, resources, and experiences are shared with mutual advice and admonition to deepen and expand our work within God’s mission.
· Not to change the world, but believing that the world will change you.
· Not standing for people, but with them.
· Peace is not a gift God gives us, but a gift we give to each other.

At chapel, on the last night of orientation, we celebrated our baptism and had our hands anointed as we heard the words, “Each of you has been called by God and sent by the church to serve the world God loves. The discipleship to which you have been called is a manifestation of the new life you were given in the waters of Holy Baptism. Sometimes, the call will seem impossible. But through Christ, the one who has set you free from bondage to sin and death, all things are possible.”

I arrived at the Abbey on the 1st of September. I dove into my work here right away. The Abbey is a busy place, receiving over half a million visitors each year while continuing to be a living, parish church. I am involved in many aspects of Abbey life. I am working with the youth and children’s programs, acting as a chaperone for the boys’ and girls’ choirs. I am also working with my supervisor to help the Abbey develop a new Sunday school curriculum. I am also in the process of training to work with the Abbey’s homeless outreach organizations. During the week I lead Tower Tours.

I would say that Tower Tours were the least expected part of my year of service. I had known that I would be spending sometime as a tour guide. I assumed that this meant showing people around the beautiful, ground floor, of the Abbey. Well, you know what they say about assuming things… I have been afraid of heights all of my life, at least that’s what I thought. I now lead tourists up 212 steps to the top of the Abbey tower where you can see a bird’s eye view of all of Bath. I do this up to six times a day. I’m no longer afraid of heights; in fact it is one of the best parts of my work here.

Bath is a beautiful city. It is situated in the Southwest part of England. September has brought warm, sunny days. On my first day off I wandered around the city aimlessly just taking in the sights and the people. I went from shop to shop looking through the windows at all of the wonderful treasures. I walked along the river where boats lined up bringing more people to add to the energy of the city. It was a beautiful place, on a beautiful day. It was really like a fairy tale or a movie set. It was so easy to get lost in the perfection of the day. In fact, the streets seemed to be filled with music. Not just the music of bells jingling on shop doors or ringing out from the Abbey tower. Not the rhythm of people shuffling about either, but actual music. On every street among the tourists and school children, the shop keepers and construction workers were street performers. Some with elaborate acts and instruments, some with an audience, some with dogs, and all with an upturned hat or open instrument case, or a small tin collecting change from passersby. The music added to the joyous atmosphere, but the players brought a new mood. The smiles could not cover the worn tired features on their faces and the music could not mask the tattered clothing. I walked down a small side street and there at the end was a man sitting on a milk crate with a small dog. He was playing the penny whistle- a hollow, sad sound all by itself. I watched people pass him by as if he were a part of the concrete sidewalk he sat on and they could just walk over him. The dog curled up to sit under the shelter created by the man’s legs. I stopped and placed a pound in the man’s overturned beaver skin hat. He thanked me and the dog moved out to sniff my hand. I asked if I could pet his dog. The dog was sweet and the man was kind. It is really easy to close our eyes and ignore the problems of this world. There are so many problems it is daunting to think about solving any of them. But people on the other hand are harder to ignore. Here was a man and his dog. He is not a statistic or an economic issue. He is a man, a person; just like I am a person and you are a person. That is what I am going to try and carry with me this year. The idea of people and we are in this together.

I hope all is well with everyone at home. I keep you all in my prayers!

God’s blessings and peace!

Pictures from Orientation: