Goodbye to Wales

As you can read below in Margaret's blog update, we have left Wales for a week in Northumberland, near Hadrian's Wall in the north of England. Susan and I really enjoyed our course on Celtic Spirituality and saw some really neat out of the way places that I had never heard of, let alone seen before. We really enjoyed the group also, an eclectic mix of DMin students from Drew University, some retired English seniors, a Canadian catholic priest and another American on a sabbatical thanks to a Lilly grant.

After Susan and I picked up the rest of the family in Llandudno, we spent a last night there with cousin Dolo (Dorothy) Roberts and her husband Trevor. They were very kind to host us as they were getting ready for their big parish summer fair. We attended the fair and loaded up on wonderful cakes and said our goodbyes to them and to Dolo's sister Megan.

On our way up north we spent a night with cousins in Wolverhampton (Bob and Jenny Thom). On the way we stopped for a visit to Shrewsbury Abbey, the place where St. Winifride's relics were brought in the 12th century. It was an important abbey with ties to the Norman royal family. We found an ornate grave of Richard and Katherine Onslow (Susan's parents' names). Then we were warmly welcomed by Bob and Jenny with a tour of their lovely village of Codsall, a delicious barbecue dinner, gifts for everyone, and some good French wine. The next day we went to their church for morning prayer and a nice walk.

On Friday we stopped for a visit to Coventry Cathedral (destroyed in WWII, the new cathedral is a monument to peace and reconciliation and incorporates the shell of the old cathedral -- very moving. We drove north to Yorkshire from there and arrived in Ingleby Barwick in time for supper with Paul and Kaitlin Dominiak. Kaitlin is Emily's godmother and Paul was a seminarian at St. Luke's for two summers. He is now assistant curate at St. Francis church there and they are settling in well (see photos).

Finally we arrived at the Elpha Green cottage in Sparty Lea. A gorgeous spot to relax in the peace and quiet (at least until the roosters start crowing at 5 am!). We will be making day trips from here to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Durham, and Hadrian's Wall.

We have added a second volume of photos to our blog. Check the upper right corner for the addresses. They are:

http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix

http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPixPart2

July from Margaret - The Place Here is Just Fowl!

We have made it to Elpha Green Cottage- which happens to be in the Middle of Nowhere! If you look out one of our windows you're not very likely to see a town or a HOUSE, even. Keeping us company are about 6 ducks, 4 chickens, 2 roosters, and a male PEACOCK! There is also a black cat who is so sweet, and I call her Cobweb.
Well, as it is Sunday, we didn't really want to drive to a church in a neighboring town so we made our own. In the sunroom we put up candles, and there was an "alter" - (a table that was conveniantly in there) and we mixed red wine with water and had some good bread for communion.
As I haven't written in a long time LOADS have happened! A little over a week ago we were in Llandudno with Granny. We stayed in a tiny room - seriously, you couldn't stretch your arms out in there - in a B+B called The Moorfield Hotel. Mum and Dad were at a class for religious stuff while we were doing some sightseeing! We went to a pub called The Albert 4 times, every other day!
Mum and Dad got to stay at the B+B overnight, and they didn't have to leave till the next afternoon, so we went the next morning to our great-grandmother's grave and put flowers by it. Mum and Granny went to Conwy and we would meet them there at 12:30 for lunch.
When we met Mum and Granny in Conwy we went to lunch at a tearoom where we had sandwiches and crisps. (potato chips)
By the time we got back it was time for Mum and Dad to go. They packed their bags into the rental car and drove off. (We would basically walk and go on buses)
In the next week we got to go almost everywhere we could! We got to go to the top of Snowdon- the highest mountain in Wales, unfortunately on a wet day. By the time we reached the top it was pouring! A few brave people ventured out of the train but we stayed inside. We passed by a lot of things on the way up and down, though!
Another day we went to Llandudno Junction and went to the cinema where we saw Wall-e. Movies sometimes come out a bit later than the USA.
We also spent a lot of time at the library! We got a library card and came back nearly every day to get more books! Sometimes we would just go back to the B+B and read the afternoon away.
On Sunday we were very goodbecause we went to a church right in Llandudno. It was called Holy Trinity and had a very nice service.
Near the end of our stay we went back up to Conwy to see Conwy Castle. We took a bus and then went right to a cafe that had an entrance to the castle attached to it. The resteraunt used to be an old newspaper press- It was called The Press Room- and was interesting to read about!
When we entered the castle the man at the cash register gave us a detective worksheet that we used to figure out how the Welsh conquered the castle. We had to figure out using clues who dun it and how they did it and everything, and we got a prize when we finished it!
We spent a good hour and a half or so at the castle before going hunting for the smallest house in Britain- unfortunately we didn't find it. So we caught a bus and went back to Llandudno.
Yet another day we went to the Great Orm tramway to get up to the Summit! At the top there was a huge playground that had a very very long and narrow slide that was really fast!
We took pictures of the beautiful scenery as we went down.
WELL, that was our week in Llandudno!

At our cottage we have certain advantages like Internet (as you can see) and good phone service, so it's pretty nice!

I miss you all so much and I hope that you all are following us on our sabbatical!
Oh- and one more thing, in about 2 weeks we will be in France!!


Au Revois,
Margaret

Melangell, Patron Saint of Welsh Rabbits – er, Hares; July 22

Medieval female saints: Not many are known by name, but their stories nearly always follow this plot: A young, beautiful virgin, desirous only of spending her life in prayer and devotion to Christ, is threatened with rape by, or marriage to, some brute of a nobleman. She refuses, of course, and is cut down in a very gruesome manner by said boor. But due to the purity of her life and devotion, the lady is miraculously restored to life, and the murderous brute dies on the spot in spectacular fashion. (The best-known example of this story is St. Winifred (Gwenfrewi) of Holywell.)

A welcome exception to the pattern, however, was our most recent study: seventh-century Melangell. Never heard of her? Well, read on. A local prince named Brochwell went out hunting on his land. His dogs pick up the scent of a hare and give chase. The terrified little animal leaps into a bramble bush, where a lovely, young, Irish, fugitive-from-marriage named Melangell is at prayer. The dogs refuse to go any further, and the hunting-horns of Brochwell’s servants are silenced on their lips. When the angry prince investigates he finds Melangell, sheltering the hare; and he is convinced of her holiness. Immediately he gives her a parcel of his land on which to live, pray, and welcome others seeking sanctuary. She becomes an abbess there, as well as the patron saint of hares.

This story takes place not far from St. Deiniol’s, in an area called Pennant (“top of the valley”). So 11 of us rose early today, to be commissioned and blessed; then drove to a village near Pennant in order to hike about five miles to Melangell’s 12th c. shrine and the church built around it. The weather cleared and we had a beautiful, warm day (finally!) for our hike, which took us over squishy peat-bogs, through heather, thistles and blueberry bushes (here called “whimberries”), and across sheep-dotted pastures.

Nearly three hours later we arrived, prickled, soggy and foot-sore, to our pilgrimage destination. It was like Eden. Near the peaceful church dedicated to the saint, and its circular (and hence Celtic) churchyard, was a beautiful garden surrounding the “Melangell Center” for Christian counseling. The staff of two had prepared a wonderful lunch for us all, the other half of our group having arrived by bus. After lunch we celebrated the Eucharist in the recently-restored church, and explored its medieval contents. It was truly a holy place, full of blessings.
This prayer was written some years ago by Donald Allchin, our lecturer:

We thank you, Lord God, for the life and prayer of your servant Mellangell. May her care and compassion for all your creatures inspire us in our day, with the same concern for all that You have made. May we, with her, learn to find Your glory in the world around us, and in all that you give us to do. We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
-Susan Williams

Celtic Spirituality, July 16-17

We arrived at St. Deiniol's Residential Library on Wednesday July 18, having delivered my mother and the girls to the Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno. St. Deiniol's was founded by Sir William Gladstone in 1894, receiving additional funding from his descendants and friends. The library not only houses Gladstone's extensive collection of books (and more, of course, since then), but is also a theologically-minded conferenc and retreat center.

We're here for the library's annual Celtic Course. This year's subtitle is "Ancient Sites, Ancient Gods and a Living Faith," and we partake of all three through a combination of lectures and field-trips. There's a class of about 20 students, many of whom are from the US as part of Drew Theological Seminary's DMin program. Also there are several retired English persons and another American pastor on Sabbatical.

Our first lecturer was Ian Bradley, who teaches at St. Andrew's University, Scotland, and (apparently) is a well-known broadcaster on BBC-2 radio; he's also written a number of books. Ian's first task was to debunk "Celtic Christianity" by poking with delightful, cynical quips at the romantic notions that most of us had. He quoted JRR Tolkien: "'Celtic' is a magic bag into which almost anything can be put, and from which almost anything can be taken." There's little evidence to support most of what's marketed as "Celtic" these days.

What we do know about Christianity in the British Isles in the 6th - 12th centuries: It was monastic in character (communal, but not necessarily single-sex); with a strong tradition of pilgrimage (moving frequently, not necessarily having a long-term home-base); and a deep connection to the saints as role models. Dreams played an important role in its mysticism; and springs or wells became sacred places since they represented baptism, quenching of thirst and healing.

To illustrate those ideas, we took a tour bus over highways and some very narrow streets, to the Llyn Peninsula where centuries of pilgrims have made their way west. Like them, we visited two shrines (now churches) dedicated to St. Beuno, a travelling monastic who covered extraordinary territory in Wales making converts, beginning communities and then moving on.

The final stop was the Church of St. Hywyn at the very western tip of the peninsula, near the point where one could take a boat if the weather was good, to Bardsey Island, where 20,000 saints are reputedly buried. (Hmm. It's not that big.) We did not have a boat to check the facts in person. But the vicar there at St. Hywyn's led us in a meditation, asking us to think of our life as a journey to the west, stopping at holy places for refreshment before moving on. To paraphrase a quote from the 6th century Irish saint Columbanus (not to be confused with Columba): "Life is a way, a roadway. We walk upon it, we do not dwell in one place. For some the road is long, for others short; for some it is happy, for others it is sad. But we are all seeking a homeland in the west, there to dwell eternally."

May your journey this week be blessed by God, keeper of roads and resting places.

-Susan Williams

Farewell to Southsea and Brymbo

Sunday, July 13 was our final Sunday at St. Mary's Brymbo and All Saints' Southsea. Eric, accompanied by Margaret, Emily and Susan's mom Kathie (who had just flown in from Michigan), went to St. Mary's for the 10 am service. Susan did the 10:30 am service in Southsea. After the service in Brymbo there was a lovely reception with coffee and tea and gifts were exchanged. Eric presented the warden, Bernard Davies, with a book about the history of the Chautauqua Lake region. Bernard presented the Williams family with a plate commemmorating St. Mary's centenary and histories of the church and steel mill. He also gave Eric a Brymbo steelworks tie.

At Southsea there was a lovely buffet reception after church. Delicious sandwiches, scones, bara brith (a wonderful fruitcake), cakes with strawberries and cream, and on and on. They presented us with more gifts and we gave the parish a mounted poster of Chautauqua Lake. Then they sang us the sentimental Welsh favorite: "We'll Keep a Welcome in the Hillsides." You can hear part of it here:






It was amazing to all of us how much we had become attached to these people in less than four weeks. We are so grateful for the warmth, hospitality, kindness and generosity that were shown to us by everyone. We hope Noel and Wendy had just as warm a welcome in Jamestown as we have had here.

From Eric -- July 14 Seven Wonders of Wales

Yesterday (Sunday, July 13) we finished a little sightseeing project that had become a minor obsession with me. There is a lovely anonymous poem written in the late 18th or early 19th century by an English visitor to North Wales. In it the poet describes the "Seven Wonders of Wales." Well, I happened to notice a couple weeks ago that we had seen at least half of those wonders between this trip and previous visits and that the remaining ones were all near by, so on we went to see the rest. Here is the poem for those that are curious:


Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,
Snowdon's mountain without its people,
Overton yew trees, St Winefride wells,
Llangollen bridge and Gresford bells.


Pistyll Rhaeadr is a lovely waterfall (a bit hard to get to) that is the highest waterfall in England and Wales.





Gresford parish is a beautiful church with renowned bells.

You can listen to the bells tolling 5:00 p.m.




St. Giles, Wrexham has a famous steeple that was copied at Yale University (Elihu Yale is buried at the church as well).





Snowdon Mountain is the highest mountain in Wales. Kathie, Margaret and Emily may be taking a narrow gauge railroad to the top this next week.





St. Mary's Overton-on-Dee is another lovely church which is renowned for its 21 ancient yew trees, one of which is reputed to be over 1500 years old.


St. Winifride's Well will be a stop for Susan and me this next week during our course at St. Deiniol's. We've seen it before.

Llangollen Bridge is the first stone bridge over the River Dee and a popular spot to look at the river below.





You can see more of the seven wonders on our photo site:

http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix





Search on that site for "sevenwonders" and you should get photos of some of these places.

Welsh History in a Day - July 8

On our busy Tuesday (July 8) one of my favorite stops was the National Center of Welsh History and Culture in St. Fagan's, north of Cardiff. Bearing a strong resemblance to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan - only spanning more centuries - this "museum" is really a collection of historic buildings from around the country, restored accurately including furnishings. There was a thatched home dating from 1607 (at right); a lovely formal gardens; farm buildilngs and genuine Welsh sheep; and - perhaps most interesting - a series of workers' row houses dating in sequence from the 1700s to 1980, showing the progress of home life for the working classes.

At left, the girls pose in one of the earlier houses of that set of row houses. In each, the living/dining/cooking room is maybe 12' x 12'. A tiny back room barely holds a twin bed, and a very narrow stairs in the corner would lead to the attic "bedrooms" for most of the family. Forget privacy in any of those centuries.

If we hadn't been in a hurry to get to the "Big Pit" coal mine (certainly worth the visit, really spectacular place) I could have spent several more hours at St. Fagan's. You could tell how carefully, even lovingly, everything had been set up. The collection was spread over many acres, which made it all peaceful but meant we just couldn't get to it all. If anyone reading this Blog intends to visit Wales, be sure to give yourself a good chunk of time at this excellent national treasure. Did I mention it's free to get it? (Thanks to the taxpayers of Wales. Cheers!)

-Susan

Weekend in York June 28-30

On June 28-30 the Williams ladies travelled by train to York, England, so that we could attend the ordination of Paul Dominiak at the astonishing York Minster cathedral... plus spend time with Kaitlin Krull Dominiak and tour that historic city. We did hear a lot of history - including ghost stories from the Roman era to the present! York makes the most of its nearly-2000 years of civilization.

Our weekend began on a rough note, however: Less than an hour after our arrival, Emily had to be taken to the walk-in health clinic! Chasing Margaret along the ancient city walls, Em tripped and landed on her knees, opening up the cut so recently stitched. Sigh. Her cut was butterflied back together and leg wrapped like a mummy, to minimize chances of more troubles. Needless to say, we moved slowly for the rest of the visit. But she was a real trooper about keeping up with it all.

Well, that was really the only "sore point" of a terrific weekend. As you can see from these photos and others posted on our photo page, the weather cleared up and we enjoyed many amazing sights. Highlights included the Minster, the very well done York Castle Museum (mostly history, including a Victorian-era street of shops with costumed staff), and the York Dungeons which brought ghost stories and plague scenes to life, featuring creepy characters from York's past. (The girls begged to go. I wanted to see the National Center for Early Music but their minds were made up.)

You can see more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix.


The ordination service on Sunday was glorious, full of great Anglican music, prayer and ceremony. The famous Archbishop of York, John Sentamu (originally from Uganda) presided, along with a parade of clergy and 22 ordinands! Paul was the tallest so it was easy to pick him out of the crowd when they all stood for their Presentation and Examination, prior to kneeling in turn before the (rather short) Archbishop for their Ordination. Emily wants to point out that the service was exactly TWO HOURS LONG. Time well spent, I say.

As Americans it's hard to get our minds around the dates that get tossed about in York, such as: after the ordination, we joined Kaitlin, Paul and other family members for pizza in a building from 1764. And that's pretty new compared to certain parts of York in use since the Middle Ages. (The fact that the buildings lean a bit only adds to their charm.) Colorful characters are around every corner. Roman centurions, Viking marauders, medieval shop-keepers, victims of the plague, 17th century soldiers trying to hold out against Cromwell's army, and a Quaker tea-totaller named Rowntree who decided to create an alternative non-alcoholic beverage... are all citizens whose stories echo among the great walls of glorious Eboricum / Jorvik / York.


-Susan and Emily (Margaret's posting her own!)

From Margaret July 9

Hello out there! We are having a lot of fun over here if a bit wet...
We recently took a trip to South Wales overnight. The beach was great although a bit windy and the B+B had two large DOGS! One was a German Sheperd named Ocika (I think I spelled it right...) and the other was a Samoyed; her name was Cali.

We got to a coal mine on our next day which was very interesting! It was damp, dark and smelly, but very interesting. I never really thought about how dangerous those mines were...

School is fine, this Friday is my classes's big field trip to Chirk Castle, and we are all very excited about that! Emily and I recently got our school sweatshirts with their crest on it. I am excited to show it off when we get back!

Today seemed to NEVER stop raining. I heard that it was pretty warm over there! I hope that the Carters are doing well.

We recently did a bit of family history by going to my Grandpa's home town in South Wales. We couldn't figure out what house he lived in, though. If you want to know the name of the town ask my Dad.* I'm not going to attempt to spell these Welsh words...Except Llangollen.
We miss everybody in Jamestown! I sincerely hope that things are going well at the church. Continue to check our blog and make sure to leave a few comments as well!

Lots and lots of love,
Margaret

*The town is Caerau -- pronounced Ki-Ri, with long i's

Exploring Wales July 5-8

This past week we really did some Welsh adventuring. On July 5th we headed out for a day of castle exploration. We toured three of Edward I's masterpieces -- Beaumaris, Caernarvon and Harlech. At Caernarvon (see left) they were celebrating Welsh veterans day with a service, ceremony and parade (including a fly over by a WWII fighter plane). At Harlech the "Knights of Longshanks" (a reenactment group) was doing crafts and weapons demonstrations. Eric got to try on a ring mail shirt.

You can see photos of all the castles at http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix.

On Monday and Tuesday we made a quick trip through South Wales. We went to the Gower, a peninsula near Swansea to visit the scenic beaches there (though it was still windy and cold... but the girls had a great time). Then Tuesday we visited Caerau, where Eric's dad was born. We then went to St. Fagan's museum of Welsh folklore with a "village" made up of buildings from various periods of history and parts of Wales. Later that afternoon we visited the Big Pit in Blaenavon, a coal mine that was in operation until 1980 and where visitors can now go down into the mine and learn about life as a Welsh coal miner.

Other highlights of the week:

July 3 There was a lovely party in our honor at the Brymbo cricket club hosted by the Minera deanery with a good turnout from all the local churches. We played "Beatle" which was lots of fun, but beyond my powers to describe accurately. It is kind of a cross between Bingo, hangman and Yahtzee.

July 4 Susan and I went mountain biking at Llandegla forest. We rode the "beginner" trail which was plenty exciting for us. Oooh those rocks hurt me bum! (-Susan) That evening we went to Shelagh and Gordon Watkinson's house for her birthday and an American barbecue (hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.) Margaret and Emily enjoyed playing games in the garden and Margaret helped give Shelagh's grandson, 1-yr-old Tom, a bath. She got her own shower in the process!

Update July 1

Well, we're still having problems connecting to the internet, so we apologize about the sparse updates. Lots to tell:

The girls are loving school at St. Mary's in Brymbo, as you can read from Margaret's updates. Susan and I took advantage of the first really sunny day today to go on a lovely 2 and 1/2 hour hike to the top of Hope Mountain nearby with lovely 360 degree view of the area.

While the girls were in York at Paul's ordination (photos later), I met up with an old friend named Graham from my year at college in Wales (1984-5). We went to Erddig House, a lovely late 17th century house with spectacular gardens. The day before I explored nearby Oswestry (with a lovely old church named for St. Oswald King and Martyr which has an 11th century tower) and Chirk Castle gardens (some photos are posted).

Saturday after I dropped the girls off I drove up the Wirral and through the tunnel into Liverpool and spent the day at the glorious cathedral. Had a private tour and listened to the dress rehearsal of Britten's War Requiem with the Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra and chorus and a choir from Cologne, Germany. Liverpool is the European capital of culture for the year and is having a number of events.

We had a fantastic day on Friday meeting up with cousins in Llandudno: Dolo Roberts, her husband Trevor, and her sister Meghan. Dolo and Meghan are first cousins of my dad and his brothers on his father's side. I had never met them before and it was wonderful to hear stories about that side of the family and to see the village where they were from--Dolgarrog. My grandmother was from the next village, Trefriw, and Meghan knew her side of the family as well. We are going back this week to look for the site of the old house up the hill and the graveyard.

We've also visited Llangollen, the home of the international eisteddfod, a music and cultural festival. We'll be attending some of that next week. And the nearby Pontcysyllte aqueduct, a marvel of 19th century engineering by Thomas Telford.

We've also done some actual work in the past week. Thursday both Susan and I had nursing home services. And Friday I had a funeral at All Saints' Southsea. Trevor, the lay reader, and Richard, the funeral director, made sure I kept on track.

That's it for now as our hour at the internet cafe is running out. Keep checking back for more photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/revemw/SabbaticalPix. We'll try to update the blog as we're able.

Best,

Eric

From Margaret July 1

It i so hard to believe that it's already July! We have been really busy these last few days; having lots of fun!
School is going extremely well, all of the kids shower me with questions every day. They are being so nice!
Today was Sports Day at school, and they allowed me to jump in. My house was Robinson; all of the houses were competing is races: Skipping Race, Sack Race, Obstacle Race, Bean-bag Race, and Relay Race. The winning house would get a trophy.The houses are Wilkinson, Robinson, and Darbon. Guess who won?
This past weekend Mum (Mom) , Emily and I went to York to see Kaitlin and Paul Dominiak, who were married last summer. They are doing really well, and are soon going to get a Chocolate Lab puppy! Paul was ordained at York Minster, the largest and most beautiful church I have ever seen. He is now a deacon.
There were many placesto SHOP in York! The town that we were in was basically all SHOPPING, with a lot of history mixed in. This history includes lots of ghost stories; some people say that York is the most haunted city in the world!
During the time of the Plague, they used to board up people's houses if someone had it. This accured to one large family that killed everyone...Except the smallest little girl. People back then thought that you could get sick only from living people, so when the men came to board the houseup, they boarded her up, too.
Eventually, the little girl died of starvation. People can see the figure of the little girl, looking out the window of her house.
On a brighter note, we stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Abbingdon, which was lovely. There were two beds: One double bed and one single. We let Emily have the single because she always thrashes and kicks in her sleep.
We didn't have a car in York, we had taken a train, so we walked everywhere we went or, if it was too far, took a tour bus.
One of the streets in York is very famous for it's age. It's the Shambles, which we walked through almost every day. It now has tons of little shops and cafes, and we enjoyd it very much.

Miss you all!
Margaret