Oche Nash... - Whit Weinmann

"There is never a beginning, there is never an end to the inexplicable continuity of this web of God, but always circular power returning into itself. Therein resembles his own spirit, whose beginning, whose ending he never can find-- so entire, so boundless." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Something about music transcends our human constructs of division. Nevertheless, music alone does not do the trick or break down the walls. The real magic lies in the attempts at genuine human connections to form the "inexplicable continuity of this web of God." God lives in these connections. I feel so blessed to have stood in this web and felt the vibrations.

The "hike up the hill."

After a hike up a hill at Pamukkale, we stopped at St. Phillip's burial ground to celebrate the Eucharist. Just as we were concluding our service, a group of Russian pilgrims began to sing. They shared a bit of their traditions with us and ended our own service beautifully. As soon as they finished, we gave a resounding "Amen!" and walked over to mingle with our fellow believers. Even though a language barrier separated us, we communicated together as God's children.

As the last Russian pilgrims were walking away, I ran over, mentioned the words Oche Nasch (Our Father), and an old Russian lady proceeded to speak the entire Lord's Prayer in Russian! It is incredible the well of joy that a few words can open up. This past year in chorus, I learned Oche Nasch, the Lord's Prayer in Russian by Stravinsky. I began to sing the piece, the Russian pilgrims joined in the prayer, and we shared a few bars of off key but on heart singing.


A quick note from Tim: The group turned a real corner today. We worked and thought about how to be pilgrims and not just tourists. We discussed the difference between the two and were given a wonderful time all alone as a group up at the Temple of Artemis.

Our theme for today was labyrinths-- we started the day with Morning Prayer and Florence lead us in a great meditation on labyrinths. Everyone drew labyrinths during the day and then swapped them at the end of the day. Lots of great things happening hear. More and more we become keenly aware of God among us and with us.  I have posted some pics from today. More to follow later.

Artemis the Dog...

A  funny cultural tidbit:  In Turkey, they are really great to their stray dogs. Instead of having animal shelters, they capture the strays, give them shots and then put ear tags on them. The dogs trot around town and people feed them. They hang out with folks and are a part of the neighborhoods in which they live. When we meet stray dogs and cats, the group always names them. Today we met Artemis (pictured over there). Our guide, Cengis, always gets food from breakfast or lunch and feeds the stray animals we meet.The dogs are as tame as housepets. Most of them that we meet have big smiles on their faces and follow us around like guides.

Prayer... We are praying and having lots of quiet time every day. I know I will never forget sitting together with 16 other people and praying in the morning and evening.(Tonight, I even got them to sing in the hotel restaurant before we started Night Prayer). I have concluded, after this "hump day," that this pilgrimage thing really works for forming our young people. Thanks for sending us here and supporting us, All Saints'.  Keep praying for us- for energy, openness and for increased awareness of God's mercy and provision for us on the pilgrim trail.   Peace-- Tim

We wandered around the Temple of Artemis.

Berzika sold us handmade necklaces and earrings at the Temple of Artemis. We are enjoying buying handmade stuff from the locals.

Father Alexey, Old Stone, Warm Hearts, So much beauty to comprehend.

Today started with another unbelievable sunrise. 

We all had ocean view rooms in Kusudasi!

We sat in a circle today and talked about the day-- and people shared one impression-- one thing that really "got" to them.  The variety of responses was refreshing-- some people were moved by little things-- some monumental... One moving experience that was held in common was the bracelets we made today. Lynn lead us in making prayer bracelets out of hemp twine and beads. Everyone got their own length of twine in whatever color they wanted and chose 4 beads. The beads are meant to remind us to pray 4 times a day... Some people added little extras to theirs-- a Blessed Virgin pendant from Mereyemana... a cross... a heart .... 

Lynn gets us ready to make our prayer beads for one another. 

We had morning prayer next to the beach in Kusudasi.

Later we hiked up the hill to St Philip's church. The ruins have intact walls and we walked up to the apse (the top of the cross) where we celebrated communion. Tim invited us to stand during the service so we all stood. We were tired and footsore, but he wanted us to have the experience of standing during the entire service-- in the manner of our Orthodox brothers and sisters who were celebrating Eucharist today as well.

Our lunch was at a gorgeous outdoor restaurant near 

Pammukale. Roasted trout, salad of fresh parsely, cucumbers 

and tomatoes, Turkish Coffee thick as soup...

We put all our beads and a few other things under the "corporal" (a bar towel that Happy Harris had). Our communion bread was two sweet buns with crosses on them we found at a market close to our hotel in Kusudasi... our wine was Turkish red from the same market... our "paten" a CD case... our chalice a glass we procured from a sweet lady at a concession stand in the little market at the Pammukale mineral springs...  Tim stood at the bottom of the apse and put it all on a flat ledge...

Pammukale was so gorgeous. 

Bright white calcium cliffs full of 

blue mineral waters.

                        

              

There are so many things to share from Eucharist.. but the highlight for most of us was at the end, I think. Tim was standing there about to do the blessing.. and behind him (and unbeknownst to him) there was a group of Orthodox Christian pilgrims (who we later found out were Russian...) Their leader, Father Alexey, had them start singing during our blessing... They sang three songs with a alot of gusto and then said what we are pretty sure was "Jesus is Lord" in Russian. It was a great way to end the service.

A few of us ran over to meet them and Tim tried to introduce himself to the priest. When he told him he was a priest, too, this cassock-clad Priest looked him up and down.. Another pilgrim asked him, when he said he was Episcopalian, "Are you Christian??" Funny. Father Alexey was not too friendly... We might even think that had his folks sing to show us up. (Henry joked that it was like that "We got Spirit!" cheer they do at a football game.. Maybe Alexey was challenging us to a sing- off??  If he was.. well.. we lost...!0

Funny thing, though, we were moved by the singing. Even if Alexey was trying to drown out the heathens with Russian praise music, he still moved us and made a powerful memory for us all... We are all tired-- some of the folks are down in the huge hot tub they have at this weird tourist hotel... Others are in their rooms falling to sleep... We start early tomorrow and head to Laodicea, Sardis, Alesehir (Philadelphia) and then end in Bergama.... Whew!! So many cities....

More later. Time to sleep...

Taking in the View(s)

Picture this: an endless ocean under a glowing white sky on the coast of Turkey.

Tonight's sunset..

 From my hotel balcony, I take in this view of God's creation, and I am struck by a sudden sense of his deep and immense presence. I am reminded of my purpose on this pilgrimage as I hear Him whispering," You don't know me yet; come out and I'll show you. And so, we go out. 

On our first full day in Turkey the reality of this adventure has slapped us in the face. The day began with red peppers for breakfast (but I stuck to the decorative orange slices!) and an exposure to the really foreign language of Turkish. Despite unplanned itinerary diversions and hours under a blazing hot sun, 

Pilgrims in Ephesus... 

we have been graced with many moments of grace and wonder bringing to light the intention of our trip. And good or bad at first sight - every moment is an intentional gift from God.

We visited the home of the blessed Virgin Mary, also called Meryemana

 It stands on a large hill hear a mountain near the third city of Ephesus. Based on the dream of a nun, the remains of Mary's residence until death were identified in Turkey, and it has been a  popular destination for tourists and pilgrims since its discovery-

Margaret Langford...

Other places today:

Church of St John and Ephesus City- pictures below:

Arrival...

Most days the pilgrims will be doing this but all of them were really tired tonight (and I couldn't get the wifi to work on the Mac- and it did on the iPhone- go figure...) We traveled for upwards of 24 hours on our way to Izmir. We are here.

I was struck on the way here by the free-flowing conversation. We were talking a lot about things that we had just finished up with at home: AP exams, papers, projects, internships... I wonder today about how long it will take for us all to "descend" into the labyrinth of this pilgrim journey. When will our conversations be about what is in front of us in the moment? When will we stop dwelling on who and what we left behind and begin seeing God in these "old stones" that surround us?

When we landed today something about being here just felt right to us all. We looked at each other and smiled - there was a feeling among many of us , I believe, that we had arrived at the place where we should be on pilgrimage.

Today we went up to "the velvet castle"- an ancient ruin that dates back to a ruler named lysomachus. There was a complex system of aqueducts that ran down from this citadel and sent water to the city. Pretty impressive , really. 

All around us was old and new.. a woman sat making killim bags.. a little girl fed her goats that took care of weed control for the park.. .. 

Our guide, Cengis, bought us all "apple tea" at a rooftop cafe' where we watched dusk begin to set in. 

Cengis is really great and is taking great care of us all. Our hotel is right next to the waterfront in Izmir.

We ate a simple dinner and said evening prayer together on the deck above the pool. Just wow... Amen

Tim

Airports, airports, airports.

Before any great journey can begin, you have to get there first. So, as guessed, for the first leg of our journey we tour through airports. Shortly before rushing off to Charlotte, several of the pilgrims pointed out that Bridget, one of the pilgrims had not arrived yet. After games phone tag, cards, and trips for water our entire group was united. As we kissed our families good-bye for a second time we started our journey.

On our first trip from Atlanta to Charlotte some passengers figured that this whole airplane thing was going to be very hard. Several were convinced otherwise on the EIGHT HOUR flight from Charlotte to Munich. With all sorts of shenanigans occurring from system reboots to fly aerobics (not to be confused with pew aerobics) to crying babies little sleep was had by all. Despite the lack of sleep one of the virtues of the trip was being able to look outside the window and see the effects of a sunrise from above the clouds. It was a beautiful deep red glow filling the clouds with the smudge of Earth's horizon in the distance. This was described in the moment eloquently with phrases such as "Whoa, that's cool man" and "It looks all glowey."

Now that we have arrived in Munich, pilgrims and chaperones alike have gone on mad hunts for food, taken to sprawling out across chairs and playing games of hackey sack. As Tim practices yoga by the window, and Whit goes for a run through the airport several sleepy pilgrims are confused by the amount of energy that could possibly be had. So, now we wait to board our flight to Izmir and hop on the Turkey leg of our pilgrimage to begin.

Catherine Laseter

Here is a map of where all we are going in Turkey. We begin in Izmir and work our way northwards to Istanbul (more or less). (FYI- The hotel we are staying in in Istanbul is a good ways away from Taksim Square, where most of the protests are happening).

One of the things I find most interesting about departure is that I always seem to meet with special resistance before I leave. I have a cluster of things to do and stuff to gather. And, of course, there is the ordeal of packing.

The poet Rumi talks about how human beings are a "guest-house" full of emotions. He says:

This human being is a guest house.

  Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

   Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

   The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing, 

and invite them in.

       Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond. 

We all have "guests" but I wonder, as we ponder and prepare for departure, what secrets they bring us from "beyond?" 

Tim

Packing our Bags

Religious folks have been going on pilgrimages since the beginning of time. We find ourselves attracted to  holy places: the birthplace of a prophet, a ruined cathedral that once housed our forefathers and mothers, a shrine where the Blessed Virgin appeared to a young girl, a desert where early Christ-followers retreated from the city, a monastery in the suburbs.... We are a few of the multitude who have picked up and journeyed to find the sacred somewhere else.

Years ago, the Episcopal Church started sending its young people on pilgrimages as a part of their spiritual formation. What a good idea. Pilgrimage sums up the experience of Anglican Christianity. We  like the journey this world offers us as much as the destination. We love a God who promises to walk with us on this journey- a God who became one of us for a time and still travels among us. Sending our teenagers on pilgrimage journeys makes perfect sense.

What do we take with us? 

We take our baggage: our past, hopes, fears and a few things that we think are necessary . So, we prepare carefully in the week that remains before we leave.   Phil Cousineau, in his book "The Art of Pilgrimage" says:

"Being ready mentally, spiritually, and physically makes us lighter on our feet, more adroit at making decisions, and perhaps can even help keep chaos at bay. Bearing in mind that the journey to come might turn out to be our first deeply significant pilgrimage puts the entire trip in a different context...One of the soulful questions to ask ourselves as we are poised to leave is: What can I do to lighten my burden on this journey? How we pack our bags defines our journey." 

Tradition has it that pilgrims only bring one bag. I am working hard to winnow down all the stuff that I feel compelled to bring so I can only have one bag. Leaving behind the extra shirt or pair of shoes is hard for me. Deciding which books to bring with me is torture. I am finding, though, that the process of holding each object in my hand and deciding whether or not I really need it is quite revealing. My hope is that every single thing I carry with me is there for a purpose and not "extra baggage" that simply takes up space... (I feel a metaphor brewing... don't you?)

Let's leave behind all that is unnecessary for our pilgrimage. That's my prayer for all of us in the week leading up to our departure.

Tim