Photo of my condo for climate change assignment

This is a photo of my condo, which I needed for a climate change assignment I am doing.

Churches and services in England at Christmas --- 2013

Dear family and friends,

This blog entry features photos from churches or church-related events which I have visited or taken part in here in England with my friend Debbie, and once also with Debbie's husband and my friend Tim, from Sunday to Sunday, December 15th to the 22nd, 2013, although I am going to work backwards chronologically.  Debbie gave me permission to share some of her photos too, and I've given her credit below for the ones which are hers.

The picture above is of Canterbury Cathedral, where Deb, Tim, and I attended the 11:00 Sung Eucharist service this past Sunday, the 22nd. Directly below is a picture of Deb and Tim outside the cathedral, and a shot that did not come out very well of part of the nativity scene.  I was moved by the service, including the sermon, the chorale music, and especially the Eucharist. The one surprising event was at the end, when the priest very slightly, and without any real damage, singed the hairs on his forehead, when he lent down to talk to the children after he had lit the fourth Advent candle.  He made light of it (pun intended!), but it was a scary moment because we could not quite tell what was happening.

Last Thursday, the 19th, Deb and I were in London for the afternoon to meet up with and have lunch with a friend of mine from my theological network, which we very much enjoyed.  Deb and I also attended the 5:00 PM Evensong Service at Westminster Abbey, and below is a photo she took.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but the abbey was stately and beautiful, and we loved the service, for which a chorus of young boys and a few men sang.

Next is a picture Debbie took of Bath Abbey, taken from the Roman Baths on Monday, the 16th.  We did not tour the abbey, but I liked this photo.

And below are three photos from the two events Debbie and I attended in Exeter beginning late in the afternoon on Sunday, the 15th, my last Sunday in Exeter.  The first two are from the Exeter Nativity Processional, which began down the main street of the city (called the High Street), and ended inside the Cathedral.  I took the photo of Mary, Joseph, and the donkey, with city folks following in procession, and Deb took the photo of one of the two llamas, which were dressed to look like camels.  This photo was taken inside the Cathedral.  The third and last photo is of two Christingles, which Deb and I brought home from the service that we went on to attend that same evening, at the United Reformed Church I attended while I was in Exeter.  We loved that service, which was filled with light and warmth.

I wish you all a blessed and happy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  May the true Light of the World, which came into the world as a tiny baby, shine on us and on all people.

Love to all,
Jane

Three months in Exeter come to a close

Today, Friday, December 13, is the end of my three-month residency at the University of Exeter.  I arrived in the city of Exeter exactly three months ago, on Friday, September 13, after my wonderful friend Debbie so gamely picked me up that morning from Heathrow Airport at a horribly early hour and drove me to Exeter. Debbie stayed for that first weekend to help me get my flat set up, to make sure that I bought real food to eat at the grocery store, and to help me navigate the area.  If Debbie had not done that, I would never be where I am today:  a very happy person, ending an extremely rich time at the University of Exeter and in the city of Exeter.

I also was thrilled that Debbie and her husband Tim came to visit me for a week, and that Debbie came back again with our friend Beth, when Beth was visiting from North Carolina. Debbie, Tim, Beth, and I go back a few decades now (not to admit our ages), and it was wonderful for us to see each other.

Debbie is arriving tomorrow to spend a couple of days with me and help me pack up, and we are going to do some final site-seeing, including taking a quick trip by train to Bath. Then on Tuesday we will fill up her car with my stuff and head to Kent, where I will spend Christmas with Debbie and Tim, something I can hardly wait to do.

The photo above shows the Amory Building at the University of Exeter.  This building houses several departments, including the Theology Department, and so I spent quite a bit of time there, although many of the lectures and classes I sat in on were held in other buildings. There was no way for me to capture this on my camera, but the university is built on a very steep hill.  Many of the buildings are built into the hill, so you can enter on the ground floor in the front, and, in the case of Amory, walk out the back door on the fourth floor (using American floor numbering), or, in the case of another building I was in, walk out the back door on the seventh floor!   I will not miss all the hills and steps, but I sure got a lot of exercise, and the Kingswood hill and hills at Putnam Park will seem like nothing to me when I get back home!

Today I assisted Morwenna with the three final seminars for her first year undergraduate Patristics course.  We didn't end until 5:00 PM, so we went up to the very end of the term.  I have deeply appreciated being able to participate with Morwenna and her students, and I am grateful to have been given so many opportunities to learn about teaching theology.

I said good-bye all week to folks, including my fellow PhD students, professors, undergrads, staff, people at church, people at my favorite restaurant, etc.  And I walked around on a few different days just to say good-bye to places or buildings where I've been.  So, it's all wrapped up now, and I can thank God, as well as all of you who have journeyed with me as my friends, for all that has transpired.

Thank you for your friendship, interest, and support.  I wish you a blessed rest of Advent and Christmas season.  And I am posting below my two favorite photos from the time I was here.

Blessings to all,
Exeter Jane

Tiny creches or nativity scenes on my kitchen mantel in Exeter

Dear family and friends,

The purpose of this blog entry is to share three photos with you. The first one is above, and the other two are at the bottom of this posting.

I wanted to do a few religious decorations for Advent and Christmas, but I can't take things home.  A few weeks ago, I bought six African candles from the Fair Trade booth at the Exeter Cathedral (the booth at which I was working, as a visitor!).  Then I mentioned to my landlady, who is a wonderful person and friend, that I wanted to put something religious on the mantel in the kitchen, in addition to the candles.  She scrummaged around in her Christmas boxes until she found the box which contained her collection of tiny nativity or creche scenes, which she has collected from Oxfam stores and various places. They are from different cultures, and they portray the holy family in different ways, and they are very colorful as well as spiritually inspiring.  So I arranged my mantel over the kitchen table with the creches she let me borrow, and my six African candles.  I am not going to light the candles, as I am going to take them to Deb and Tim's house for Christmas.  So I am "double dipping" on the candles!

Some of you will know I also like penguins, so I begged my landlady to lend me two penguins and a huge pine cone, which I saw as she was looking for the creche sets.   You can see these on the kitchen table.  Of course, I didn't have to beg, as she was very gracious in lending these to me.

Do not be deceived by the bare kitchen table. This is where I work, because it's the only place in the "flat" with internet access, and the table is always full of my research books and papers.  But I cleaned it up so that I could take these photos for you.

Advent blessings to all,
Exeter Jane

Exeter updates for November

Dear friends and family,

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I did my last blog entry, but these have been very full weeks for me.  I've been doing all the things I came to the University of Exeter to do, and it's been a very rewarding and educational time for me.  In addition to continuing the research on my dissertation, I've designed and led five seminar sessions for two undergraduate courses, and I completed the six-week course for PhD students on how to teach undergrads.  I also graded my first batch of essays, and on Monday and Tuesday, I'll be sitting in my advisor's office having "office hours" for what she calls "essay surgeries," but which we would call "essay clinics."  Students can come by and ask me any questions about the final essays they are writing, or about their reading, and I'll be on my own with them. Wish me luck!

Also, I continue to attend weekly services at the United Reformed Church, and I will be co-leading worship with the minister next Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent.  In addition to doing the sermon, I will be writing and leading all the prayers and two talks, one for lighting the first Advent candle, and one that is an "introduction" to the Bible readings and sermon.  The minister will lead the communion and offering.  The minister announced this morning that I'd be doing this with him next Sunday, and a few folks asked me about it during the coffee hour, which was nice.

A few Sundays ago, I attended a worship service with my landlord at the huge Exeter Cathedral (which is Anglican), and she has invited me to go with her next Sunday evening for an Advent service, which I am looking forward to.

I did take a couple of hours off one afternoon early in November, and I roamed around the Northernhay Gardens in Exeter again.  This park includes several war memorials, a lot of flowers and trees, and significant remains of a Norman castle. Ironically, the sun was out that day, and some of the photos I took did not come out, because there was too much sun! That is so funny over here!  The pictures that I've attached at the top and bottom of this blog entry are all from the park.  Some of you may recognize the war memorial photo, as it's the one that I posted on Facebook for Veteran's Day or Armistice Day.  I have learned that Exeter is a very historic city, and there are sizable remains from Roman walls here too.  Before I leave Exeter, I am going to visit the museum here, which I have heard is excellent.

Blessings to all, especially to all of you Americans who will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week!

Jane

WW II History: Higher Barracks, Exeter, Devon, UK

Dear friends and family,

This week's blog entry is in honor of my friend Ray in Bethel, whom some of you know. Ray is 89 years old, and he and his son Bobby eat dinner at Plain Jane's regularly, and we are all part of the PJ's family.

During WW II, when Ray was only 19 --- so 70 years ago now --- he was stationed in Exeter in late 1943 and early 1944.  He was a medic, and he and his unit left Exeter and were deployed for the D Day invasion.  Over the past two years, Ray has brought many photos and war papers to show me at PJ's, and we've talked about his time in Exeter and his war experiences.  Just before I left to come to Exeter myself, he let me copy some official papers about what his battalion had done here, and that allowed me to do online research to figure out where the "Higher Barracks" of Exeter were.

Well, this is a bit of a surprise --- at least for me!  The former Higher Barracks of Exeter are practically in front of my house!  They were finally closed as a military place in the late 1990s, and the buildings were turned into private housing (attached houses, condos, etc.).  It took me 5 minutes to walk there, but only because I had to follow the roads.  If I had been a crow, I could have flown there in 30 seconds.  The northern end of the grounds, which are quite substantial, is nearly due east of my house, and just below the main southern perimeter road of the U. of Exeter. After I was done walking around and taking pictures, I took a "public footpath" that led me right to the perimeter road, precisely where lots of students always come pouring through a gate. I've always wondered what that gate and footpath led to!  And now, today, I know.

Also, given that we just had All Saints Day, I stood in front of the largest building, from the former barracks, and looked out over the quadrangle (or green), and I reflected on all the men and women who had been stationed there, including those like Ray who ended up being deployed for D Day.  And I said prayers for those who lived and came back home, like Ray, and those who did not.  I am happy to say that the sun was out most of the time, including during those moments, and it felt warm and bright standing there.  There is hope in All Saints Day, as I read just this morning!

Here's to Ray and to others who served.

Blessings to all,
Jane

Exeter updates

Dear family and friends,

I am sorry that it has been three weeks since my last blog entry, but these have been very rich weeks, and I am doing the things I came to Exeter to do.  Even so, I miss you all, and I am eager to get home to see you and talk to you again.  And there are some photos at the end, so do not give up!

First of all, I finished a huge chapter of my PhD dissertation, which I had been working on for months. This is my third huge chapter, and the first of two on St. Augustine, who is my "main man" so to speak, and this chapter represents a major milestone for me.  But it meant I had to be "heads down" on the final writing for a while, which is why I disappeared!

Next, I was very pleased to be gain admittance to the six-week course that teaches PhD students how to teach at the undergraduate level.  We've had two of the six sessions so far, and the course is very informative and practical, and I like the instructors and my fellow PhD students in the course.  This is a real opportunity for me, as I would not be able to get this training back home, and this is one of the benefits of being here in Exeter in-person.  In conjunction with this course, my PhD advisor agreed to give me a specific number of hours for leading seminar sessions for two of her courses, one of which is in my area of speciality. For that one, I'll be able to lead three identical seminar sessions on St. Augustine and the Trinity.  And for the other one, I'll be leading two identical seminar sessions on Martin Luther and two of his key writings, including his 95 Theses!  I am very excited about this, and I continue to be very impressed with the caliber of undergraduate students here in the theology department.

Now, on to the exciting things!  Debbie came back, bringing our friend Beth, who flew in from Raleigh, North Carolina. We've all known each other for over 34 years, from when we worked for IBM in Raleigh.  We had terrible weather, so I did not get many photos, but I wanted to share a few pictures with you from Lyme Regis. We went there last Sunday, because all three of us had read the historical fiction book Remarkable Creatures, about Mary Anning (and another woman), who discovered major fossils and some extinct species in the early 1800s.  We LOVED the museum there, which featured not only Mary Anning and the fossils, but also the many authors who had written books while living in Lyme Regis, or which were set in Lyme Regis. This includes Jane Austen, who set part of her book Persuasion there.  We also saw a church --- the one in the photo here --- which has been there for 900 years, and outside of which Mary Anning and her family are buried.  The cliffs in the far distance, in one of the photos, are where Mary Anning found the fossils. It's hard to imagine her climbing up there in long skirts and in the rain.

So, I have been in Exeter over six weeks now, and have just under seven weeks left in Exeter. Then I'll be with Debbie and Tim for two weeks in Kent, and I'll return home two days after Christmas.

Best wishes and blessings to you all,
Jane