Perpetum mobile-me :-)

Dear English speaker friends around the world,

I know I was not really kind to post only in Hungarian,which I did in the last couple of weeks. Some of You might know that again I am travelling -actually moved for a semester- to England. You might know I am soon finishing up my Pastoral degree. When I arrived home with my MDiv from Chicago/LSTC and my home seminary requested me to take 12 more courses and a year of internship before I can get ordained. Well, my way never been a shortcut,as You know :-). In my current semester I need to take only Latin and a Field exam in New Testament for which I do not need to attend a class, so I applied to a scholarship supported by the Anglican-Lutheran Society (ELCA is a part of it)to Mirfield, England. My boss let me take an unpaid leave so God set up everything for me.
And now I am here in England. Yes, not in Great Britain, I am a ctually in England. In Mirfield which is "pretty" close to Manchester (Middle part of England).

The place: Mirfield is a small town surrounded by beautiful green fields. I have time to run every day to explore it - so I found the canal, which is actually turned out to be its river and I am still confused which side of the road I should run. I have to tell You I enjoy being in a smaller place and not in a town/city so much! This is my first time in the Uk and I am suprised by the weather (my 8th day here and it hadn't rained).

The College:


The College of the Resurrection is a place for Anglican people who are heading towards priesthood.Most of them are not coming right after high school.Some married, some single, some gay, some straight, male and female (4 with me:-) The classes take place in 3 places (different schools)and their cooperation educates the people. Anyhow, the most interesting thing about it is not the academics, but the setting. It is living in a symbiosis with the monastery that founded it. It is a special Anglican monastery with its own rule and rythm of life. Which we follow.The training has a residental component which means that all those who are enrolled (even married) are required to live at the seminary housing and be a part of the whole community life. Married people go homw for the weekend or if they live in Mirfield thay are a part of the community which means we share some of the meals with them and the locals can stay at home of course at night. As in most of the seminaries allow students to have a flexible timetable this community is strongly attached to the monastic lifestyle and rythm.

Daily life:

7.30am Mattins (morning prayer-required)
8.00am Mass (Eucharist- voluntary)
8.15am breakfast (food is wonderful- SILENCE UNTIL THE END OF BREAKFAST)
11.00am Teatime :-) we are in England, right? This is the local Icecream Social :-). I really enjoy how it slows the day down. Tea with milk...well:-), but I love their coffee. It is so good to stretch a little when you are working on an essay.
1.15pm (reqiured)Lunch not a minute later or sooner. Just as you remember from movies we gather together and we start with the grace. 6-8 people are sitting at the same table and we serve each other the food. Everything is about community. It is as if you were in a family for the lunchtime. And of course you clean up after yourself,as well :-).
4.00pm tea-time
6.00pm Evensong (required)which is practicly Vespers. We are together with the monks and follow their liturgy.
9.15pm Compline (voluntary)
This is from Monday to Friday and on Sunday- slight differences are during the week).
Only Saturday is free and you can take 2 longer weekends (from Friday lunch until monday mattins but I am not sure about that).

What is so wonderful about it?
- living a healthy rythm of life and learn discipline
- learning what it means to be in a community where people would notice if you are missing, which means in a way loosing total freedom
- have the care of the people around
- silence and slowing down (even the liturgy makes you slowed down)
- liturgy : close to the Roman Catholic Mass, we chant, psalms are sung from 1-150, vestments are similar)

- songs : can you imagine chanting app. 30 me gifted with beautiful voice around you? It is like being in a concert every day! Sometimes I am just sinking in it (and not just because I can't follow which part of the liturgy comes next :-) voices are surrounding - embracing you. The feeling is like being in Marty Haugen's Holden Evening prayer if you are familiar with it.
- fresh air and green fields (no need for explanation, right :-)?)
Just a few to mention.

I know this is a lot about me right now, but I just thought to give an update. It is really different from Chicago. As for Chicago/LSTC I would use the word: diversity, for Mirfield I would use uniqueness and authetnicity. For LSTC aboundance, for Mirfield focused. Chicago - finding myself,as an independent person, Mirfield - finding myself,as a part of a community.
Am I blessed to be there? Or lucky? Some people can balance life much better than me. Sometimes God has to take me away from what I call "my life" and shake me, so I get back to the things which must come first in life.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and the rest... we all know :-).
And Yes, I am blessed.

Unique Sunday

For most people- christians- Sunday is the day when they go to worship. This is how it used to be for me. Somehow I always loved Sunday worship, although there were times when I left worship before it ended, cos I got annoyed or angry what happened there under the name of worship. But I always loved it.
When I became christian there were times when I had to lie to my family to go to worship and I felt so proud of it-like becoming as persecuted as the first Christians. Of course it was not so, just my family sometimes didn't like that instead of being together on Sunday morning I am leaving the family and they had to wait for me to have lunch together. I broke the family habit. But as a teneeger I loved to do this. Sorry, but this is true. But when they explained me there is no "kegyes hazugság" (lie that can be unnoticed and ok) I still enjoyed going on Sunday morning to church. I always arrived 10-15 minutes earlier because of my bus schedule. While I was waiting for the bus I usually sang laud (I live kinda far from the city) from our songbook. Before church I was meeting my friends and we talked about what happened in the last few days and what will happen in the next. We sat together-of course being faithful to the old Lutheran habit- sitting on the back row and it was so great to get aroud the altar, kneel down and get communion-together.
For me -as it is written- Sunday was the first and the last day of the week. A special time to put everything into God's hands that was in me- thoughts, feelings, questions, worries, happiness, love,plans-everything. Being emptied by the time the sermon starts and get focused what God wants me to understand from his Word.What instructions,comforting, encouraging words are waiting for me to start a new week. And when we reached communion time I was longing to being cleansed.Even if just for a moment, cos on the way back to my pew I had my on thoughts which most of the time crossed what I promised God a couple of minutes ago: I won't plan anything just take what he plans for me.Well, leopard cannot change it's spots,I am an administrator and plan-maker professional ;-). At the table being together with my friends and being together with God-now that is something! This is what you cannot have anywhere else. You cannot be a living christian without having communion if you have the chance for it.This is harsh, but this is my opinion.
After that we sometimes went to play pool billiard,had a tea and a cake at the Márvány Cukrázda and we sometimes debated over certain parts of the sermon. Not always ;-).than I walked to my Grandma and we had lunch together.We washed the dishes, we had coffee and I was ready to leave and had my second lunch with my family-what a healthy life ;-)!An avarage Sunday.

Since I got home from my scholarship from Chicago due to my job I usually work on Sunday,so I cannot go to church on Sundays. I always knew that not having a healthy rythm of life- one day for rest and God-is a missing point in my life.
Today I got up and I could go to worhsip.It was far and I had to admit I needed 10-15 minutes to force myself to get up from bed,not thinking about how cold it is outside, not letting "I have nothing to wear" excuses hold me back to leave seminary housing and go to a church where I have never been , but I planned to visit. A Lutheran church in the Buda Castle district. Long way. Takes an hour. Finally I decided not to use bus but walk up to the church. And I was lost. I must have missed a street somewhere. I just had that point again: now this is a sign to turn back. But I went back where I started, took the bus and arrived 2 minutes before worship.
Nice area.Cobbler stones, castle-feeling,nice-old-lu

theran church from the outside. As I walked in people were standing in front of the church door from the previous worship talking as I did with my friends at home. And as I sat down and opened my songbook I went back in time and I felt home again. Sunday morning.People are walking in an out. Knoking on my shoulder to give them songbooks.Kids running around.I had no breakfast as I used to do - let the communion be my first sip and bite. People were from all ages. We started with baptism. 2 little boys.Not just pouring on water, but showing them to the congragation as the pastor lift them up- so everyone could see them - saying: just look at them, from now on you are responsible for them and for the parents. And handled the two baptismal candle to the dads.

The sermon was honest and clear. The pastor used the Bible, quoted the words and I checked him as I used to do. ( I always loved that the bible tells us to check the pastors- look after the words whether they are faithful to the scriptures).The verses were from the Ecclesiastes.
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. ‘For whom am I toiling’, they ask, ‘and depriving myself of pleasure?’ This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
The Value of a Friend
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
he was talking about how we people long for relationships and community, friends, but with our being safe and having our own private time, space mentality consciously or unconsciously we built a brickwall and we stand alone at the end.,although we don't want it. I reached the point when due to my seminary traing I asked the question: so where is the good news, this is all true, but what does this say what god did to us. And at this moment the pastor honestly said: maybe it seems to be too big a step,and too chricstian, and maybe it can be seen as a sentence that pastors should say, but it is true: jesus came so we all have someone. He become the companion to all people . Anytime. Anywhere and to anyone.

We arrived to the 2nd sacrament. I had something more than bread and wine. Campanionship-by people and by God. Before we get the bread the pastor steps to everyone , put his hand on or head and marks all with the sign of the cross on the forehead saying: don't be afraid , have faith, God is with you. It is not usual in Hungarian churches to have the mark of the cross. It is rare that the pastor touches the people, most of the time they just keep their hands a over your head, but not here. Tasting the bread and the wine and experience the blessing of God through the pastors' hand was a moment when I knew I need Sundays. Worship can be done any day, but Sunday worship is somehow special. Unique.

Maybe nothing special happened this Sunday and you are wondering why it felt so special for me? This is what faith does. When ordinary things become extraordinary maybe just for you. When people can look at you and say nothing special has happened, but you feel that for you God was present, somehow it was different and it was a unique time for you.

May you/we all experience this extraordinary God planned and ordered Sunday rest and renewal!

Go to church,
get emptied in prayer,
be filled with by the words,
be cleansed by the bread and wine,
have family : Jesus and friends,
take what you need for the next week in the form of blessings
and go out so we can say again: see you next Sunday!

Find a church if you don't have one!Don't miss it!