Taste and See God's Presence: Gathered Around the Table of Reconciliation

What makes your heart sing?

Where is it that the things that you do and love and ministry come together?

These were the two questions that I pondered last year when I sat down to think about a potential 3 month sabbatical for the spring of 2018. A sabbatical is a time of period set aside for rest, renewal and refreshment. Weekly, we take a sabbath, a rest from our labors, to worship and give thanks for the blessing we have to reconnect with God. A sabbatical is longer and often occurs after 7 years of ministry.

As I thought of these questions, I realized I had one answer for both: A Good Meal Around A Table.

Where does my heart sing? When I am in community and eating great food.
What do I love to do? Cook, take photos, be with others as they experience joy and sadness.

What do we do well as a church? We come together and are fed. We come together despite socio-economical differences, political differences, we come to eat and to share what we have in community.

Several summers ago in Cuba when I was on a mission team there, we used the same table for our work bench, our supply table, dinner table, and our altar- it was the only table in the building! We, a group of limited English and Spanish speakers, gathered around to give thanks for the day, to receive our supplies for the day, and to be fed for the day from the same table. We might not have understood every word from the other person, but we understood each action done in love as a community.

I love to share a meal with friends, strangers, to laugh, to cry and to break bread together.
I think that may be why I ended up in where I am in ministry, several times a week gathering around a table where we are fed and reminded that we belong to this community, our beautiful warts and all.

Scripture is FULL of imagery around eating. Jesus is always feeding people, gathering for meals, and talking about the heavenly banquet table. And, if we are honest we are constantly hungry, hungry to be known, to be included, to be deeply fed by the love of God.

I realized that in a sabbatical I hoped to be fed spiritually but also to learn a bit more about people's story and see how others have brought people to god's feasting table.

I jokingly say, "You can fight about politics and religion, but nobody argues with you when you claim your mother's apple pie is the best recipe ever." We have fierce memories around food, it's a love language for some. This sabbatical time is a time to learn some new cooking tools, to learn some photography skills, and to listen around the table about how people have worked to bring others to the table.

I am so thankful for those who have made this possible and given me the time and resources to journey a bit away from home and encouraged me to do so.

This blog will keep you updated on the adventure, snippets along the way as I share the experiences of listening to story, taste the goodies of people's cooking (and try my own hand at it!), and keep visioning about that table where all can gather.

I look forward to sharing as I Taste and See God's Presence: Gathering around the Table of Reconciliation.

Final day!

Today we sent off the pilgrims 2 by two and the last six of us depart together for late flights.

Today we visited the final home and resting place of W.E.B. DuBois. A wonderful home and space of history.

Then we visited the first president of Ghana's maseoleum and his story.

After lunch we said goodbye to our Canadian pilgrims and did a quick shopping trip. Today we head to the airport and begin our journey home (3 airplanes and nearly 24hrs of travel arriving in TLH Sunday evening)

So thankful for the opportunity to be here and come back to share the story.

(Backup) Our final full day

Today we awoke in beautiful Elmina and began morning prayer watching the coast.

We met with Bishop Victor of the diocese of Cape Coast and saw both the cathedral school and an all girls school. We met teachers and toured the schools.

The first school we visited was right outside the Bishop's residence and was built before the main road that was right beside it. It was a lower school and due to the construction of the main road the lower level of the two story building is continually flooded and no longer useable. The Bishop is raising funds for a new building. 320 students still attend the school.

The second school we visited was an all girls school and we not only met teachers but also were greeted with dancers and drummers who danced in the coastal traditional dancing. 450 students attend this school.

After our gathering there we went to Cape Coast Castle (which is acRoss the street from the castle)- this castle was created for the slave trade. While Elmina's castle was originally warehouses for goods and then converted to dungeons, Cape coast's castle was designed to hold people and send them off. Similarly the castle's higher levels of buildings were for the officers and were light and airy.

The dungeons had very few, if any, windows and were designed to hold nearly 1000men and nearly 500 women. The same crowded conditions existed and the floors were so covered by excrement that even now the  mud like substance in the ground is really a layer of beaten down human waste.

After the time at cape coast castle we walked across the road to the cathedral and had Eucharist. Bishop Victor reminded us to give God our pain and our anger, our sorrow and frustrations to God. 

While church was not 4hours this time, we still listened, sang, and danced our offering up at the offertory. The bishop's homily reminded us that we are called to reconcile. We live in a world that is sick and needs mercy. And calls us to work for justice.

The Mission of the diocese of Cape Coast is to love God, love people--- and to bring, build, train, and send people.

We saw the same plaque today- reminding us not to forget and to help prevent this from occurring again. When we say our baptismal covenant at baptism, we recommit ourselves to do exactly that in seeking justice for all humans and respecting the dignity of every human being.

May we not repeat our mistakes.

May God have mercy.

May God open our eyes to seek the injustice in our world and be agents of change.

A visit to Elmina Castle

Today we have two stories to tell. The story of children learning the stories in the Bible and learning the stories of history their story and their story to come. 

The second part of today was spent learning about the story of those who were captured and then sold into slavery. We came to Elmina castle this afternoon and it is just one of the five castles on the coast of Ghana in which slaves were held three months before they were shipped off through the gate of no return.

Our guide through the structure told us about the Portuguese who originally built the structure and then the Dutch who took it over and the British who were the final governors.

We walked through dark rooms where 80-100 were kept as they awaited, in the dark, their departure from their homelands. The inhuman conditions and the dramatic contrasts of detentions for Europeans and for Africans. The Protestant church that was located directly above the largest woman's dungeon. The pain of humanity.

Below is the plaque located at the exit, may it be our prayer and always.

Travels from m Tamale to Accra to Cape Coast

(Photo of team at the Bishop's school for girls in Accra)

Today we awoke EARLY to catch our flight from Tamale to Accra. After a calm flight to Accra we went directly to the Episcopal Relief and Development offices.

Sam rejoined and we were off to the cathedral to meet with Bishop Daniel and see the cathedral schools. Both moments were a gift of hospitality and joy. The Bishop has many projects going on among which is a studio to broadcast interviews on Sundays. This studio is in existence because of the support of Bishop Ed from OK among others. 

After introductions and songs at the schools, no dance presentations today, we boarded our bus to get to Cape Coast (west of Accra) to visit Elmira Castle.

This journey, while not physically exerting is an adventure of endurance and flexibility. When I say Ghanaian folks are full of joy, they are playful in spirit and always joking for joy. We have been greeted and welcomed soooo abundantly when we have been places.

A final day in Bolgatanga

Today began with morning prayer after a delightfully restful night.

After breakfast we went out and met at ADDRO and then headed to visit the Anglican primary school and then the Anglican junior high school located by the ADDRO offices. We were greeted with much enthusiasm by every small class. Each class recited for us and shared their joy of learning. We went over to the junior high building we were given a presentation from the students of traditional dancing.

After the junior high school we went to the senior high school where we were given presentations by the entire school. Full of poetry and dance. 

After our visits we went to see the woman's cooperative where, through small loans the women have been able to create baskets in mass quantity for sale. We watched the process and then invested in their hard work, purchasing baskets to bring home.

After lunch we shared some time with the ADDRO staff before we said our good byes- they have been our guides for the past two days and such gracious hosts.

We then got on the nice paved road to Tamale and will spend the night here so that we can catch our early flight without having to get up so early tomorrow!

Each of us received a 'smock' from Bishop Jacob. A smock is a traditional tunic with embroidery--- we say as christians we are clothed in the love of Christ. We have been literally clothed in the love of these christians who are doing wonderful work empowering and equipping the saints and I am excited to continue to share their story and the ones we keep learning!

Schools and ADDRO

Today after a delightful breakfast we headed out the door to visit The Anglican Diocese Development Organization (ADDRO) and learn about their organization which has 5areas of focus: water sanitation, micro loans/savings, disaster preparedness, health, and agriculture. We met Bishop Jakob who oversees the agency and the diocese of Tamale.

After visiting the offices we headed out to St. John's Anglican School, an hour drive on paved and unpacked roads with a rain shower! We were greeted by the Head of School who told us about the school, established in 1981 with only 45students, that has nearly 400total students now in kindergarten to 12th grade. We greeted each class and traded information about the school process for youth. Afterwards we were treated to a traditional dance by the high school students.

After our visit to the school, which ADDRO supports (and ERD supports ADDRO) we went to the Durbar- a community meeting of the leaders in the surrounding area. There was more dancing (I might have jumped in and danced too) and then we heard from the community the effects of the loans given to families.

We ate a picnic lunch and got into the cars to head home... it was a bouncy road and we definitely had plenty of things to ponder bouncing around in our heads.

Yesterday, we learned people were bought and sold for a goat. Today we learned about new life given to families through giving a family 2 goats and teaching them how to raise them to produce other goats and in turn generate income.

Yesterday, we heard the songs of the enslaved waiting to be sold and today we heard the songs of school children learning their numbers and dancing out of thanksgiving.

How do we use what we have? 

What makes us dance and sing?