Easter Reflections

Last week, just in case you aren't aware, was Easter! From the moment I got to England my supervisor has been reminding me that Easter is the busiest time of the year in the Anglican Church. After surviving last week, I support that statement 100%. Not only was there a massive amount of preparation that went into each service, but there were added church services and cleaning responsibilities, and food preparation throughout the week. But through all these activities, Easter took on a whole new meaning for me.

Maunday Thursday began with a Blessing of the Oils service at York Minster, in which we gathered oils for baptisms, healings, and confirmations. That service in itself was a lengthy ordeal, where people congregated from all over Yorkshire to pick up the blessed oils for those in their church whom requested them, listen to the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Whitby speak, receive Holy Communion to commence the beginning of Easter weekend, and of course, to enjoy a nice hot cross bun after the service had finished (which fyi was the first time I've ever had a hot cross bun, and it was delicious!).

While at this service I got to talking with the Archbishop of York, who is one of the most jovial people I've ever met. A constant smile on his face, I learned that he had endured many hardships while he lived in Uganda, and that he had to eventually flea the country because his life was in danger. Yet in spite of the difficulties he has encountered, he's incredibly positive and willing to do anything to serve God, even give up his own life. As I was talking with him he mentioned that he was the one who came up with the idea of serving teas, coffees, and hot cross buns after the service, which has now become a yearly tradition. After all, Easter, although a time for reflection on the greatest sacrifice ever given, should be a celebration complete with a party more than a time of somber remembrance, because of the incredible thing that Jesus did for us.

And what a celebration Easter turned out to be. Beginning my day at 4:30am (which is ridiculously early even if you are a morning person!), I helped my supervisor and his family prepare for the breakfast we were serving after the sunrise service on the Westwood pastures, one of my favorite places in Beverley where cows roam freely to graze, people play golf or take their dogs for walks, and families bring their children to play in the wide open fields. I've never been to a sunrise service before for Easter, and this one was incredible. People from multiple congregations came together, singing praises to God as the sun began to peak over the hills waking up the new day, celebrating the fact that Christ conquered sin and death, and we are now free. At the conclusion of the service we had tea, coffee, and an amazing breakfast for everyone to partake in. I honestly haven't seen that many happy people so early in the morning! And what a better way to start Easter, than to begin it with fellowship, breakfast, singing, the glorious sunrise, and excitement over what Jesus has done?

The rest of Easter consisted of more celebrating by helping out at 3 more church services, having a meal with some friends, and then reflecting on the incredible life that Jesus led, as well as all the work related events that I had been involved with throughout Holy Week. A few of these events during the week included a Friday morning service, 24-hour prayer at a fellow church in Beverley, a silent walk throughout the town to reflect on the events of Good Friday, Saturday morning prayer meetings, and various other happenings, but the thing that stood out to me the most wasn't the celebrating or the other ceremonies like the Archbishop talked about. It was our service on Maunday Thursday.

We had a "sample" of a Seder Meal, which is the traditional feast that Jews have to mark the beginning of the Passover. I'd never been to a meal like this before, where each item represents something meaningful and different. To name a few, there was maror (bitter herbs) which represent the bitterness and hardships of slavery, charoset (fruit and nut paste) which represent the material used by the Jews to build storehouses during their time of slavery in Egypt, and 4 cups of wine to symbolize various promises. What an incredible tradition and celebration to have. I was thrilled to be a part of it and to learn a little bit more about the Jewish culture and rituals.

However, the meal wasn't what had the most impact on me. My supervisor was in charge of planning and organizing this service, and he had the brilliant idea to incorporate a foot washing ceremony during the service for the entire congregation, which I certainly thought sounded like a great idea since it could be a very powerful and meaningful event...that is until I learned that I, along with one other woman, were going to be the people washing every one's feet. Now that was something that certainly hadn't made my "must do/experience while in England" list. Yet as I was kneeling at people's tired and worn feet, doing my best to wash them carefully, I couldn't help but think that honestly, I wouldn't just randomly up and decide to wash some one's feet. It's fairly gross, especially when you know that you're going to eat food immediately afterwards and might not have time to wash your hands, and you get an up close and very personal experience with different ideas and levels of the importance of hygiene. But Jesus didn't think like that. He washed people's dirty, disgusting, smelly, and probably pretty messed up feet because they wore sandals all the time, and he did it on his own accord. During a meal. Willingly. Humbly. Full of unconditional love for those he was with, and this was one way he revealed part of how great his love is. He loves us enough to do the ultimate acts of service for us that most people would cringe at doing. Many people in the congregation probably weren't deeply affected by having their feet washed. But what about if Jesus had been there? What would it be like to have your feet washed by Jesus?

On Being English

On Wednesday afternoons I help out at a local primary school in a classroom for children that are struggling, or whom have essentially been temporarily removed from their regular classroom due to behavioural issues. These children, regardless of how many times they flick me off or shout swear words at me because life hasn't treated them as it should treat children of their age, make me ridiculously happy. Weekly, one of them asks me, “Heidi, do I speak American?” And in the most hilarious voice possible that only seems to heighten the North Yorkshire accent, he proceeds to repeat every word I say for the next half hour. Although I try to be very sincere and keep a straight face as I tell him he's getting closer and to keep practicing, he knows very well that I am hiding a smile. However, he is not so gracious to me when I perform my English accent for him, which to my dismay as I spend more time in England, has unintentionally come out more and more through my responses to poor unsuspecting and slightly bewildered people. Thus, to assist me in giving up my “atrocious” American habits, my new little friend has decided to dedicate his time in this classroom to teaching me how to be “proper English” so that when I return to the States I can bequeath my new found knowledge upon all my counterparts so that they in turn, will learn how to be “real, normal people”, as my friend informs me. Now, in all my 23 years of life, never have I once thought that I wasn't a real person, yet since coming to England, I have since been enlightened. :) So my friends and family, let me now, share my enlightenment. First of all, in north England, “tea” does not just mean merely a cup of tea, oh no. There are numerous meanings to this simple, three letter word, but it all depends on the time of day one is referring to. For instance, if I invited you over for tea at about “half past six” as they say in England (six thirty is absolutely unheard of language) it would mean that I am not inviting you over for an actual cup of tea, but I am inviting you over for the evening meal. Naturally, tea will be served, but that is only after everyone has finished eating the meal, as well as the pudding, which is in fact not “pudding” as we Americans know it, but is actually any type of dessert. However, if I invited you over at 10am for tea, that would mean that you are most likely going to receive a cup of tea, and possibly a biscuit, which to my bewilderment isn't in fact a biscuit at all in the way we think of it as some bread based doughy object you put jam on, but is actually something along the lines of a very hard and crunchy cookie that most people dunk in their tea in hopes of softening it before it is consumed. When greeting someone, it is always appropriate to say “Hiya! You all right?” A question which very rarely requires an answer. At first I was constantly concerned, thinking that everyone thought something was wrong with me or maybe I looked a little funny that day or like I hadn't slept that night, and that's why they were asking if I was all right. Yet thanks to my friend, I have now been informed that this greeting is almost like saying “Hi, I see you there, and I will acknowledge you, but please don't engage me in a conversation that could possibly become too personal or lengthy.” Moreover, in conversations, whether passing someone on the street or while hanging out with a friend, and I cannot emphasize this enough, there MUST NEVER be silence. When all else fails, talk about the weather. After all, this is England, and the weather could change at any moment. However, most of the time it seems to fall under the category that Brits refer to as “absolute rubbish”, where the sky is overcast and it's most likely raining, or going to be raining within the next couple minutes, or perhaps it recently stopped raining. Yes, yes. That is more likely. Also, when getting directions from someone who is English, you may want to think twice about it and just go search for a map. These are some directions I received when I first arrived in Beverley: “To get into the town center walk towards the rail road tracks (mind you, they weren't anywhere in sight) and turn left when you see a big bush by a post box. Carry on down that street until you find a snick-et (what in the world that was, I had no idea) and turn down it. Wind around, cross the drive, carry on down the snick-et which will meet up again after you cross the drive and go down it a ways, until you come to a pub, then turn left. There are two round-a-bouts, and on the second one you should take the third from the left turn. Follow the road and take a right at the green house (funny...all the houses here are made from bricks....) and walk until you come to a pedestrian only zone which will be marked by a post. Then you've reached town. If you see a cow, you've gone to far so turn around and reverse the directions.” To which I inquired about road names, only to learn that people don't really know the names of the roads around here, and the directions I received were excellent directions compared to most others I've gotten while living here. Maps are an excellent investment. Terminology and phrases that are important to know in England (and trust me, they're VERY important, for I am forced to review them with my little friend every single Wednesday): 1) It just does my head in (meaning something along the lines of the situation being annoying) 2) Winding me up (frustrating or irking me) 3) I just can't be bothered (whatever they should have done, they didn't because, really, they just plain didn't feel like it) 4) Trousers (pants...never, ever say pants unless you're referring to your underwear/knickers) 5) Nappy (diaper) 6) Track suit bottoms, or trackies (known to us as “sweatpants”, but considering what “pants” means in England....well...really...you never want to make the same mistake that I have and say “sweatpants”. It makes for a very awkward situation) 7) Rubber (eraser...really, I know what you're thinking) 8) Magnum (an amazing ice cream brand, so get your mind out of the gutter!) 9) Pavement (sidewalk...which funny story about this, I was typing this blog in a word document and the spell check kept changing “sidewalk” to “pavement”! My little friend also tells me every Wednesday that “sidewalk” just doesn't make sense, because it's paved and “sidewalk” has nothing to do with pavement. Clearly, Americans are odd creatures) 10) Ta (thank you) 11) Shattered/Knackered (very tired) 12) Thingy (EVERYTHING is referred to as “thingy” so you have to follow conversations along very closely to actually know what “thingy” is in hopes of even somewhat remotely following the conversation) 13) Jumper (which is in fact not a dress which I discovered after the initial shock I encountered when my supervisor (who is a male) told me his was going to put on his jumper, yet something more along the lines of a sweatshirt) I hope that you have had as much fun learning through reading this as I have learning through living the English culture these past 8 months. Now, I trust and hope that you are all well, and that you, like myself, feel like brand new enlightened people thanks to my little friend, ready to live life the proper English way.