16 July 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Marsha and I arrived in Shannon and then were driven to the Bishop’s House in the Diocese of Tuam, where we stayed with Bishop Richard Henderson, his wife Anita, and their ‘children.’ As previously posted, a great time was had by all.
We then drove back to the Shannon airport with Bishop Richard for our journey to our next leg of this remarkable trip. We arrived at the airport where we were told that the radar at Dublin had ‘crashed’ several days prior, and that flights in and out were being delayed/canceled. Our flight, presently, was on time. We held our breath to see if we would get out.
Our flight was, for the most part, on time, and we arrived in Dublin with plenty of time to spare. As we walked through the airport we noticed that most of the outgoing flights were delayed by several hours. Our flight to Heathrow was posted as ‘on time.’ It was only at boarding time that it was rescheduled for about an hour later.
Once aboard, the pilot announced that if we didn’t all get situated in our seats immediately we would miss our ‘window of opportunity’ and would possibly not get out that evening. I have never seen so many people sit down in an airplane so quickly as I did that night. We departed about an hour late, but eventually arrived in Heathrow to pick up our luggage. (As one might imagine, two of our bags were the very last to come off the belt.)
About a decade ago a young priest came to stay with us. He was serving in the Surrey area of England, and was searching to spend time in a large suburban parish outside of Chicago. The Diocesan staff put him in touch with us. Today that man is the Archdeacon of the Diocese of Oxford and on staff at Christ Church, Oxford. As we gathered our baggage and went into the ‘pick up zone,’ the Venerable Julian Hubbard, Archdeacon of Oxford, was there to greet us.
The trip to Oxford took about an hour – very little traffic. We arrived at his house about 11 pm, had a few nice words with some members of his family, and we quickly went off to bed.
The next morning Marsha opened the shutters in our room, and suddenly we noticed that we were facing Tom Quad – the very heart and soul of Christ Church. Diagonally across the quad was the Cathedral. The view was amazing!
That morning we took a quick tour (almost a running tour) through Oxford, and arrived back in the Sacristy of the Cathedral to join 14 other bishops from around the Communion for a welcoming Eucharist.
The following is a list of the attending bishops:
The Rt. Rev. Oswald Swartz – Kimberley and Kuruman, South Africa The Rt. Rev. Papahoti Lawrence – Nandyal, Church of South India The Rt. Rev. Georges Titre Ande – Aru, DR Congo The Rt. Rev. Funga Botolome – Kisangani, DR Congo The Rt. Rev. Isingoma Kahwa – Boga, DR Congo The Rt. Rev. Dena Harrison – Texas – USA The Rt. Rev. George Bruce – Ontario, Canada The Rt. Rev. Richard Ellena – Nelson, New Zealand The Rt. Rev. Danilo Bustamente – Southern Philippines, Philippines The Rt. Rev. Henry Parsley – Alabama, USA The Rt. Rev. Michael Garrison – Western New York, USA The Rt. Rev. Sadock Makaya – Tabora, Tanzania The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Lee – Chicago, USA The Rt. Rev. Edward Malecdan – Northern Philippines, Philippines And me We processed into the Cathedral, took our places, and I knew that we weren’t ‘in Kansas’ any longer. The choir, the music, the preaching (by Bishop Swartz), were all magnificent. After the Eucharist we gathered for a reception, followed by lunch in the Great Hall (now commonly referred to as Harry Potter Hall – where the movie was filmed).
That afternoon a few of us gathered for a Youth Event across the way. Sixty or so teenagers gathered after doing service projects around the city. They came for music, food, and fellowship. I felt like I was back at Senior Camp or a mini-EYE. After about an hour, one of the organizers asked if I would be willing to ‘be challenged’ by one of the youth. Not knowing what I was getting into I agreed and soon found myself facing a ‘donut eating contest.’ I was not sure if this meant that I had to eat 20 donuts in a short period of time or what, but soon found out it was one Krispy Kreme donut. Whoever ate it fastest, won.
I put on my best show and came out victorious.
We stayed for the remainder of the event, and went back to Christ Church where we were allowed to relax. The next morning, we drove with the Archdeacon to the small town of Yelford (population 24). The small Church is a part of what we would call a cluster, overseen by one priest. This was their ‘Cluster Service’ where all four congregations were invited to Yelford. About 50 people were on hand, and I was a part of the sermon. A reception in the yard followed, and then we went over to the manor house for lunch and Pimms. The house, dating back centuries, looked more like a Dali painting or some kind of cartoon, as there were very few straight lines to be had. To say the building had settled was an understatement.
Back to Oxford for Evensong in the Cathedral.
Monday was a day to do some sightseeing and we covered the University and the City.
Tuesday morning, we were packed and ready to go to Canterbury and Kent University. We left early in a car driven by the Rev Martin Pierce, who had been the coordinator for the “Oxford Hospitality Experience.” Marsha and I shared the car with the Bishop of Tabora and his wife – Sadock and Edytha. Along the way, we talked about life in our dioceses, bishop visitations, the Anglican Communion, the GAFCON Conference, Bishop Philip Baji and many other things, and found that we had a great deal in common. They extended a warm and genuine invitation to visit them and the Province of Tanzania.
Ultimately, the Anglican Communion is about relationships.
Upon our arrival at the University of Kent we were escorted to our rooms (dorm rooms, with Marsha and I living in separate rooms, but adjacent. The shower and bathroom down the hall is shared by at least four other people.) We went to lunch and immediately began meeting bishops, spouses and workers from around the Communion.
I went up to the registration desk to find our luggage and ran into (almost literally) the Archbishop of Canterbury. He turned and greeted me, asking me from which Diocese I had arrived. I told him “West Virginia” and he turned, called his wife, and said, “This is Mike, from West Virginia.” We spoke briefly about the Conference yet to come and his feelings that all will be well.
We are beginning to get settled, and the Conference begins later today.
Please keep us in your prayers.
In Christ,
The Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer
Bishop Mike in Hogwart’s Hall