Mind the Gap

Through grateful eyes, the world is a brand new place.  Just the fact that I was in London made me aware of the great gifts that I have had access to in this life, the great people that God has put in my path, and the great challenges that give me purpose. If you are reading this, you should know that when I am thanking God, I am thanking God for you in my life.  I also feel fortunate that among the necessities that I packed for the trip, I packed my gratitude. This helped me to have an amazing experience and to experience all that was before me in light of who I am and whose I am.

The first six days was an introduction to the international varieties of protestant, religious expression. I met people from Sweden, Africa, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, & I went all the way to England to meet some of my colleagues from here in California. I talked to people that served state run churches and learned there were churches with 9000 members and 60 in attendance on Sunday, pastors could be in charge of issuing social security numbers, and  eliminating the money problem does not eliminate the stresses of ministry. We explored the process that others have been using to create new places for new people and learned that God is already at work outside the walls of our churches, it is exciting to engage a community where God is making new paths, and it is a blessing to have leadership in the church and the conference that intentionally remove obstacles to creating fresh expressions for experiencing God. I remember each day being thankful for my place in the world, the church I serve, and the opportunities. 

In contrast to this intense learning experience was the serenity that surrounded me. Cambridge was built on the river Cam. I bet one of the first structures was a bridge; hence Cam bridge. The community still had structures from the 11^th century.  Colleges were built along the river starting in the 15^th century with “chapels” that would rival any cathedral in the United States. I was able to walk through the community at dusk; feeling like I was alone in a giant museum. I was able to kayak up river and see the hills and plains that were the original landscape thousands of years ago. I was able to bask daily in sunny weather that was rare to the area; even la

y in a putting boat while being slowly guided on the historic tour of the village. Thriving – no word says it better. Even though this was a place of tremendous conflict in Saxon time, even though this was a base for Oliver Cromwell to lay waste to the structures of religion, even though fires and disasters ravage this village time and again the landscape was awash in splendor. Sure we were there to discuss the cutting edge of the struggle for religion to find an expression that is relevant to the time and we were surrounded by evidence that God had been down this road before. A faithful God that has not failed to reinvent, reimagine & revitalize is clearly at work.

Phase two of the trip was the country mouse tourist wandering the busy streets and tubes of London. Some of my colleagues commented that part of the fun they were having in London was watching my face show the joy and awe that overwhelmed me daily. I was in a perpetual gasp as I experienced giant gilded monuments and buildings, ancient castles, bridges that glowed in the setting sun, beautiful skylines day and night, food and people of unending variety, and the access to the life of theatre on London’s “West End”. I celebrate that I always had colleagues and friends with whom I’ve shared these experiences. I was able to see a play called “Once”. This play won nine Tony awards and it was the best live musical performance that I have ever seen. I laughed constantly at Monty Python’s “Spamalot”. This place is amazing. Walk past five groups of people and you’re liable to hear five different languages. We ate food from a new part of the world at every meal. There was a wonderful person named Sybille from Germany who had connection to Glide Church  in San Francisco, even though she lives in London (small world, right). We met because the pastor of Glide, Rev. Theon Johnson, was with us. She offered to guide our group through London for several days. What a gift! She knew just how to make our experience of London rich and full.

Yet another contrast existed on this trip. This was the first time that I have been outside of the country on the anniversary of 9/11. The world seemed to be on the verge of war once again as tensions mounted in Syria. Broken people and broken communities erupted in violence in the Washington Navy yard. Protesters drummed in the streets of London to bring awareness to the extrajudicial killings in India coupled with tyrannical injustice. We were experiencing and enjoying splendor while so many suffered violently in the world around us.

A museum in London had an eye opening display. Its goal was to demonstrate a progression of the stages of living in community as mid-class members of society in London from 3000bce to the present. The early societies would dig home foundations in the dirt. These foundations were organized in a circle. The circle would create community, protection, and sharing of resources for survival. If the community thrived it grew; and when it grew the community would set up again with a wider circle. The Bronze Age brought tools and of course weapons. One of the earliest findings in London’s “civilization” record was a stockpile of bronze tools. Is the hoarding and piling of resources a sign? Later communities would have craftsman and craftsman would take apprentices. The apprentices would live as members of the family in the household. Once the crafts started to create wealth, households began to separate. Servants and apprentices would live on the bottom floor, while the family would live and eat separately on the floors above. Is wealth always a wedge? Then came the Victorian time, it seemed like instead of the circle growing wider, the gap between those who had and those without grew cavernous. 

 

At least a hundred times a day we were reminded to” mind the gap”. “Mind the gap” was on T-shirts, road signs, and spoken words of caution in London’s tube system. “Mind the Gap” was what London veterans said to me as I prepared to go. So far, the most common question that I get about the trip is “did you ‘Mind the gap’?”. I am not sure that what I saw in this museum was the civilizing of London. I certainly appreciate how the early settlers grew the circle wider. They did not seem to have much of a gap to mind. Is there a gap between our struggles and God’s struggles? Is there a gap between people who share a common community, a common space, a common time, and a common creator? Is there a gap that we are not minding? Are there signs for caution and awareness? Food for action.

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