I forgot to mention that I joined the Regent's Chapel Choir. I'm happy to be involved in something musical again since it's been 3 years since I sang in Georgetown's Concert Choir and can only do special music at Hillcrest (my home church) occasionally when I am at home.
Friday night we had the honor of singing in Oxford's Sheldonian Theater where the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu was speaking.
The Sheldonian is one of the most majestic, intricately designed buildings I have been in yet at Oxford. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built in 1664-8, so it is rich in history and truly a work of art. It is a circular building which seats 1,000 people and hosts all the matriculations and graduations of the Oxford University Colleges.
John Sentamu is the current Archbishop of York, which means he is second most senior member of the Church of England (Anglican Church) The archbishop above him is the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born in Uganda, and his ministry is notable as he is the first black man to become Archbishop of York. He has been here in Oxford the entire week presenting lectures pertaining to the Oxford Unversity Mission with the theme of "Jesus Christ, Suffering and Glory". (This is a picture of his inauguration...he was not dressed like this for the speech)
The evening began with our Regent's choir singing several songs and hymns of worship as people entered the theater and settled in their seats. We sang hymns in several from several different cultures including Spanish, Welsh, African, and Latin. Students from Regent's supplied the instrumental music as well. All voices, guitars, bongos, violin, flute, and cello combined in the theater made for a beautiful sound. The Archbishop even joined us on the drums in the African hymns "Nkosi Nkosi" and "Sanna"...so that was quite fun!
The Archbishop then presented his speech which was packed with convicting messages concerning the Christian's mission to the world, and the love God has for his people. I wish I could remember every bit of it, but a few lines do stand out as memorable...and they may be a little out of order from the speech, a bit stream of conciousness but it's all still important I think:
1. The Archbishop talked for a while about how the one of the most significant images to remember of Christ is the footwashing he did for his desciples. It is evident of Christ's intent to serve those that he loves. So, he suggested that one of the most important things we can do as Christians sometimes is be still and quiet and let God serve us and minister to us.
He also noted that a Christian who is not willing to wash another's feet (serve) is not fulfilling his mission completely. We are commanded as a church to Go and invited others to share the love and suffering of Christ. One of the greatest downfalls of the Church is forgetting that that is our aim...instead we emphasize "issues"...
"One of the most dangerous things you can do as a Christian is to pray for God to work through you....because He'll do it!"
At times the conviction with which Sentamu spoke with reminded me of my youth pastor Bill. He looked at us one time and said something like "God is Serious!....and he's Serious because he loves us"
he continued however, to mention that as Christians, we need to learn to laugh at ourselves more....not to be so stern and taking life so seriously.
The thing I appreciated about his speech was his admittance that there is a great divide between what he knows he is to do and what he does as a follower of Christ....holding up his hands at different levels he said "My knowlege is somewhere up here and my actions somewhere down there...and my hope is that they continue to become closer and closer to the same line and that they will eventually be the same".
I suppose I just wouldn't have expected an archbishop to be so humble about his ability to live a life centered upon Christ...his testimony reminded me that my faith is a journey which hopefully will grow stronger each day, and the fact that I'm not perfect is no reason to lose hope in Christ, because his mission is his Love for me despite my failure...and my mission should be to continue sharing that love with others and allowing my life to be the best witness it possibly can of that love...
I wish I could remember the other thoughts that I found compelling from his sermon....maybe they will come to me later. Overall, I found his presentation an encouraging reminder of Christ's love for me, and a challenging reminder that above anything that I'm "here" (at Oxford, or in Ky, or anywhere) first to seek and further His mission.... something which I find easy to lose track of when I become insanely focused on my studies or just other parts of my life in general.
On that note, it's amazing how God has used different avenues to bless me while I have been here. Sometimes it's the speakers I've heard, but many times its through the students I have met who have a very strong conviction to serve God. Not that everyone here at Regents is a Christian, but I am fortunate to live with 5 theology students here who are committed in their faith and I find myself questioning how commited I am to witnessing to others as they seem to be....perhaps I am a little spoiled in the Bible belt by being surrounded by church goers or people who have a working knowledge of Christ for the most part....in England the statistics are not so promising, and the need for committed Christians to share their faith is great. So the motivation of the students I live with is strong, I find that inspiring.
After the singing and the speech, I went to pizza express with many of the Regent's students who were in the choir and who just attended to support us. Now, a restaraunt titles "pizza express" in America seems as though it would be cheap and like fast food....contrarily this place was quite classy for a pizza joint...and very authentic italian style. It was my first dinner out with Regent's students...we had been in the Sheldonian until 11 so by the time we got our food it was at least 12:00 or so!!! I was starving..but it my cheese pizza (the Margherita) was delicious! And the company was great as well. Needless to say, it was a very late night, but well worth it.
Friday night we had the honor of singing in Oxford's Sheldonian Theater where the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu was speaking.
The Sheldonian is one of the most majestic, intricately designed buildings I have been in yet at Oxford. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built in 1664-8, so it is rich in history and truly a work of art. It is a circular building which seats 1,000 people and hosts all the matriculations and graduations of the Oxford University Colleges.
John Sentamu is the current Archbishop of York, which means he is second most senior member of the Church of England (Anglican Church) The archbishop above him is the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born in Uganda, and his ministry is notable as he is the first black man to become Archbishop of York. He has been here in Oxford the entire week presenting lectures pertaining to the Oxford Unversity Mission with the theme of "Jesus Christ, Suffering and Glory". (This is a picture of his inauguration...he was not dressed like this for the speech)The evening began with our Regent's choir singing several songs and hymns of worship as people entered the theater and settled in their seats. We sang hymns in several from several different cultures including Spanish, Welsh, African, and Latin. Students from Regent's supplied the instrumental music as well. All voices, guitars, bongos, violin, flute, and cello combined in the theater made for a beautiful sound. The Archbishop even joined us on the drums in the African hymns "Nkosi Nkosi" and "Sanna"...so that was quite fun!
The Archbishop then presented his speech which was packed with convicting messages concerning the Christian's mission to the world, and the love God has for his people. I wish I could remember every bit of it, but a few lines do stand out as memorable...and they may be a little out of order from the speech, a bit stream of conciousness but it's all still important I think:
1. The Archbishop talked for a while about how the one of the most significant images to remember of Christ is the footwashing he did for his desciples. It is evident of Christ's intent to serve those that he loves. So, he suggested that one of the most important things we can do as Christians sometimes is be still and quiet and let God serve us and minister to us.
He also noted that a Christian who is not willing to wash another's feet (serve) is not fulfilling his mission completely. We are commanded as a church to Go and invited others to share the love and suffering of Christ. One of the greatest downfalls of the Church is forgetting that that is our aim...instead we emphasize "issues"...
"One of the most dangerous things you can do as a Christian is to pray for God to work through you....because He'll do it!"
At times the conviction with which Sentamu spoke with reminded me of my youth pastor Bill. He looked at us one time and said something like "God is Serious!....and he's Serious because he loves us"
he continued however, to mention that as Christians, we need to learn to laugh at ourselves more....not to be so stern and taking life so seriously.
The thing I appreciated about his speech was his admittance that there is a great divide between what he knows he is to do and what he does as a follower of Christ....holding up his hands at different levels he said "My knowlege is somewhere up here and my actions somewhere down there...and my hope is that they continue to become closer and closer to the same line and that they will eventually be the same".
I suppose I just wouldn't have expected an archbishop to be so humble about his ability to live a life centered upon Christ...his testimony reminded me that my faith is a journey which hopefully will grow stronger each day, and the fact that I'm not perfect is no reason to lose hope in Christ, because his mission is his Love for me despite my failure...and my mission should be to continue sharing that love with others and allowing my life to be the best witness it possibly can of that love...
I wish I could remember the other thoughts that I found compelling from his sermon....maybe they will come to me later. Overall, I found his presentation an encouraging reminder of Christ's love for me, and a challenging reminder that above anything that I'm "here" (at Oxford, or in Ky, or anywhere) first to seek and further His mission.... something which I find easy to lose track of when I become insanely focused on my studies or just other parts of my life in general.
On that note, it's amazing how God has used different avenues to bless me while I have been here. Sometimes it's the speakers I've heard, but many times its through the students I have met who have a very strong conviction to serve God. Not that everyone here at Regents is a Christian, but I am fortunate to live with 5 theology students here who are committed in their faith and I find myself questioning how commited I am to witnessing to others as they seem to be....perhaps I am a little spoiled in the Bible belt by being surrounded by church goers or people who have a working knowledge of Christ for the most part....in England the statistics are not so promising, and the need for committed Christians to share their faith is great. So the motivation of the students I live with is strong, I find that inspiring.
After the singing and the speech, I went to pizza express with many of the Regent's students who were in the choir and who just attended to support us. Now, a restaraunt titles "pizza express" in America seems as though it would be cheap and like fast food....contrarily this place was quite classy for a pizza joint...and very authentic italian style. It was my first dinner out with Regent's students...we had been in the Sheldonian until 11 so by the time we got our food it was at least 12:00 or so!!! I was starving..but it my cheese pizza (the Margherita) was delicious! And the company was great as well. Needless to say, it was a very late night, but well worth it.
1 comment:
Mission is definitely a whole different animal in Britain - but sometimes it can be helpful when folks don't know any version of the Christian story.
I'm glad you got to hear Archbishop Sentamu - I'm jealous!
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