It is nearly 9:00 pm and almost as bright as mid-day. That is because it is one day past the longest day of the year, and I am sitting in the conservatory of the manse in Cork, Ireland, writing this blog and listening to the Mariners on MLB.com. Nancy and I arrived here two weeks ago and I have been preaching at Cork’s Trinity Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church of Aghada, while the pastor and his wife, John and Heather Faris, are at our home in Greensboro. We will be here for only one more day, then move west to Enniscorthy where we will be living in the manse while I preach at two churches that are without pastors, Enniscorthy and Wexford, for the next six weeks. Then back home to Greensboro.
For the past several years I have had the privilege of filling in at churches between pastors here in Ireland, and it is a joy. The Presbyterian Church of Ireland covers both Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland, and when a pastor leaves a church the next closest Presbyterian pastor is responsible to see that someone shows up to preach every Sunday and, depending on the church, someone shows up to lead a mid-week prayer or Bible Study meeting. People here say that what I do is a help, providing some stability while modeling a different style of pastoring and worship, and at the same time relieving the other pastor of an added responsibility. But to me the blessing is mine. I get to meet new people, learn new ways, share the Word of God, and enjoy the Emerald Isle. So it seems that it is a win-win situation for all!
Trinity Church is an historic church in an historic building. It has 50+ adults in worship on a Sunday, and among them a great variety. There are native Cork people, other Irish who have moved in from other parts of the Republic, the North or even England or Scotland. There are also relatively recent arrivals from countries in Western and Eastern Europe and Africa. And there are students from all over the world as well. It makes for an interesting mix.
Aghada Church is also an historic church, but it is much smaller one and is primarily attended by people from the village of Aghada, most of whom are farmers. The building was formerly a Church of Ireland church (Anglican form), and one of the stipulations in the change-over was that historic plaques be left on the wall. John pointed one out to me last Sunday—it was in honor of a member of the British India administration who was killed by a tiger over 100 years ago.
With only two weeks here I have tried to do a four week series on the parables by adding a home study in the manse on Tuesday evenings. The response has been excellent and the time well spent. In addition to these church responsibilities Nancy and I have shared in a prayer group in Blarney, with the Port Chaplain boarded a ship in port and visited with the crew, and been interviewed for a broadcast by a local Christian radio station. Plus I have attended a regional men’s breakfast and a regional leadership breakfast.
Aside from these ministry opportunities Nancy and I have been able to visit friends from past times in Ireland. We spent our first weekend here in Dublin and renewed acquaintances with friends at Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church. Then we went to Carlow, where we spent two weeks two years ago, and a couple days later went to Galway where I had spent two months last year. Tomorrow night we will be at a barbeque in Fermoy and have a chance to see friends from that church and the church at Cahir, and at the end of our time in Ireland we will be in Lisburn, seeing friends there. Renewing friendships is wonderful, and finding out the ways God has been at work in lives and churches that we know is always good. And God is at work here in Ireland!
Besides ministry and visiting, Nancy and I have done some sightseeing. The first day after we landed in Dublin the sun was out in full glory and we both wondered where we were! The usual rain, which since then has appeared every day, was not there that day and the creation pulsated with beauty as we made our way over the Wicklow Mountains to Glendalough, a site of incredible natural beauty and historical significance. It was there that more than a millennium ago Saint Kevin lived and founded one of the many important monasteries that would fill the Irish landscape and focus its people for centuries. And it is one of the most beautiful sites in the country.
Cork is the major port on the south-central coast of Ireland. We have not spent much time in the city, but have visited Kinsale, a nearby smaller and historic port. We went one day and walked around the harbor, then took a boat ride to see the town from that angle. And we returned two days ago for a much heralded walking tour. It was a wonderful tour, lasted about an hour, and we learned about some of the Viking, Norman, Dutch, English and Irish aspects of the history of the city. Lots of history, lots of interest, and lots of rain to make it a fully Irish experience.
This time in Ireland is different from the others for many reasons, not the least of which is that this time I have not brought my bicycle with me. I decided that this time Nancy and I would spend time walking together instead of me taking off alone on my bicycle—and I guess that is OK. I introduce that decision to my Irish friends by remarking that I realized I had two options—to take my wife and leave my bicycle, knowing that my bike would be there when I returned home…or to take my bicycle and leave my wife, in which case I could not be sure she would be there when I returned…so I am here with Nancy. And enjoying it!
I hope to begin being more faithful with this blog than I have been for the past several months. Nancy has a project in weekly Friday postings of short interviews with teenagers on an internet site that is accessed by students in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. I will try to do the same with this blog and make postings at least once a week. Ireland is a beautiful, complex and fascinating country. It has experienced remarkable economic growth and decline, political peace and trouble, religious upheaval and change. I hope I can share some of that in the future, and that as I share you may learn more and pray more…that God may open a door for our message…(Colossians 4:3)
One final note: while here I will be preaching through the book of Colossians. As part of that I will be posting sermon studies and, if all works, mp3 streams of the messages themselves. If you are interested you can read and hear them at wacklesco.blogspot.com.
