Hospitality and Transformation

If I haven’t already made it clear, I am currently staying with my brother-in-law in Burlington, Toronto (or Tronno, as the locals call it) along with my wife and daughters, my other brother-in-law and his wife and youngest child, and my parents-in-law (as we await my son and his girlfriend who arrive tomorrow. There is to be a big party here on Saturday and as part of this Martin (elder bro-in-law) has flown us all over to say here: this is an act of extra-ordinary generosity and we are living in the lap of luxury in a newly built mansion on the Niagara Escarpment. Petra and I were fortunate to have been here two years ago when the house was just completed but this experience is very different, being surrounded by the wider family and enjoying time together in very warm weather.

However, living in the lap of luxury does, believe it nor not, present problems, particularly for someone whose job it is to include God’s proclamation of ‘bias for the poor.’ The life we lead here is extraordinary: food and drink in abundance, sumptuous surroundings with games room, pool table, bar area, indoor swimming pool, etc., etc. This is 5 star plus living and as much as it is lovely, it makes me feel uncomfortable. To be honest, having a family member who has such riches has long felt a bit odd and as his riches have increased his lifestyle has felt increasingly distanced from our own. So to share in it for a couple of weeks is both seductive and uncomfortable.

However, my feelings and confusion have been somewhat helped by my father-in-law who reminded me of Benedict’s teaching on hospitality, and I am beginning to be comforted (though hopefully not simply seduced) in the knowledge that what is important here is the hospitality being offered to each one of us by someone who is very much in the position to proffer it. This doesn’t mean the moral questions which concern me disappear, but it helps me deal with things with a more generous heart. Hospitality is being offered and in the spirit of St Benedict’s teaching should be accepted. After all, benedictines don’t take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and the spirit of the Rule is more about balance and moderation in all things. Therefore it is surely up to me to seek these attributes whilst appreciating and enjoying what is offered here.

Yesterday we drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake before going on to Niagara Falls. We came here on our previous trip but the torrential rain at that time prevented us from seeing the Falls! This time we have gorgeous weather so the place and experience were transformed. The trip on the Maid of the Mist was terrific as was the ice cream afterwards and the evening was rounded off with a family meal at the incredible Rain Forest Cafe.

More transformation greeted us on our return to the house as the previously bare garden had, in our absence, been totally lawned. After two years living here the house and its occupants will soon have the garden to go with their abode.

Perhaps one of the things I must learn from this part of my sabbatical is not just to offer hospitality but to learn how to receive it gratefully whilst continuing to work for the sort of transformation in my own life and the world for which the Gospel calls.

Anniversary Musing

Today is our 27th Wedding Anniversary which Petra and I have celebrated by having a day of ‘us time.’ Having slept pretty well we rose to a huge breakfast of coffee, fruit juice, cake, fruit, spinach & feta omelette and hash browns (all on the same plate!) Well, it seemed just plain rude to refuse so we both tucked in, hoping the day’s activity would make up for the early intake. We shared the breakfast table with Diane, the owner, and two other guests from New York city and California, who were clearly amazed/amused by our tales of the UK, particularly it’s size.

We had said we were looking to go on a good walk so Diane recommended one of her favourites, a ‘gentle climb’ to a rocky outcrop overlooking Indian Lake. We decided to take her advice, but on the way we stopped off for a bit of birding, where we were met by a local who suggested a trip to Perkin’s Clearing which is a good spot for such a pastime. Obediently we set off for the Clearing, leaving Route 30 and finding ourselves on a track which became less and less like a road. If we had had a 4×4 we might have gone further, but our hired Dodge Caliber automatic was not really built for such a trial and we decided discretion to be the better part of valour and returned to the highway.

The walk and climb to the rocky outcrop at Watch Hill was simply wonderful: a forest trail which included the climb to the outcrop took a couple of hours in the increasing heat, and signs of moose were evident along the trail (though I mistook the dung for horse’s at first). New bird song and calls accompanied us (I still haven’t identified them) and Hermit Thrush and Blackburnian Warbler were added to my life list. On arrival at the summit we were greeted by the most stunning view across the southern Adirondack area, including Indian Lake and Lake Pleasant in the distance. We might have been very sweaty and hot, but the view more than made up for it.

On our return to the town of Speculator we booked an evening meal at Melody Lodge and then went to a little farmer’s market before returning to Red Pines and going for a refreshing swim in the lake: oh how it took the built up heat out of us! A spell on the swing seat overlooking the lake then prepared us for Dinner.

And what a meal it was: the view from the Melody Lodge was absolutely breathtaking, rather like the Scottish Highlands but with heat! The food was fabulous and the local beer hit the parts that many a beer doesn’t.

All in all, the most memorable anniversary yet. We can highly recommend the Adirondacks for scenery, food and very friendly people and would come back here at the drop of hat (or a sizeable cheque!)

View from Watch Hill Pinnacle.

How Pleasant

Today has been extremely hot and energy has been steadily sapped. This morning began with us leaving the hotel in Rochester and popping by Ben’s pad to wish Naomi and him a safe and fun trip to New York City (and also to scrounge some breakfast).

Petra and I then embarked on a three and a half hour drive to Lake Pleasant in the Adirondacks during which we gave thanks for air-conditioning many times – today’s temperature reached 90F with even hotter forecast tomorrow. As one travels around North America one cannot fail to be impressed by its enormity. I had also never quite taken in just how rural it is. The influence of film and TV tends to encourage the urban view of the United States, but driving along its very long Interstate roads gives a very different picture. And the standard of driving is very different to ours in the UK: it seems most drivers do stick to the speed limits and are much more patient when they want to overtake. In fact, the general attitude towards life is rather more ‘chilled’ than ours, despite the guns, etc.

We were certainly not disappointed by the B&B either. The surrounding area of Lake Pleasant is simply stunning and Red Pines B&B is a cracker too. It has its own private beach, a boat landing stage and a decking area which was quite idyllic for two weary travellers to sit on and share a glass or two of red wine (see picture below). And my evening was made complete when a Common Loon (Great Northern Diver to us in the UK) spent some time hunting a couple of hundred yards from where we sat (very glad I decided to bring my telescope on this trip). Other recent birding attractions have been Red Tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Wild Turkey, Eastern Phoebe, Ring-billed Gull and Slate Coloured Dark-eyed Junco.

We both feel very privileged to have this couple of days together in such a fabulously beautiful area. Couldn’t have chosen a better place in which to celebrate our wedding anniversary tomorrow!

Abbey of the Genesee

Today I paid a visit to a Community I have read much about but which I had never been able to see in the flesh before: the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate New York. The Abbey stands in the midst of hundreds of acres of farming land and is famed locally for its bread (cinnamon and raisin is highly recommended by this taster) as well as for its spiritual life. This simple but beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin stands outside the Abbey, whilst in the visitors room there is a remarkable life-size icon of the Mother and Child. I admit the bread was not the only thing in the Abbey Shop that tempted me: a DVD of the life there, a Monks’ Bread baseball hat and a picture all found their way home with us.

Unfortunately I didn’t receive a reply to my request to speak with one of the brothers about their relationships with their oblates/associates, but a visit had to be made anyway and, thankfully, their website contains much information about this side of their life and the ‘Genesee Lay Contemplatives’. We were not the only visitors there today, and when I joined the Community for the Office of Sext there were about 15 others present too. The Abbey Church is a wooden built structure with a central, circular altar and the sense of prayer imbued the place. The monks are Trappists who follow the Rule of St Benedict, with particular focus on manual labour.

My visit was all too brief, but good nonetheless. I am currently reading Henri Nouwen”s book ‘A Genesee Diary’ (the journal he wrote when he lived with the Community for 7 months in the 1970s) and my personal ‘pilgrimage’ has helped enhance what I am reading. He too valued hugely his link with this contemplative community even though he came to realise such a commitment to the Religious life was not his calling. My thanks today go to him for his insights into their life and especially to the brothers themselves for what their witness and life offers to the Church and to those who are affiliated to them through the Lay Contemplatives.

It’s HOT over here!

Today the jet lag hit as we continued to get used to life over here in the USA. The first thing that literally hits you is the heat. Since being here the daytime temperature hasn’t dropped below 82f and today went over 90. It’s also pretty humid, which contributes to some pretty spectacular thunder storms. So the heat is one difference between Blighty and here.

Another is the language. I believe it was G B Shaw who said that the England and the USA were ‘two nations divided by a common language.’ Well, once you’ve been here a while you realise how true this can be. But it’s not just down to language, it’s also about attitudes to life and expectations. There are certainly words we have in common that mean very different things, depending on which side of the pond you’re on, but the American attitude to life is rather different too. Just watching TV tells you that and I, I have to say, makes me shout louder than ever: long live the BBC!

People here do know how to do food and service, though. A visit to the Frog Pond Diner in Rochester is quite an experience in itself. Ask for bread or toast and it’s not just brown or white: there are 9 or 10 different types from which to to choose. And the sheer range of breakfast opportunities is mind-boggling. Civilisation also shows itself in the great practice of one’s coffee cup being refilled as soon as it’s empty (at no extra charge).

Driving around here is again a rather different experience: yes, you’re on the other side of the road,etc., but the way people drive is rather more courteous than the general tone in the UK. If you come to a junction, whoever arrives first gets to go first, and subsequent cars go in the order they arrive. It’s remarkable that people stick to this. I can’t see this happening in the UK: we are too aggressive and rushed.

But in a carbon-footprint aware age the use of finite resources is on a different scale here. Fuelling the car is extraordinary in that it’s still so cheap over here: I filled the Dodge Caliber we’ve hired for $30 (that’s about £18.60). Then there’s the reliance on air-conditioning: yes, it’s very nice in such heat, but the cost, both financial and on resources, must be huge.

It’s strange being 3500 miles from home and still speaking, largely, the same language and the sheer amount of space in such a large country is quite something. But the best things has been sounding time with Ben, our son, who now lives over here. Today we have been able to celebrate his graduation as a Master of Music from the prestigious Eastman School of Music with a lovely meal at Veneto’s Italian Restaurant, We have Naomi, our youngest, here too, and we’re very much looking forward to Melissa joining us next week when we go back to Toronto.

I’m sure there will be all manner of experiences awaiting us over the next 3 weeks and occasional reports will appear here.

From the rising of the sun to its setting

I’m writing this sitting in an Air Canada Airbus at an altitude of 38000 feet, progressing at 528 miles per hour, having travelled 2436 miles and with 1145 miles to go, and I have just said Evening Prayer. The very act of doing this in such a place got me thinking, as did some words in the Office this evening.

First, I have never said any part of the Divine Office whilst on a flight: on a train, yes, but not up here. And it does make you think, especially when you read lines like this:

“From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord”

Well, we are going in the direction of the rising of the sun to it’s setting (from a UK perspective, anyway.) The Short Responsory carries on:

“The glory of the Lord is high above the heavens.”

We might not be above the heavens, but I do feel a lot closer than usual! And this makes me reflect on how earthbound we are in general. The psalms were certainly written from the view of an earth-ling who would have had no concept of humans being at 38000 feet, and for this 21st century pray-er of the psalms the idea of the “glory of God being high above the heavens” has just been enhanced.

Even the response in the Intercessions speaks of the Lord ‘looking down on us’ and hearing us. Even at this height we acknowledge that we aren’t in the heavens and the Lord still ‘looks down on us’ as we acclaim his majesty.

Sometimes it’s good to pray in a different setting. I’ve often told people they can pray absolutely anywhere, but we are creatures of habit and tend to keep such things to familiar places, be it in church or a special place at home or wherever. Holidays are often opportunities to try something new, something different. Perhaps this won’t be the only new experience on our North America trip. Thanks be to God.

A day of rare beauty

Today had a rather inauspicious beginning: a trip to the GP at 7.40am, unwelcome both for the hour and the reason. But God is good and things looked up after that. Last evening I received a Twitter report of a rare bird at Rutland Water: a Spotted Sandpiper had been found near Manton Bridge – only the second record for the county. I couldn’t go yesterday and presumed it would be gone by the morning. Then on my way to the doc I received an email from Sr Mary Julian at Costock regarding a chance to see the barn owl chicks that are close to fledging there when the local Barn Owl trust visited to check them. Then another Tweet confirming the Sandpiper was still at Rutland Water. Choices…

I had to go for the Sandpiper as who knows when or if I’d get a chance to see one again and I secretly hoped to go on from Rutland Water to see the owls anyway. Well, time ran on, the walk from the Lyndon Reserve’s Centre to the Shallow Water Hide where the bird was showing was longer than I thought and other things caught my attention too. The Sandpiper was most obliging, walking up and down the near shore in front of the hide for more than an hour whilst I was there, and a stunningly beautiful brid it was too: in full breeding plumage with heavily spotted chest and impressive eye stripe, it’s rear end bobbing up and down as if to music. The journey had been well worth it.

But there was to be more: I was also treated to 4 Osprey (2 adults and 2 young), 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Ruddy Shelduck, 3 Yellow Wagtail and a Curlew. An array of beauty that was a real treat. And it seemed a little ironic that the Spotted Sandpiper actually hails from the shores I am soon to visit in North America – perhaps I’ll see another one in it’s native surroundings.

As you may have guessed, I missed my chance to see the owls chicks ‘in the flesh’, so to speak. However, on my return home I was greeted with an email containing the photo below. Now how cute are they? And a bonus was that all four chicks have survived. I learned from Chris Packham on Springwatch that it is estimated 30% of barn owl chicks are actually eaten by their siblings due to lack of other food. Thankfully the grounds of the convent must be blessed with manna!

It just goes to show that from an inauspicious beginning a day can be transformed and I must remember to remain hopeful at the start of each day, as you never know what might turn up.