Tuesday, August 31, 2010

British Isles Trip, Part 2: Scotland & Northern Ireland

After our week at Keswick, Sandy and I headed up to Scotland, while our friends the Eckers returned to London. We rode the train into Edinburgh, where we spent the next couple of days taking in the sites of that historic city. The centerpiece of Edinburgh is the famous Royal Mile, which is anchored on each end by Holyrood Palace, the Queen's official residence in Scotland, and ancient Edinburgh Castle, the highest point in the city...both of which we toured. One of the highlights of our time in Edinburgh was attending the 60th annual Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a renowned marching band and bagpipe festival that takes place each August. Using Edinburgh Castle as a backdrop, the Tattoo features bands from the United Kingdom and around the world.

After 3 cold, rainy days in Edinburgh, we flew over to Northern Ireland to see some other dear friends. On the eastern side of the island, we visited with two special Irish couples with whom we did a house exchange in 2006. (They came to our home in Florida while we vacationed in one of their homes in Northern Ireland). Gerald is a retired police officer (and a Gideon). His wife Audrey is a retired school teacher. Both are active lay leaders in their local Baptist church. Their lovely daughter Jenny is a nurse. Harold and Marlene are a retired Baptist pastor and wife. Harold preached at our church in Florida in 2006. It was so refreshing to enjoy the gracious hospitality of these Christian friends again.

We also got to see our friends Jim and Sandra Shannon. Jim was the very first person from Northern Ireland that I ever met. About 10 years ago, he and his family began visiting our church in Florida every summer during their annual holiday time in the States. We began developing a friendship at that time and would look forward to getting together each year. In Northern Ireland, Jim is a political figure on the rise. After serving for several years as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, he was just recently elected to the British Parliament.

For our next stop, we ventured over to the western part of Northern Ireland and visited with Baptist Minister Clive Johnston and his wife Sheila. Clive preached at Mount Hermon in Danville in early 2009. It was good to renew fellowship with him and to meet his whole family--including his 3 adult children (one of whom is a dentist and whose services I desperately required while there!) Sandy and I immensely enjoyed being with the Johnstons. They took us around to parts of Northern Ireland (and the Republic of Ireland) that we had not previously seen. We visited the walled city of Londonderry (AKA Derry) and saw the historic cathedral where former slave-ship captain John Newton worshiped after his conversion to Christ. (Newton, of course, is best known as the author of the hymn Amazing Grace.) We traveled to the coast of Donegal and looked westward to the United States. (Did you see us waving?) We also got to visit the new Baptist work in Strabane where Joe and Darlene Cornell of Danville have been serving for the past year or so.

Ireland is truly a captivating place. Its beautiful rolling hillsides. Its picturesque coastlines. Its flocks of sheep grazing upon lush pastures. Its proverbial "forty shades of green" as immortalized in song by Johnny Cash. Its ancient rock walls, old churches, and rustic buildings. Its friendly, warm-hearted people. Its historic Christian heritage (a la St. Patrick and others). Its colorful music and culture. And its deep-rooted connection with the United States. Indeed, it was the Protestant Scots-Irish (Ulster Scots) of the northern part of Ireland who in the 1700s settled the mountains of Appalachia (my personal heritage). Later, following the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s, a whole new wave of Irish immigrants--predominantly Catholic--descended upon our great Eastern cities (i.e., New York, Boston, etc.) to build a new life for themselves there. So there is a strong bond between our nation and the Irish people--both north and south.

Sandy and I enjoyed our all-too-brief stay in Northern Ireland. It was a great time for renewing old friendships and cultivating new ones, while being personally refreshed and renewed by "the Emerald of the Sea."

Pastor Danny