Swiss Parish Visit in Zurich

Zurich parish visit was really good and very informative, I stayed in an amazing penthouse flat in the centre of Zurich, home to a newly inaugurated minister, infact in was her inauguration while we were visiting. We were sent out in pairs to experience life in Switzerland and the Reformed Swiss church.
Because the church is funded by the taxes from the parishes, they have money! They don't have to find money to refurbish a church or pay for staff, which means they can focus much more on parish work.

The parish and church i went to was called Neumunster, which means New Building,  although it was about 100 years old. They also have a few extra rooms in this building and a community centre which was the size of a small leisure centre, each parish have one for community use.
This parish had  about 10 full time members of staff, 2.5 clergy, 3 housekeepers, 2 social deacons, a youth worker, administrators and support workers, they serve a parish of 4500 people, but on an average Sunday, only about 50 people attend the one worship service they offer.

On Saturday we were taken around the four main reformed churches of Zurich. The preachers church, this was one attached to a monastery which is now a library. We then went to St. Peter's, this is the oldest church with the biggest clock face, we think the biggest diameter in Europe, even bigger than Big Ben. It had a small part at the back of the church, under the pulpit, that may have originally been the sacristy from the church prior reformation, some of the old paintings on the wall had been recovered.
We went on to Fraumunster, lady church to Grosemunster, big church, this had a series of five stained glass windows, I need to look these up on the Internet, they were beautiful, fairly newly commissioned and we were not allowed to take photographs of them. This church also had these windows, behind the pulpit, in an area that may have been the sacristy prior to reformation. All four of these church would have been Catholic. Fraumunster was attached to a convent and the last abbess gave up the church willingly to avoid war!
Grosemunster, is also called Zwvingli's church, it has twin towers and it is easily recognisable in the city skyline. We were able to walk to the top of one of the towers, I have a panoramic view.
I think Fraumunster was my favourite.

They were all of the baroque style, often decorated ceilings and wood etc, but no icons or crosses.

We then had a chance to look around the Christmas market, to be honest, it was no different to the Christmas market Cheryl and I went to Bath last Christmas. I still bought some slippers though!

In the evening we spent the evening at Elisabeth's, Thomas' host and we watched a classic Swiss show called Bellisimo, it was the final showing of this programme, so we shared a moment of Swiss media history!,

Sunday was Stephanie's inauguration, the service was approx 1 hour long, they preached from the pulpit, the church is massive and full. These was not Eucharist and it was all in German, but other than this, it could have been England.
Stephanie chose to wear white robes, this is considered as unusual, most ministers wear black, white is considered catholic! Even the part afterwards was like our big celebrations at church. What was great was they the catholic priest also camp to the celebration and they had a good relationship with the church, you could tell they know each other well and were comfortable in each others company. We were told at the meeting on Friday night, that they have a good ecumenical relationship with their Catholic partner church, they worship together maybe 3 times a year, and at these services, they will share communion. The catholic priest is also part of a daily ecumenical prayer group that meet at the preachers church every day at midday. This is a big commitment, but it is an important area for prayer.
We went to a concert at the Catholic Church in the evening, this was a modern Catholic church, but all Catholic Churches are fairly modern, because they have only in more modern history been allowed back into the city, it wasn't that ornate, but there were crosses and icons and lots of candles, it felt more like an Anglican Church than a reformed church did. It also has a prominent permanent alter.
There are so many similarities between ourselves and the reformed tradition and if they can share communion in one parish one a catholic church, this should surely be transferable to other areas. It doesn't need to be based on theology, maybe all that is needed is respect enough for the other to enter into a relationship of trust and love. If they can do surely we all can!!

St Nicholas' day

We woke up this morning to find a gift from St Nicholas outside my bedroom door and a huge snowman to greet us when we opened the front door. It felt like a day of celebration, which in Switzerland it is.
Happy St Nicholas' day

I have 13 days before I come home for Christmas and I'm starting to count them!!

Morning worship at Bossey

Every morning the students lead worship, we are give pairings and I have no doubt that the choice of pairings are based on diversity, not just the denomination but the personality are well.
As with any group there are a handful of people that ask all the questions in class, they volunteer for things and when they are involved in worship they are happy to lead.
Worship is often more memorable and and has more impact when those who don't normally lead are asked to lead worship together. The worship is less predictable, often more intense and often very rich in content. I think this is because its often a style and view you don't get to hear everyday in class, especially when they include a sermon. It's an all embracing way of hearing the voices of all our fellow students and learning more about them and their spirituality.
Mixing denominations, makes you realise that worshipping together is much easier than you think, most of the time! Orthodox and Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catholic, Anglican and Chinese Non denominational, they all work. But it's interesting to look at the compromises made by each.
The biggest consideration is the Filioque, the addition of the words 'and the son,' to the Nicene Creed. If it is added, this causes an issue for the Orthodox worshippers, if it is bracketed it is acceptable, leaving it out, or using the Apostles creed if often the best option
Generally if Africans are involved in worship, then drums are played somewhere in the worship. All the Asian countries love to sing hymns, but for me I don't find them cultural because they are the hymns we would often sing in the Anglican church of the UK. I find myself taking a more contemplative approach to worship, identifying my culture more with morning prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, because I feel I too need to have an identity. It's difficult here being from the UK to have a clear identity, because we have exported so many of our 'English' ways of worshipping on those countries who were in the British Empire and those countries influenced by British Missionaries.
Although a lot of worship has its origins in my tradition, worshipping together made me sit up and realise that The Church of England is not the centre of the world Church. I think I knew this, but I wonder how long would it have taken me to acknowledge this!!

Orthodox Vespers

When in Rome...

I sang in the Orthodox Choir that was put together for the Orthodox Vespers! We have been asked to sing again at two more Orthodox services. It's not great and the recording is poor, But I enjoyed it.

The Liturgy and the delivery of it, allows time for personal reflection and prayer, there are no orders to stand and to sit, no need to open this book or look at that sheet, yet because of the intimacy you feel involved in the worship.

If you can cope with the poor recording, watch the clip


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F80LIZ-P8e4&feature=youtu.be

Cultural night photos

Cultural evening

It was the turn of the Africans, Americans and Caribbeans to feed and entertain us.

We had dried beef from Mexico and soft tortilla chips. A curry from Jamaica and salt fish cakes, and a traditional Zambian soup with maize. It was wonderful to have such variety, all washed down with a delicious fruit and ginger cocktail and Tequila!
Then came the Bob Marley, Salsa dancing and the African songs...

A great night was had by all, photos to follow.

Its the turn of the Asians and Europeans in November. I've opted out of the main course, the food they serve in Switzerland is a little bit too similar to food at home, so I'm doing the puddings, I'm planning a sherry trifle and a rhubarb crumble with custard, I think these would be considered traditional English fare?

Looking forward to spending a day in the kitchen after being waited on for six weeks, yes six weeks today!

Academia

I suppose I was going to notice it eventually, especially as quite a lot of the teaching is covered in a variety of different ways for a variety of different reasons, by Catholic and Lutheran professors, that I could go home an expert on the Catholic and Lutheran perspectives of the ecumenical movement and its theology! I'm not sure some of my Catholic and Lutheran colleagues will feel the same about the Anglican perspective. But don't worry there are enough of us here to speak up!
And as for the repetitiveness, well I thought about it and during coffee this morning, following a slightly repeated session on the Pentecostal movement, Aris, an Armenian student, who came in June to attend the english course, so he could begin his studies here in English, mentioned that "he got it now."  He didn't get it after the Pentecostal talk from a visiting speaker, but now he does! I have to realise that I speak English and I come from an ecumenical college, Aris is Armenian and comes from an oriental orthodox background, so he has not been exposed to a lot of these denominations, and didn't speak a word of English until June this year, so who am I to complain? Yet again I feel especially humbled from these unexpected clashes of culture.

I have to remember its not all about me!!

The honeymoon period is over!

Things are missing from the fridge, the noise in the house at night is starting to grate, I dont want to be the source of all knowledge just because im English and I'm fed up with the food!! Oh, and I'm homesick and want to come home...
We were warned that these feelings would hit us and they said it would be after about a month, it's 4 weeks today since I got here!
I have no doubt that by next week things will have settled again.

I had my first visitors this weekend, Sarah and David stayed in Geneva. It was so great to see them and speak my normal English instead of the ecumenical English I'm learning to speak here. One thing I have noticed is that I can't apply my usual humour in my conversations, sarcasm just doesn't translate ecumenically!
David and Sarah bought Bristol with them just by being here, this was great, but also reinforced the homesickness.
But what a great weekend we had. We started with a fondue lunch and then tried to walk it off in search of the Calvin statue at Judith's request back at STETS, the pictures are on Facebook. We then found a tea shop in the old city, with the weather so great, we were able to sit outside and enjoy the evening sun.
On Sunday after Holy Trinity Geneva, we settled down on the boat tour around the lake, Sarah to take lots of pictures and me to sit and chat some more. There is absolutely no question that tourism and exploring new places are not top of my list for filling my spare time, although I'm doing a lot better than most of the students I study with.
It was wonderful to spend a weekend away from Bossey, but it was also great to show it to Sarah and David on Sunday, they had a chance to meet a few of my fellow students as well.

The weekend has left me refreshed and ready to start another week, as I said, the rose tinted spectacles were going to slip sooner of later....

The video, enjoy

I think I'm finally figuring out how to upload things, but they do have to sit in a Google + account and I wasn't really sure if I wanted one. I think you have to sign up for Google+ to leave comments as well.

Friday night at Bossey...

Having spent two years socialising on a Friday night with my STETS colleagues, it was a relief to know that socialising on a Friday night in Petit Bossey has taken off as well. Last week three of us sat down in the common room to share some wine and nibbles at the end of our first full week, by the end of the evening, we had been joined by a few others and a few more bottles of wine.
So this week we became a little bit more organised, we shopped for a few extra provisions, ensured everyone knew and provided a few instruments....What a great evening of fellowship, sharing a few bottles of wine and lots of songs, some I knew and some I just sat back and enjoyed in languages unfamiliar to me a few weeks a go, (I still don't understand the language, but I recognise it.)
Again, when I get to my laptop, I'll post just a small video of an accoustic very extended version of a Marvin Gaye song adapted for ecumenical musicians!!

Yet there we all were this morning for a workshop on teaching others new worship songs, fresh and ready to sing some more!
The focus was on different cultures, breaking away from the stuff everyone knows or expects and bringing our own cultures to the worship.

QUESTION, If anyone has any suggestions of worship songs or hymns I could use please let me know. There is nowoint in singing most of our well known hymns because these are used by Anglicnans the world over, I need something new and British, with a fairly simple tune? All suggestions welcome

I've just come to the end of my first 'proper' weekend in Bossey. I had to entertain myself! Yesterday I went into Geneva, navigating the buses and trains and returned safely to the right place, I even used my limited french to get me there.
I went shopping with Agnes from Zambia, and did you know they have H&M in Zambia? I didn't!

As I came out of the railway station the first outlets to greet me were H&M, Starbucks and yes, you've guessed it, MacDonalds, no surprises there.

Today I went to two Anglican services, one in Geneva and one in a small village near Nyon

I've been at the same church in Henbury pretty much all my life, I've ventured out when I've been invited by others to a different church, but I've never really walked into a church for a service as a visitor looking to become a regular attender.
We all think we have a welcoming church, we smile at people we don't know, we introduce ourselves, we tell them to make ourselves at home. But being on the receiving end is quite different. The service was familiar, I knew all the hymns, I knew when to stand and sit, but i knew there were friendships and relationships all around me that I wasn't involved in, I didn't know the names of the people in the notices or the events taking place, it is much more difficult than I could have imagined being the stranger. Another part of my formation I suppose...

Weekends make me feel a bit homesick, I'd be at home with Harriet on a Saturday morning having a relaxing breakfast and then a dog walk, but here I only have myself to think about, nobody and no dogs to keep me entertained without thinking too hard about what to do.

So I've ensured the next two weekends are full, my first visitors, David and Sarah are coming over in a fortnight and it's a well timed, think the home sickness may strike big time when the novelty of being here wears off!!

The course begins...

Well I'm back to the books, well IPad. I can't believe I've managed the first two years of study without one! No more photocopying, no more big folders and I can makes notes and scribble on the text to my hearts delight. Simon I'm not sure if you're reading this blog, but if you are I wish I'd listened to you earlier.
My iPad has also become the lunchtime skype machine for some of my colleagues who have little contact with their families because of the time difference, so it's getting lots of use.

I don't actually know what I was expecting with regards to the level of teaching and reading, but I've been totally immersed in a book by Lukas Vischer and Ulrich Luz called, 'Unity of the Church in the New Testament today.' If anyone can explain how I add a book to the good reads app that can link into face book I'll put the details on there.

Anyway, I'm off to read Borsh now, a popular book with my fellow STETS colleagues and a recommended text here as well.

Next job, to find an Anglican church for Sunday worship...

Inside the church

Que coupons-nous faire de notre vie?
What do we want to do with our lives?
D. Bonhoeffer

I'm sat in Auditoire Calvin in Geneva. I've never been in a Calvinist church before and I'm amazed at how different it is.. Although the interior and exterior is very church like, pillars and stone arches etc, the similarities end there. The windows are plain, no stained glass just plain colours. Some orange and some blue. At the front of the church there is no alter, only a large lecture and a plain wooden table, the musicians take up most of this space. But what is noticeably different is the lack of decorations on the walls, no memorials no pictures and no crosses. I don't think I actually notice how ornate Anglican churches in England are, but this one looks plain, plain is the only word to describe it.
This service is to celebrate the start of this academic year for the faculty and we were invited as a group from Bossey. The service has been completely in French, for those of you who know me well, you know languages don't come easily to me, but I have found singing in French helps my  pronunciation, because the words are broken down to follow the musical notes, I just have no idea what I am singing!!!!

Speaking in tongues...

We shared our first worship together yesterday evening. We shared one gospel reading from Ephesians 4:1-6, that we follow our calling and live as one body and one spirit with humility, patience and love. No surprise that this was the opening reading, but it was shared in many different languages, Burmese, Russian, and many more. We all understood, we all shared the gospel reading and its message to us, we were all talking in different tongues, but we all understood.
There are at least 15 different first languages spoken by the students in my year group and every time we say the Lords Prayer, we say it in our own language, aloud and together and yet it sounds the same as if we were all speaking one dialogue. if this is the start of things to come, this unity thing under Christ could take off!!!

I have no doubt we are all in the honeymoon period at the moment and we have been warned we may get complacent, but it has been a nice start.

I'm finding the orientation week a bit slow, but I have to remind myself that just because I could say everything in half the time, most of my student colleagues find it fast and furious with lots of information to take on board

Other Church of England ordinand's who have studied at Bossey, have mentioned this in the past, but it is easy to become the point of contact for the things that haven't become clear. I'm not in the thick of it yet and for those of you who know me well you may be surprised, but if I were to take more of an active role I think I would find all my spare time was spent on solving issues or explaining instructions.

Bossey with Mount Blanc in the distance

It'll look amazing in the winter

Photo

When I figure out how to insert a picture, you can see for yourself.

Preparation...

Already I wish I had researched just a little bit more! It didn't even cross my mind that Switzerland's currency isn't Euros but Swiss francs! Luckily I will be going for a passport check tomorrow and there is a cash point near by. Will I ever learn??
I have found out today that I'm the only student from the UK on here for this semester, there are at least 5 students from Burma where Bhuddism is the main religion, one from Jamaica and only 4 of us from Europe, 1 Hungarian, 2 Romanian and me!
I have been told that the mountain in the distance is Mont Blanc, not a bad view to wake up to in the morning.