Andy James

wandering the web since 1997

Presbyterian minister in Atlanta.
Music lover.
Found beer in seminary.

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Prayers for Greece

July 5, 2015 By Andy James

As some of you may know, I’m spending the next few days in Greece, on tour with the New Amsterdam Singers. We planned our travels a year or so ago, quite a while before anyone realized that this summer would bring a currency crisis and challenging referendum to this beautiful and storied country.

panorOver two days in Athens, we’ve seen some incredible and beautiful sites filled with some five millennia of history, even as there is more history in the making. What has struck me more than anything, though, is the incredible difficulty that this country is facing in this time. Buildings are abandoned in the middle of construction. Storefronts are empty, boarded up because there is no business that could take place there. Development projects of every sort—repairing ancient ruins, repurposing the old airport, even improving transit around a city of five million people—are stalled indefinitely. After enduring multiple years of deep economic depression, there are no easy answers, even as the people are faced with a nai/oxi (yes/no) vote today.

IMG_0746The vote today gives no easy answers. As best I can tell and have heard, neither response is without consequences. A yes vote means to accept even deeper austerity measures imposed on the nation by outside creditors, and a no vote to turn them down will likely deepen the currency crisis as debt limits run out and already-limited access to funds dwindles even further.

  As we moved around the city yesterday and sang a concert with a Greek choir last night, I found myself reflecting on this whole experience already, wondering what I could do, questioning what might be possible to offer beyond spending my cash.

Two things stick with me, from the beginning and end of the day. First, a gathering of people at prayer, overflowing out of a Greek Orthodox church near the Acropolis as we wandered up the hill. Though I certainly could not understand anything of what they were saying, I quietly joined in their prayers that surely were for their nation and people in this difficult time. I remembered reading the prayer request from our Presbyterian partner church in Greece, the Greek Evangelical Church, and shifting my prayers from self-concern to those in deeper need, and these only deepened as the day went on.

11201930_892972994082323_7379152011597856451_nThen, at the end of our concert, in his only real reflection on the crisis of this moment, the Greek choir’s director suggested that there was at least one thing we can do in these days: dance and sing until it passes. This sits so very well with the song that we opened the concert with, “Abendlied,” quoting Luke 24:29 and remembering how Jesus appeared at the end of a long day’s journey when his disciples didn’t even recognize him:

Stay with us, for quickly falls the evening,
and the day is past and over.

And so we did exactly that last night, joining our voices together with these words of comfort and hope to offer space beyond these challenging days as we sang from our different traditions and even shared in singing two Greek folk songs.

So I hope you’ll join me in prayer and song for the people of Greece today. However this ends up, I and my tour group will be just fine, and I hope and pray that the people of this great and storied nation will find the path to a new day, whatever the challenges that may come along the way.

Filed Under: blog, photos, posts Tagged With: Greece, New Amsterdam Singers

Advent Photo Project #1: Go

December 1, 2013 By Andy James

I’m not usually one to do seasonal photo memes or things like that, but this year for Advent I decided to take the plunge and join the RethinkChurch Advent Photo-a-Day as a bit of a spiritual discipline. Each day during Advent, there’s an assigned word for photo reflection. Today’s word is “go.”

Go…

These are the shoes involved in all my “going” today: leading worship, getting some exercise, and making an excursion to Manhattan for Advent Lessons and Carols at St. Bart’s Church.

I’ll be posting these daily reflections on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter each day through Advent. Take a look at the instructions and consider joining in!

Filed Under: blog, photos, posts

Iceland

August 27, 2012 By Andy James

I’ve neglected to post many photos of my trip to Iceland until now. I’ll leave these mostly without comment, but I have tried to caption them for you below.

lava fields and geothermal hotspots outside Reykjavík
the Icelandic countryside near Skálholt
the Icelandic countryside near Skálholt
the Icelandic countryside near Skálholt

Skálholt Cathedral, on the site of the capital of Iceland
Icelandic design in stained glass at Skálholt Cathedral
glacier in the Icelandic countryside
the Gullfoss “Golden Falls” waterfall

the Gullfoss “Golden Falls” waterfall
the Gullfoss “Golden Falls” waterfall
the Gullfoss “Golden Falls” waterfall
the Gullfoss “Golden Falls” waterfall

the Gullfoss “Golden Falls” waterfall
the Gullfoss “Golden Falls” waterfall
the green-ish Icelandic countryside
Strokkur geyser in Haukadalur

Strokkur geyser in Haukadalur
hot springs in the Icelandic countryside
the intersection of tectonic plates at Þingvellir
Þingvellir, site of the first Icelandic Parliament in 930 CE (at the flagpole)

Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir
Þingvellir

Þingvellir
Þingvellir
crowds at Þingvellir National Park
Þingvallavatn Lake

Þingvallavatn Lake
Þingvellir
Höfði House, site of the Reykjavík Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1986
Hafnarfjörður harbor

home of the president of Iceland at Bessastaðir
Harpa Opera House, across the street from my hotel
Reykjavík
Reykjavík skyline

Reykjavík skyline
Reykjavík skyline, featuring Hallgrímskirkja
Hallgrímskirkja
Hallgrímskirkja

the organ at Hallgrímskirkja
font and pulpit at Hallgrímskirkja
altar at Hallgrímskirkja
Icelandic Parliament House

Reykjavík
the National Cathedral in Reykjavík
lake in Reykjavík
Parliament House, with the National Cathedral in background

the lake in Reykjavík
lake in Reykjavík
Reykjavík

Filed Under: blog, photos, posts, sabbatical

Pilgrimage

August 9, 2012 By Andy James

Iona Abbey in the distance on the Iona Pilgrimage

When my friend Teri was telling me about the trip she was planning for her church members to Scotland and Iona that I eventually joined in on, she repeatedly used the word “pilgrimage.” Now I think she was partly just trying to dispel the myth that this was some sort of vacation with a church twist, but as I start to reflect on this journey, I think she was actually using the best possible word.

Pilgrimage is not a word people use much these days, but it has a long history in religious and spiritual life. To this day, faithful Muslims are obligated to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once. Buddhists and Hindus make the journey to holy places in their traditions as well. In an earlier era, Christians were pilgrimage people, too, with people making their way to the churches of saints and visiting relics housed in special locations, but nowadays pilgrimages seem to be far less formal and certainly less important. Today, Christians, especially Protestants, might make a trip to an important holy site, but it would be unusual to consider a particular place a required spot of pilgrimage as was common in a different era.

the ruins of the cathedral at St. Andrews, Scotland

Even so, as I look back on my journey to Scotland and Iceland, it was a time of pilgrimage for me. Along the way, I actually made my way to several places that were once major pilgrimage spots. Both St. Andrews and Iona once housed important relics of saints and were among the important places that faithful people would visit before the Reformation to be encouraged in their faith. Many of the other churches we visited that predated the Reformation also were sites of pilgrimage at one point or another. Even the natural wonders I visited on my own as part of a bus tour in Iceland felt a bit like moments of pilgrimage.

For my own walk of faith, the places I visited were at once both very important and relatively nonessential. While I was grateful to visit sites that have loomed large in my cultural and spiritual formation like Iona, I think I found the journey itself far more informative for my walk of faith. The time I spent with others, with myself, and with God along the way was revelatory to me than any experience even in the most holy of places.

making our way up the mountain

I saw this most clearly on Tuesday of my week on Iona as I joined about 100 others on a pilgrimage around the island. Three resident staff and volunteers of the Iona Community led this group up and down rocky passages, through boggy grassland, along the waters of the sea, and even across the Iona Golf Course that is shared with sheep and cows! I was a bit hesitant to make the journey out of fear that I wasn’t in the best shape to make the trip or that the weather just wouldn’t hold, but in the end, I was grateful that I did. Along this little pilgrimage covering seven miles around a small Hebridean island off the west coast of Scotland, I saw a microcosm of so many other journeys of my life. The trip had challenging moments (though far fewer than I expected), breathtaking vistas, rocky places, wonderful conversations, strangely quiet moments, plenty of ups and downs, and even a good bit of ordinariness.

The pilgrimage around Iona was notable for all these things and more, but I will remember it for a lifetime for two reasons. First of all, I was surrounded by others along the way. I knew some of my fellow travelers pretty well, and others I barely knew at all. Still others I got to know along the way. All of us, though, shared something special along this way as we enjoyed a beautiful day and explored an incredible place together, whether for the first or fifth of fifteenth time.

I will also remember the pilgrimage because of the intentional moments we shared along the way. Eleven or twelve times along the way, we paused to hear a reflection, scripture, or poem. These were often meaningful and special – think of hearing about the transfiguration of Jesus at one of the highest points on the journey as we did. However, the most important part of it all was that when we began to move again, we usually started out with a song. There is likely another blog post coming on the importance of music on this trip for me, but the songs that we shared along the way set the tone for the rest of our travels together. We each had our own part to contribute to our common journey, but in the end we needed everyone to join in the song in one way or another as we continued the pilgrimage together.

Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

Most of all, all the pilgrimages of this journey – around Iona, around Scotland, and generally “across the pond” – reminded me that this life is not a journey that I take alone. Those who have read along on this blog, commented here or on Facebook or Twitter, or have actually journeyed with me a bit have been an important part of this pilgrimage. Even in the times when I felt like I was making this journey alone, I was grateful for the little signs that I am not alone on this walk of life, for I cannot do it by myself.

At some level this post feels like a good place to end, but I know that there is more reflection and sabbatical time ahead, so look for more here in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to three more weeks of downtime before I return to my pastoral work, and I still have another trip ahead to visit family and friends in Mississippi and Alabama in just a couple weeks. Thanks for being a part of this journey with me, and I look forward to sharing the days, weeks, months, and years ahead as we journey together on this strange pilgrimage we call life.

the ruins of the cathedral at St. Andrews, Scotland
Andy atop the William Wallace Monument
the group from RCLPC atop the William Wallace Monument
Andy (and friend Teri, just behind) pausing in the marble quarry

Iona Abbey
making our way up the mountain
looking out at the Atlantic from the marble quarry on Iona
pausing in the marble quarry

pausing in the marble quarry
labyrinth at St. Columba’s Bay
coming down the mountain
heading up the mountain

making our way down the mountain
the end is near: Iona Abbey in the distance
Gullfoss waterfall, Iceland
Strekkur geyser, Iceland

Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

Filed Under: blog, photos, posts, sabbatical

Iona

August 5, 2012 By Andy James

Iona Abbey from the ferry

I spent much of the last week on the Isle of Iona off the west coast of Scotland, living and working and worshiping at Iona Abbey. When my friend Teri invited me last fall to join the trip she was planning with a group from the church she serves, I almost immediately decided to go along. I have heard about Iona from numerous friends, and we have used the resources produced by the Iona Community and the Wild Goose Resource Group numerous times at the First Presbyterian Church of Whitestone, so this trip was a long-awaited opportunity to experience this legendary place that has been an important part of my spiritual journey even before I actually journeyed there.

The trip and the place did not leave me wanting. The particular week we attended is known as “Wild Goose Week” because it is the time when members of the Wild Goose Resource Group attend and lead worship and other events. These special events were certainly a big draw for me, but in the end, the overall experience of living in community in this place was actually more formative.

Iona Abbey has a long history as a place of Christian faith and practice. Legend holds that Saint Columba arrived on Iona in 563, establishing a center of Christianity on the island that was used as a base for evangelism throughout Scotland. It is thought to be the place where the historic Book of Kells originated. After the Reformation era, the Abbey was abandoned, but it was reconstructed over the last 100 years and today serves as the spiritual home of the Iona Community, an ecumenical group devoted to justice, peace, and the integrity of creation.

the Toasting Trio

As a guest at the Abbey, I was expected to participate in the full life of the community there, joining in twice-daily worship services and assisting in various tasks necessary to provide for the daily life of guests and staff. I found this to be surprisingly fulfilling, with the worship services providing  much-needed spiritual nourishment for my time on the island and beyond. The work was even enjoyable, as I made some new friends in our shared daily tasks of preparing toast for breakfast!

The programs were also very helpful and enjoyable, with the highlight of most days being a “Wee Sing” with the inimitable John Bell. I learned a lot about making space for worship and did a good bit of thinking about how to revitalize and reinvigorate worship. Members of the Wild Goose Resource Group also led most of the worship during the week, and they brought their deep well of creativity and interest to the gathering.

nearing the Abbey as the pilgrimage comes to an end

One day also meant a full seven-mile pilgrimage around the island. Over 100 people made their way around the island, stopping at important and beautiful spots to pray and reflect on the journey. This was one of the most meaningful parts of the week, and I expect that I will reflect further on it in a future blog post.

My time on Iona was truly a wonderful one. I did not find the immediate and deep spiritual connection I expected, but over the week I developed a better link to the spirituality of this place. The long history of nearly 1500 years of Christianity in the very place where I lived and worked could not escape me, and over the week I felt this connection deepen all the more. It was a joy to join the countless saints who have gathered in this place over the centuries to worship and work for God’s deeper presence in the world, and I look forward to going back sooner rather than later!

You can browse through some of the many photos from this part of my journey in the gallery below.

Andy and Teri at the marble quarry
John Bell teaching songs before Thursday evening “Table Space” worship
the abandoned Nunnery on Iona
Iona Abbey

Iona Abbey
the choir and altar in the Abbey Church
the baptismal font in the Abbey Church
St. John’s Cross in front of Iona Abbey

the Abbey Church on Iona
the first climb of the pilgrimage
heading down to the marble quarry
heading down to the marble quarry

St. Columba’s Bay
St. Columba’s Bay
St. Columba’s Bay
looking back over St. Columba’s Bay

Loch Staonaig
continuing the pilgrimage
the Iona Golf Course on the Mhachair (yes, those are cows!)
looking north from Iona

making our way down during the pilgrimage
making our way down during the pilgrimage
nearing the Abbey as the pilgrimage comes to an end
the ferry to Mull on the Sound of Iona

looking over to the Isle of Mull
afternoon cream tea at the Argyll Hotel
looking toward Mull
looking toward Mull

Iona Abbey from the shore
Iona Abbey from the shore
the gardens in front of Iona Abbey
St. John’s and St. Martin’s crosses in front of Iona Abbey

St. Martin’s Cross
St. Martin’s Cross
St. John’s Cross
St. John’s Cross and Iona Abbey

St. John’s Cross
St. Martin’s Cross
the cloisters at Iona Abbey
St. Martin’s Cross in the moonlight

the Abbey Church before morning worship
the Abbey Church before morning worship
the Toasting Trio
staff and volunteers waving the ferry goodbye

Iona Abbey from the ferry
Iona Abbey from the ferry

Filed Under: blog, photos, posts, sabbatical

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