as i previously mentioned, i went to a service at christ church on sunday. yesterday one of my professors, dr. brothers, made a couple of comments on the service in class, which provided me with a greater understanding and allowed me to have a greater appreciation of what i saw and participated in. chirst church is part of the church of ireland, which is in the anglican trandition. my professor explained that the service was essentially the protestant equivalent of a catholic mass. the service was highly ordered and structure, which was a big departure from what i am used to at santa barbara community church. the music was also traditional and we sang some hymms, which was refreshing. at one point in the service there was a reading from the old testament, the gospels, and the rest of the new testament. the reader of the selection from the gospel walked out into the middle of the congregation and read. this was symbolic of god coming to earth as christ. i really enjoyed all the symbolism and meaning behind the service, and i think that can easily be overlooked. i love santa barbara community, but i think it is vital as a christian to remember where we came from and not to forget tradition. which brings me to the book of kells.
the book of kells is a copy of the gospels held at trinity college. the book was produced on the island of iona by a monastic community. i do not remember exactly when it was completed, but i want to say in the 1100's. anyway, at the college there is a wonderful exhibit on how the book was made and all the attention and detail that went into producing manuscripts such as the book of kells. another thing i thing modern day christians can lose sight of is the sacredness of scripture. i know i am guilty of this. whenever i need a new bible i just drive down to the local family christian book store to buy one. back in the day bibles were considered prized possessions. you couldnt just go buy one, and the copying of the scriptures took a lot of time and devotion. it was interesting to learn how they produced the book and the amount of detail on each page.
the rest of my time in dublin has been terrific. i have really enjoyed exploring dubling and meeting new friends. i miss home, but i am glad i am here.
love and blessings,
mikey
A Farewell to Millers Meet Sacramento
15 years ago
3 comments:
Mikey,
I'm pleased you were impacted by some of the more traditional aspects of Christianity while in Dublin. I hope you see much more of that throughout the UK and Europe. Be sure to go to the Clonard Monastery on Clonard street off the Falls Road in West Belfast. An incredible cathedral with so much history. The troubles basically started on the Cathedral's back door step. My bro has been there, he should know about it.
Anyway, glad to see Europe is going well. I'm stoked you are doing a blog. I know I wont talk to Ry much so it's good to help me stay connected. hope things are well...
justin
ps - get some photos on here if you can.
mikey,
sweet blog man. i am excited to read about all your adventures. i linked you on my blog page. make sure you go to st. paul's in london for evensong if you enjoyed the church you just visited in ireland. im super jealous. take care of the boys.
sean
Mikey,
Ok, now is the time when I start getting jealous remembering all the things about Europe semester that I loved so much. I feel like I'll get to relive some of it through your blog. I'm really excited for you! I can definitely relate to your experience with church services being so different from the evangelical "american" church. I learned to appreciate how much art was incorporated into worship and I wish that was a larger part of the evangelical church today. Anyway, stay safe and have a blast-- keep writing!
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