In an earlier post, I mentioned my Sunday with Robert Townsend at two of his congregations. On the preceding Friday, June 26, Robert had called together some clergy to meet with me. I drove to his home in Llanberis (the GPS got me to the church, and then I had to call him for directions to his house-- on the other side of the church, as it turned out!), and then he drove us to the home of Angela Williams, who lives in the community of Menai Bridge on Ynys Môn (Anglesey). Also on hand: Chris Buckley, Lloyd Jones, and Peter McLean.
Angela led us on a brief walk to one of her three churches, St. Tysilio, located on Church Island, or, to use its Welsh name, Ynys Tysilio: Tysilio's Island. Located in the Afon Menai (or Menai Straits), it is reached by a causeway.
Here is the church, which dates to the 1400s, and was built on or near the first church, which St. Tysilio founded in 630.
Inside the church is a lovely sanctuary. Like many churches in Wales, and in England as well, St. Tysilio's displays the Ten Commandments behind the altar.
At the highest point on Church Island, I took this picture of our gathering. From left to right, Chris, Lloyd, Angela, Peter, and Robert.
As I was going through my notes of this meeting, I realized I had skipped over some of Bishop Andrew's comments. Because some of his points were reinforced in Friday morning's gathering, I am going to bring this post to an end and regroup!
Perhaps this is a good time to mention my uncertainty about getting out posts from this point on. Tomorrow Ingrid and I will be gone from morning to night, training into London's Charing Cross Rail Station, taking the Underground Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circle, then transferring to the Victoria Line and traveling to King's Cross and St. Pancras, and then walking to the St. Pancras Rail Station for a train ride up to Harpenden, north of London. There we will spend the day with Leo and Jo Morris. Leo has been an Anglican priest for 55 years, and during my last Sabbatical we were able to be present for his 50th anniversary celebration. We first met Leo when he came to St. Bartholomew's in the late '80s and early '90's. He was long active in the healing ministry of the Church, and has been a mentor as well as a friend ever since we first met him. We first met Jo in 2000 on my first Sabbatical. We may return to Tunbridge Wells too late for a post, or perhaps in time for just a brief one.
Thursday may offer a better chance, but I have two meetings in London, and then Ingrid and I need to pack for Friday morning's departure for Paris by train through the Chunnel.
Perhaps as early as Saturday we will take the train to the south of France to visit Ingrid's Oncle Pierre in the small village of Poyanne, near Dax. Access to the Internet there is unknown but probably iffy at best. And then back to Paris for our flight to Antananarivo, Madagascar, where access to the Internet may be sporadically possible, but . . . we shall have to see!
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