Sunday 30 June 2013

Strangely Warmed, as John Wesley once said

Day 3:

This morning was my LondonAlive walk to John Wesley's church.  We left King's College at 10:15 with plenty of time to catch the tube and walk the few blocks to the church.  However, luck was not in our favor.  Through no fault of our own, we didn't make it to the church in time for the service.  We did have a lovely, though unplanned, tour of the surrounding neighborhood while we followed the iPhone's little blue dot that led us in the wrong direction.  We saw St. Luke's Episcopal School and a few shops before we made it to our original destination.

Because we missed the beginning of the service, we looked around the courtyard of the church and saw the statues memorializing John Wesley and his mother Suzannah Wesley before heading across the street to the Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.  John Wesley was the father of Methodism, which is particularly meaningful for me as a member of the United Methodist Church.

John Wesley Statue

Entrance to the Church

Suzannah Wesley Statue
I enjoyed wandering around the gardens in the back to see where John Wesley's grave is.  I kept thinking about how moving it was for me to be here as a visitor and imagining how it would feel to worship here every Sunday.  The church was packed, and while many of the worshipers were probably visitors I'm sure most were members.
John Wesley's Tombstone


Garden in the Back of the Church

Bunhill Fields Burial Ground was an extremely peaceful and relaxing place to spend a half-hour or so.  We saw tombstones with a few recognizable names, people walking their dogs, and pigeons resting between flights.  
A shy pigeon
 
Author William Blake's Grave

Daniel Defoe's Tombstone

So Peaceful

 Once the service at the church ended, we returned to see the sanctuary and chapel.  The inside of the sanctuary has a main floor with three sections and marble columns and a balcony above it.  The pipes from the organ are visible on the back wall of the balcony.


Organ Pipes


View from the Balcony



View of the Altar Area

Looking Toward the Back of the Sanctuary
We were also able to see the original chapel, complete with the organ that belonged to John Wesley's brother Charles.  Charles Wesley is responsible for writing the words to many hymns that are familiar to churchgoers (including Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!).  The chapel is small, but is still used for prayer today.

Chapel
 
Charles Wesley's Organ

Altar in John Wesley's Chapel

The church has a museum in the crypt beneath the main building.  They have done an amazing job putting together artifacts, paintings, writings, journals, letters, etc. that educate about the beginnings of the Methodist religion, John Wesley's life and work, and the history of the church.  It is interactive, well-organized, and informative.  They have even included the layout for future exhibits on the walls so that patrons can see what is planned next.  I was really excited and surprised to see a pendant from the Headquarters of World Methodism at Lake Junaluska, NC, because I have attended church camp there for a few summers.  I'm not sure the group near me was nearly as excited about my connection to Junaluska as I was, though!!


Pendant from Lake Junaluska, NC

A little further along, we saw a pew from the original chapel in an alcove across from this quote on the wall from John Wesley.  I know the picture is not the greatest quality, and I apologize, but the lighting was difficult.  The display invited patrons to sit on the bench and reflect on this quote and their own spirituality.  I took advantage of this opportunity to thank God for blessing me as He has done and for taking care of me and my loved ones up to this point.  This quote reminds me of why I love my faith.  I know that I have little in common with a preacher who lived in the 1700s, and I know that I can never compare the strength of my faith to that of John Wesley; but we share a belief in the same God.  That is amazing.

Strangely Warmed

Following the museum visit, we toured John Wesley's house, which is also on the grounds with the church.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside the house, but we saw many interesting relics from Wesley's life.  Most interesting to me was his library of books and his study chair, both found in his study.  The study chair was leather and had two arms and a shelf-like area on the back of it.  However, the user would sit facing what appears to be the back, lean his arms on the padded arms of the chair, and use the shelf-like protrusion to prop up his books or papers.

*    *    *

After the marathon visit to John Wesley's church, I headed home for lunch and errands.  I decided to eat al fresco since I had cheese from my trip to the specialty cheese shop yesterday.  That plus a roll and a banana, and I was set!


Lunch!
After lunch, I ran errands and enjoyed the beautiful weather outside.  Once I returned from my errands, a group of us decided to head to a pub for dinner.  We ate at The Coal House, and we ended up in this tiny little room down in a hole.  It even had a barred door like a jail cell!  

Dinner!!

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