…I’m back!
Well, I never really went away, but other things cried out for attention and I thought I should just take a break from blogging for a bit. There’s lots to tell, however, in no particular order. By far the biggest event since mid-May was graduation from North Park Seminary back in Chicago. I flew back from the Netherlands and had a whirlwind of meetings with people. Mom, dad, and Sandra came up for the event, as did a long-time friend from the Boston area and a local friend from Chicago. One of my professors and his wife graciously hosted me at their home near the campus. I took a few pictures with my new digital camera (which I’m still learning how to use). Here’s one of me and my good friend and classmate, Valerie.
Soon after I got back, it was time to hit the ground running again with all the various projects here at the church and in the city. The “Friends” organization — a ministry with international students in the Netherlands — had its board meeting at the end of the month. They are looking for ways to rebuild their work by partnering with international congregations in the city and I agreed to represent our church in their regular meetings. Our hope is that by the time the fall term rolls around we will have a program in place for the new influx of international students that will be arriving.
Remember the “Nacht der Kerken” (Night of the Churches) project? We had a couple more organizing meetings before the big event on June 23rd. You can see the even website by clicking the image above (in Dutch). By all accounts, the event was a big success. We had about 80 visitors to the Scots International Church for our “treasure hunt” that involved finding clues in a photographic exhibit about migrant churches in Rotterdam. We gave away several prizes: the much coveted Scots International Church mug! 🙂 This may not seem like a large number, but when you take into consideration that we are not as architecturally significant as some of the other churches in the city, and that for a number of people this was the first time to be in a church at all, we think it was a good turnout. Several people remarked on how welcome they felt in our church, which was not the case in some other places. As the organizer for the evening, I was afraid something might go wrong, but it all worked out in the end.
In more mundane news, we are seeing more and more cruiseships docking in the port. When I open my curtains in the morning I can always see the latest arrival outside my window. Unfortunately, the cruiseships usually organize a bus to whisk everyone to Amsterdam or to see the collection of old windmills in Kinderdijk. So, passengers often don’t see much of Rotterdam (too bad!). But, I can sort of understand it. If you don’t have much time, the more touristy things are probably higher on your agenda. Here’s a picture of some of the windmills at Kinderdijk. Some of them have been converted into homes.
We finished one Bible study, took a short break for a couple of weeks, and started another one. Since this is the time of year when people in the Netherlands are taking their vacations (often quite long ones by American standards), we designed it in such a way that people can feel free to come as often or as little as they want and not miss anything. For ten or eleven weeks we are tackling a whole book of the Bible in one sitting. Obviously, we can’t cover everything in an hour and a half, but I can give a broad overview along with major highlights. Of course, trying to reduce a book like Daniel into an hour session has proved somewhat daunting, especially when you have a group of people who are eager to learn and ask good questions! We took a vote on which ten books of the Bible people would most like to study. The “winners” were Esther, Daniel, Amos, the four Gospels, Ephesians, Hebrews, and Revelation. We’re gearing up for Mark this Wednesday.
On the refugee front, I am working with the director of the Mamre Project to apply for a round of grants so that we can receive some funding and create a firmer foundation for the work ahead. Perhaps its not the most exciting aspect of ministry (paperwork!) but it does need to be done. The Dutch government recently passed a “general pardon” giving asylum to all persons who arrived in the Netherlands prior to the middle of 2001 under certain conditions. We expect that this will have some effect on who we see at our Wednesday drop-ins in the near future. And there are the random people who show up at the church door from time to time needing help with a train ticket, or a place to stay, or something to eat. The challenge sometimes becomes determining who has a legitimate need and who is hoping for a bit of money for drugs.
Even in the midst of ministry here, I still have to find some time to just “chill out.” One such opportunity came up when my seminary classmate who just finished her language training in Belgium invited me to come down for a visit. We spent an afternoon in the city of Gent, spent the night at pastor friend’s home in Antwerp, and went to a small village near Liege the next day where she was able to pick-up her Belgian identity card (after six months of waiting). We spent some time visiting with the director of the French-language school. After being in a Dutch-speaking environment for so long, it was a real workout trying to speak French again. Here’s a picture of Gent, and another of a “smiley face” someone had made with some gum on the outside window of our train:
Speaking of funny faces on the train, my Polish friend here in Rotterdam and I were walking through the city center a few weeks ago when we spotted a couple of old, yellow, American school buses parked on a main thoroughfare with “Beverly Hills School District” (or something like that) painted on the side. The yellow school bus that we’re so used to seeing in the States doesn’t exist here. We suspect they were just two old buses purchased by a local group to provide transportation. A number of people had gathered around the buses gawking and taking photographs. I overheard one woman say that she had only seen something like this in American movies.
With the vacation season upon us, we are seeing more visitors in church. For example, an American family just moved here a couple of weeks ago, visited our church, and we spent some time over lunch talking about various English-language church options they might want to consider. I was able to introduce them to “stroopwafels” (a Dutch treat). Hopefully, they aren’t addicted yet. And just yesterday I spent the afternoon with a Scottish family on vacation in the Dutch countryside (the father is training for the ordained ministry in the Church of Scotland). Their two little boys were all over me wanting me to watch them tumble and fall over each other. Later this week, a young undergraduate from North Park University, a member of the small group I used to lead, will be here for a few days as part of a short trip through Germany, the Netherlands, and France.
Robert, our senior pastor, is working to beat a deadline for publication of a directoy of migrant churches in the area. I was able to help him by interviewing a handful of French-speaking pastors (but, again, after being in a Dutch environment for some months, it was a bit of a struggle. I’ve been joking with a few people that its the fault of the Dutch people that I can’t remember how to speak French). And, I am still working on a directory of English-speaking churches in Europe that will be a resource and tool for a number of churches. This is a project that the Presbytery of Europe commissioned me to do and I’ll give a report of my work at their next meeting in October.
On a more mundane note, the weather here has been unusually cool the last couple of weeks. So much so that people have been wearing light jackets outside. We’ve had thunderstorms almost every day that last for an hour or two, then disappear, followed by the sun, then rain again, then sun, and so on. Everyone says this is not typical for this time of the year in the Netherlands. People have even joked about the “summer of April 2007” (April was unusually warm). I’m not complaining, however. I prefer to be cool and dry than hot and sticky!
I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, but it will come to me later on!
Mission: Rotterdam 2007 