Boston: The Best Bits

Before the Christmas rush began, we had a week in Boston over the Thanksgiving period. Some sightseeing, some shopping - a great holiday, even if it was the coldest week of the winter thus far. If you're visiting Boston, here are some of the highlights we enjoyed:

1. Harvard University Tour *

You have the option of paying $10 or more for some tours, but we went on the free tour of Harvard Yard with a student tour guide. Our tour was well informed, giving us lots of information about the history of Harvard, the oldest university in America, as well as lots of trivia about the New England architecture, and what it's like to study at such a prestigious place of learning.

2. The JFK Library and Museum
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, JFK, was born and raised in Boston and had served as Senator for the State of Massachusetts before becoming President of the USA. The Library and Museum built in his memory is worth visiting for the view of the Boston skyline from the (disappointingly poor) cafe. The museum is fairly detailed, although, due to a little bit of confusion, we were ushered past the first cinema which actually dealt with the assassination and funeral. The tour proper begins with a presentation of JFK in his own words, compiled from hours of video interviews and footage of his childhood and early campaigning. It's probably the best bit of the whole museum. After that, the visitor is brought through a series of exhibitions, from the presidential candidate interviews, election count, inauguration, and a replica of parts of the White House, including the Oval Office. You'd need to be fairly fanatical about the Kennedys, though, as the level of detail can be a bit overwhelming.


3. Skywalk Observatory: The Prudential Center
This might be the very first thing you should do on arrival in Boston. The Prudential Center is a massive shopping centre with lots of shops, eating places, hotels and lots besides. The 50th floor of the Prudential Tower is a brilliant observatory with audio guides telling the visitor what they're looking at across the skyline of Boston. The guide also tells you about lots of other visitor centres and tourist attractions, so that's why I say it should probably be done first. On a clear day you can see for miles, and it's also open until late in the evening if you wanted to see the city in a different light. Probably because it's enclosed (and therefore warmer), I enjoyed this more than the top of the Empire State Building in New York.

4. The Freedom Trail
Boston was at the heart of the American Revolution and independence from Britain. The Freedom Trail brings the visitor from Boston Common along a red brick path through the city centre past some of the important sites and sights connected with the independence movement. The path is well marked, and you could follow it yourself. We decided to go on one of the official tours with a guide, who would hopefully be able to tell us more than we knew about the American Revolution. He was the best tour guide - funny, informative, knowledgeable, and inspiring. He really did bring history alive as we walked along the streets and stopped at the key sites.


The Freedom Trail begins at Boston Common, where we found George Washington in a sports jersey
and the cheekiest squirrels:

5. New England Aquarium
I've no pictures of this on Flickr yet, but it really is the best aquarium I've visited. Imagine an oblong building, with a huge glass tube running up through the middle of it. On four or five floors, the central display houses thousands of fish and sea creatures, with my personal favourite, the turtles. Along the outer edges of the building are a variety of smaller, specialised displays of tropical fish, sea creatures, wildlife and such like, and on the ground floor, several different varieties of penguin. It's well worth visiting, especially if it's a wet day outside.

6. Shopping
No pictures of this, but shoppers looking for bargains will not be disappointed. The State of Massachusetts declares that clothing up to a value of $175 is a necessity, and therefore doesn't levy any Sales Tax (VAT to those of us in the UK and Ireland). The difference in price is astonishing, especially when branded items seem to be even cheaper in America than across the Atlantic pond. If you're in Boston, a visit to the Wrentham Village outlet mall is well worth the travel cost.

7. Boston Tea Party
They do really good tea in Boston - but then they would have to, since they had rebelled over the tax on tea in the first place. With the weather so cold, it was vital to keep wrapped up warm and to keep refreshed with good tea and snacks. Even though there was a Starbucks and a Dunkin Donuts on every street corner, we found a real, proper, great coffee shop, where we became like the many regulars (it was always packed). Thinking Cup on Tremont Street (running down the side of Boston Common) was brilliant - good tea, friendly staff, and really good almond macaroons in a variety of flavours (and flavors). They also sell Stumptown Coffee, not that I drink coffee, but it must be good as there was always a queue for tables!

8. Trinity Church and Phillips Brooks
I realise this may not be for everyone, but I was delighted to be able to see Trinity Church in Boston. One of its previous Rectors is a bit of a legend in the world of evangelical preaching: Phillips Brooks. Brooks was the author of several hymns, including the well known Christmas carol 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and is also famous for his dictum that 'preaching is truth through personality' - quoted almost religiously in most modern books on preaching. After being Rector at Trinity, he became Bishop of Massachusetts and was obviously well thought of, since there's a bust of him in a side chapel inside Trinity Church and a slightly bizarre statue of him and Emperor Palpatine Jesus(?) outside the church in Copley Square.


So there you go, a few suggestions of things to see and do when you're in Boston. There was more than we could fit into a week, so hopefully we'll make it back at some stage in the future.

* Technically, of course, Harvard isn't in Boston, it's in Cambridge Massachusetts, the city just across the Charles river from Boston. Harvard is, however, accessible on the Boston Metro (subway) so it might as well be Boston, and well worth a visit while in the state capital.

Sermon: Genesis 11: 1-9 Confusion!

A few years ago, we were on holiday in Lanzarote. We went on a bus tour, and the guide was pointing out various features of the island. As we drove along, she was talking about a town with an Amy Grant museum. Now, Amy Grant is a famous Christian singer, but neither of us realised just how popular she must be in the Canary Islands. Strange, but ok. Until we realised, as the guide continued to talk about the museum, that it was an Emigrant museum, dedicated to the people who have left the islands, and not an Amy Grant museum!

We were both speaking English, but confusion reigned supreme. Or think of when you encounter Americans, and they talk of trash (rubbish), gas (petrol), sidewalk (pavement/footpath) - as someone once said, two nations divided by a common language.

Now imagine that you’re in the middle of a building site, you’re working on a big tower, and suddenly, you can’t understand a word your colleagues are saying! They can’t make you out either, there’s just confused looks all around. You were communicating yesterday, but now, it’s all Double Dutch. What’s happening?

If you were with us last week, you’ll remember that we saw the command to Noah and sons as they came out of the ark to ‘be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’ (9:1). In the chapter we skipped over (Genesis 10), you find a big long list of names and families and clans and places. It looks like God’s word has been obeyed. Except, in Genesis 11, we find the circumstances that led to the scattering.

In verse 1, we’re told that ‘the whole earth had one language and the same words.’ All the people are still together, banded together, when they settle at Shinar. Rather than doing as God had commanded, they stay together, finding safety in numbers.

It’s here that they decide to work together: ‘Come, let us make bricks’ (3); ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city’ (4). The town planners get to work; the builders start working, and the plan is to build, not just a city, but also a ‘tower with its top in the heavens.’ Just think of a city skyline, with the skyscrapers standing tall - the Empire State Building or the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (the tallest building in the world at 2722 feet high). They’re working on the first ever skyscraper.

They’re clear about their motives: ‘let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ They’re out to make a name for themselves; they’re motivated by pride and prestige, wanting to be famous for their achievements; reaching for the top.

Reaching, in fact, for the very top - to heaven itself. As they labour and build and climb, they’re seeking to prove themselves, wanting to succeed, to replace God, to do away with God. So they press on, doing all they can, doing it themselves. We don’t need nor want God!

Come, let us. Higher and higher they go, building their empire. Come, let us - higher and higher we go? Building our empire? What is it that we give ourselves to? What is it that our pride pushes us to do on our own? How are you trying to make a name for yourself, to be known for?

Is it in your family, to have the best, most perfect children, the highest achievers? Perhaps it’s the have the cleanest, tidiest house. Maybe it’s in your work to succeed and make it to the very top. Perhaps you’re building your tower of wealth and riches, wanting everyone around to be in awe of your success. What are you giving your energy to?

Reaching up, building up. In verse 5, we find the start of the Lord’s response. It’s like a little bit of humour, it’s a moment of irony. They’re building up, reaching towards the heavens, but verse 5: ‘The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built.’

Imagine that you have ants in the garden. They start to build an ant city. They’re working away, it’s something very grand and impressive in the ant world, never been seen or done before. They think they’re going to knock you off your perch and take over your garden. But for you to see what they’re doing, you have to get down on your knees, get the magnifying glass out, stoop down and look carefully - that’s a bit like what’s happening here. The Lord comes down - it’s as if he couldn’t see it from heaven!

The people banded together with ‘Come, let us’ - the Lord responds with his own ‘Come, let us.’ ‘Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ The people reached up in sinful pride, the Lord stoops to curse by bringing confusion of their language. The scattering happens, the nations are divided, the peoples spread out over the face of all the earth. The city lies unfinished, its ruins a testament to the folly of pride. It’s name? Babel - babble.

So when it comes to our own prideful ambitions and projects, what will come of them? Do we really think God will allow them to continue? Will we forever get away with making a name for ourselves and building our own kingdoms? Whether suddenly or slowly, confusion creeps in; our plans are frustrated; our pride leads to a fall; our towers lie in ruins.

We simply cannot reach up to heaven. We can’t build our way up to heaven. It’s not possible. Indeed, as we’ve seen right through these opening chapters of Genesis, our first parents are just like us. We’re scattered, lost, alone. Our achievements are temporary, they’re soon toppled.

But the good news is that, in Jesus, the curse is reversed. In Jesus, God comes down, not in judgement, but in grace, to seek and to save the lost. In Jesus, God comes down to lift our humanity to the heights of his throne. In Jesus, the confusion of language is reversed, as the risen Jesus sends out his disciples to preach the good news and make disciples of all nations, so that on the day of Pentecost, people from all over the place hear the good news in their own languages, and on the last day, gathered around the throne, will be ‘people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages’ crying out ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ (Revelation 8:9-10).

On this Advent Sunday, we’re reminded to get ready for the coming of the King - against whom earth’s pride empires pass away - whose kingdom stands forever. Will you come to him in humility, to find your salvation in him?

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 2nd December 2012.

Happy Holidays!

Did you miss me? Where did those three weeks go? We're now into the final day of my summer holidays, before going back on duty tomorrow. It's been really good to have lots of time off, spent with Lyns and the family; as well as the opportunity to get away and do something different for a week or three.

The centre of our holiday was the actual holiday, far far away in the sun, where summer really is summer, and the pool is refreshing and cool. A holiday in the sun means reclining on a sunlounger, catching up on some of the books I've been looking forward to reading, both in dead tree and kindle format. Lots of books. To put it into perspective, thus far this year I've read twenty books in the first twenty-eight weeks, and in my holiday week I managed to read another eleven (and a half!).

I discovered some new (to me) fiction writers, laughed a lot at Colin Bateman's books, was inspired for autumn preaching, and had my soul nourished and refreshed by sitting at the feet of John Stott. Reviews will come in, spaced over the rest of the year, probably, when I have a think about them.

We had a trip to Dublin Zoo, met up with friends, celebrated a birthday with a snake cake, enjoyed fellowship at 2nd Dromara Presbyterian Church (where they thought I was their new student minister!), and ended the time with some car trouble - hopefully I'll be reunited with my wagon today.

Tomorrow, the phone message will be changed, the collar will be back on, and off we go again, with the parish barbecue in sight, and Harvest and Christmas just around the corner...

Roving at Rossnowlagh

Fermanagh is a lovely county, with some mountains, and lakes a plenty. One of the things I miss, though, is the beach. I'm not really a lie on the beach or build sandcastles type of person, but the beach can be a place for lots of fresh air and a good walk. We're now that little bit further from Portstewart Strand, and the north Down coastal path is out of the question these days. Our nearest beach is to be found across the border, at the destination of Orangemen on a Saturday in July - Rossnowlagh, County Donegal.

We've been for a walk there several times now, most recently on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday Monday. It felt a bit strange to be celebrating her reign by leaving her realm, but at the same time it was a lovely day (when the sun shone unhidden by the clouds!). Despite the impression given by some of these photos, there was quite a crowd at the beach. Lots of cars were parked, ice cream vans were competing for trade, and there were plenty of dogs - as Pippa discovered to her cost when an overly friendly golden retriever came to say hello.

Here are a few pictures from the day:


This man was earnestly hunting for treasure. Don't think he found any.


The tide was well and truly out, giving us plenty of beach to play with.


I don't think this crab was sunbathing. He looked a bit crabbid, really.


The scenery is beautiful in this part of Donegal.


This might be the buoys brigade, marking off where it's unsafe for vehicles to journey across the softer sand.


The kite was flying high - until I tried to take some photos of it, and promptly crashed.


The lifeguard station was closed up. No Baywatch available that day - perhaps Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff were otherwise occupied.

New York, New York

So good they named it twice. On Saturday we got back from a week in New York City, glad of the break, but glad also to be back in peaceful Fermanagh! This was our second time in the Big Apple, so we did less of the obvious tourist activities, having seen the view from the Empire State Building, the Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, Bodies and various other things the last time.

That's not to say that we didn't do much! Sunday morning we went along to Times Square Church, which was founded by David Wilkerson (of the Cross and the Switchblade fame). Despite an odd policy of treating visitors, we eventually managed to get a seat (having been asked if we were staying for the whole service, and being made to wait for almost ten minutes at the back while the regulars took a seat at leisure). After an hour of singing, a few announcements and the offering, the pastor preached for half an hour, before another half hour of singing in response to the message. Not just as liturgical as we're used to, but more energetic!

Sunday evening we were in Carnegie Hall for a concert, but I'll write about that in a separate post. Monday took us down round by Ground Zero (for which tickets had to be booked weeks in advance, so we didn't get near the site) and the South Street Seaport on the bus tour, while Tuesday was spent dandering along Fifth Avenue looking at all the expensive shops.

On Wednesday we called in at the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in the Discovery Channel Center just off Times Square, resisting the chance to pretend to be CSI investigators in the other exhibition currently running. Having heard so much about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes, it was interesting to see the scrolls themselves - and also to read some of the 'spin' on the information boards. After that, we took a spin round by Chinatown, being quickly put off by the constant barrage of "Rolex watch? Handbag, lady?" and escaping to SoHo.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we had been told about the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Getting up early, we were on the parade route almost two hours before it started, yet still only managed to be in the fourth row from the barriers at the edge of the footpath sidewalk. Then other people thought they had a special right to push through everyone and get to the front row arriving after the parade had started. It was as if you were watching the parade in the middle of a scrum!

All in all, between the massive helium balloons, marching bands, cartoon characters, floats, cheerleaders, celebrities and street performers, I ended up with around 750 photographs of varying quality. If I find time (!) I might just put together a stop-motion video of the balloons going past using the photos I took.

Earlier I mentioned a scrum for the Macy's parade. That night we went along to the midnight opening of the store for the big Black Friday sale. Talk about a scrum! The queue was halfway down the block (not to mention the people gathering in Herald Square to try and push past the queue and charge the doors when they opened), but we were entertained by two separate protest marches by Occupy Wall Street and the self-styled Church of Stop Shopping with a dog-collared 'pastor' leading them. The latter at least had composed a little song to sing as they marched, but they weren't persuasive, and in we went.

It seemed as if the front escalators were going to stop working, the number of people on them, but we found the couple of things we had decided beforehand to look for, and then made a quick escape (having paid for them, obviously!).

Friday was another little dander, visiting the last few shops we had to see and try to get a few bargains, then back to the hotel to begin to long journey home, and a dose of jetlag which made Sunday morning's service interesting, I'm sure.

There are some photos of the trip on my new obsession, Blipfoto, including This rings a bell; Taxi!; Brooklyn Bridge; FDNY; Empire state of mind; What a tangled web we weave; and Macy's midnight madness. As a taster, here's the Thanksgiving parade picture:

Attack of the Clones

The other Saturday we took a little trip to the Belleek Pottery to see what it's like. We received quite a lot of Belleek items as wedding presents, and thought it would be good to see where they had been made, and how they were made. Sadly the only guided tours on Saturdays are for privately booked tour buses, so we had to content ourselves with the 'museum' which was tiny and the gift shop, which was all geared towards the American market.

While there, though, we were accosted by a representative of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Having been asked where we had travelled from (er, just down the road...), he did a quick survey trying to discover demographics of visitors and all that. He also took my email address, as some participants would be invited to join a further web-based survey to garner reflections once the holiday/trip had been completed.

The email popped up yesterday, and I settled down to complete it. And it was then that I discovered a most remarkable fact: the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has shifted. Northern Ireland must now be six and a bit counties:


Fermanagh now includes Clones, according to the map and the detailed list. I wonder when this border incursion occurred? Or perhaps we're seeing the start of the border expanding and including the estranged 26?

Guess Who's Back?

And we're not talking about Eminem, who's appearing at Tennent's Vital in Ward Park, Bangor tomorrow. We're now hopefully back on course with the blog, after another brief hiatus.


A fortnight ago, having packed up all our possessions into a big trailer the day before, the removals lorry arrived at our new house. Cue a couple of days of boxes sitting everywhere, as we tried to remember where some of the essentials had been carefully packed, and the gradual process of unpacking everything and finding a place for it.

The biggest job was to get my study into shape, a task which has finally come to an end. It's tidier now than it ever was in Dundonald, with a bit more space to move around it!

We've been adapting to life in Fermanagh, getting used to new surroundings and discovering new places (more of which to come), as well as meeting our new neighbours:

I think I've adapted fairly well, to the extent that when I was up in Belfast for the afternoon and evening yesterday, I found it strange to be sitting in traffic, having so many cars all around!

At present I'm on holiday as I don't actually start in the new parish until the Institution service, so it's an extended staycation, sampling the delights of Fermanagh and meeting up with friends and family. Not long now and I'll be preaching my first sermons and getting stuck into parish life. Watch this space!

Full Steam Ahead

On Saturday, we went on a time travelling adventure. The Bangor Belle Steam Train was back on the rails, and we were among the passengers experiencing an older form of rail travel.

While it had started in Whitehead, we joined it at Belfast Central and went to Lisburn, where it got turned around, watered, and then off to Bangor. Rather than the new faster and quieter trains, there was the noise, feeling and smoke of the old steam train as we chugged along the north Down coast and into Bangor station.

We had a couple of hours to enjoy in Bangor, where there was a Junior Orange parade and also a model railway exhibition in the Presbyterian Church, if the steam train hadn't been enough!

All in all, it was a nice day out, with lots more adventures being run by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland including jazz nights and the Portrush Flyer.

Home, Home on the Range

It's been a slow start on the blog in May, but with very good reason. With the first part of my Easter break being spent in Fermanagh, exploring the county that will soon be my home, we then set off for Scotland, having first celebrated a 'big' birthday.



It was nice to see Bryan, Louise, Elizabeth and the 'bump' over in Dundee, getting some quality time with them to catch up on things and to explore some familiar parts of Scotland. We had a visit to Logie's, and a big barbecue on the Sunday; a trip to St Andrew's on the Monday (where Royal Wedding fever was in full strength, even the week after it); Anstruther on Tuesday, Glamis on Wednesday and I had a quick look around Broughty Ferry before heading for the Troon ferry home.


This highland cow was quite content on the Glamis estate.


Glamis Castle is the childhood home of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.


This royal wedding portrait was made of jelly beans - see the closer picture for proof!

While we were in St Andrew's we also visited the aquarium - watch out for the update in a day or two!

Home, Home on the Range

Our summer holidays are over! Slightly later than most, we had a lovely week in Lanzarote. The weather was good (albeit with a few raindrops falling on our heads occasionally), the atmosphere nice, and a relaxing holiday completed. Nothing much on the agenda for a week except some relaxation, some food, some smoothies and lots of reading. Eight books completed over the week, so my yearly total got a nice boost. The reviews will follow, staggered into next month.

Playa Blanca was nice, and rather than eating in the hotel, we sampled some dining on the town. Seafood paella is a new favourite! One night though, we had the weirdest supper soundtrack. A real mix, including Britney Spears, Green Day, random Spanish tunes, lots of gangsta rap (full of expletives), and the Bible books song by Psalty!

The taxi driver taking us back to the airport must have known we're used to driving on the lefthand side of the road, as he proceeded to spend an awful lot of his time there, overtaking cars, jeeps and anything else in his way, whether there was a space or not!

A great holiday, but it turned into a bit of a nightmare when we got to the airport. Due to the French air traffic control being on strike, the plane was delayed. But then ops and the airline couldn't agree on a route home for our plane. Needing to avoid French airspace would take us further over the Atlantic, and a greater distance to fly. Longer distance needs more fuel, but more fuel on the plane would overload it and prevent takeoff from Arrecife airport. Ops insisted on the extra fuel, balanced by removing 60% of the hold luggage. We watched as the bags were removed and shunted into the airport - they'll arrive some time in the next five days. Very handy.

Remarkably, my bag arrived in Belfast, but most of the rest didn't make it. Hence the exhausted passengers arriving bleary eyed at 5.15am this morning off the Thomson flight (when the new day's flights were beginning an passengers were setting off), four hours late, watching the baggage carousel in luggage lottery. Would your bag make it? If not, the Servisair worker was standing by with claim forms asking for details of the bags, ironically (and slightly frustrating) the form they normally use for lost luggage. No, my bag wasn't lost - you removed it from the plane!!!

The pilot and air stewards did well in a difficult situation, and we can't blame them. Still, the whole experience somewhat marred the end of the holiday. Instead of being home by 2, we pulled up to the house at 6.30 and straight into bed. And that's our holidays for another while. Where to next? Preferably nowhere near French airspace!

Donard and Galgorm

It's been another quiet week on the blog - last week we were on holiday, so apart from a few pre-ordered posts, I didn't think about the blog at all. Didn't go too far away, just a few relaxing days in Newcastle at the Slieve Donard enjoying the spa and the view of where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.





Then on Friday we had a family wedding, with Jonathan and Paula pledging lifelong commitment. A great glimpse of the covenant love of Christ for his bride in the wedding ceremony, and a heartwarming reminder of his commitment to us which will never be broken.



The reception was up in the Galgorm, a place I'd never been before, and one that was very good, as well as the interesting grounds with waterfalls and weirs and canals feeding a generator.

Today it's back to work for us, and just getting into the routine again before the Rector goes on his holidays at the end of the week. There may well be a more regular blogging pattern emerging too, but we'll see how it works out as the week progresses. The 365 photo-a-day challenge is now into the second half, although I've been resorting to iPhone captures again. Must use big camera!

Dog Days

Florence and the Machine sang that 'the dog days are over'. But our dog days are only just beginning. We had a new addition to the family on Saturday, when Pippa the miniature Jack Russell came home with us. These past few days have been spent getting to know her and introduce her to our house and wider family.

Yesterday was a big day with the first visit to the vet, just for a wee checkup. It was also my first time in a vet's! The injections start on Friday, though so she might not think as much of us then! After a couple of noisy nights, she seemed to sleep right through last night, from 11pm until 7am! We've even made a decent start at the potty training, with some toilet business outside on the grass.

We're off this week, so it's a great chance to get some wee jobs done and to help Pippa settle into her new
home. Hopefully I'll be able to blog more through the week as things settle down and we get into a new
routine.

Home Again

Well, you might have noticed the silence on the blog over the past few days. A week off, in Lanzarote, and mostly away from the Internet. So there were no updates. However, there were plenty of books read - 7, to be precise, which will be reviewed (or at least mentioned) in due course. Makes me wonder just how many more books I could get read if some of my free time wasn't spent on Facebook and such like.

As well as reading the books I also made sure that my photo a day was taken so I'll need to update those as well this week. In due course I'll blog a bit more about the holiday, but for now I'll relax and take it easy!

I'm back to work on perhaps one of the busiest weeks in the church year - Holy Week. We're doing things differently this year, with St Elizabeth's, Dundonald Presbyterian and Dundonald Baptist coming together for the week, meetings rotating round the various churches. Tomorrow night is a Youth Night, and meetings each evening are at 8pm. The speaker is Andy Lines from Crosslinks, taking us through the account of the Passion from Mark's Gospel. You'll be most welcome to join us for any or all of the meetings!

Bodies and More Bodies

The fuss over Robbie Williams' new song continues unabated. It seems to me like a bizarre mishmash of bible words, phrases and concepts thrown together without any understanding or coherence. For further thoughts on the song, you would do well to see David Keen's writings, and also the summary of other discussions he has compiled.

The song Bodies as reminded me that I intended to write about one of the most fascinating parts of our recent trip to New York: The aptly named Bodies Exhibition. Reading about it in the guide book on the flight over, I wasn't overly fussed on going to see it. I'm not great with blood, guts and gore in actual real life (despite enjoying a good horror film or two). Casualty or Holby City aren't on my must-see TV list. All rather amusing, given that I'm married to a real life doctor!

We went to see the exhibition, and it made a pleasant change from both churches and shops. Ever wondered what happens when people donate their bodies to medical science? Wonder no longer. Some are used for medical research, some are used for dentist and doctor training in medical schools for dissection, and some appear in the Bodies Exhibition in New York.

The displays are all former people, amazingly preserved using chemicals, and carefully dissected to show the various systems of the body- skeleton, muscles, skin, nervous system, blood system, reproductive, digestive, and anything else you can think of. In some cases, the dissection is of a particular organ, or joint, or structure, but in some, it's a full body striking a pose to highlight a particular body function - stretching, throwing, holding. One display is worth mentioning: it looks like two people holding hands and leaning backwards, balancing away from the other - but on closer inspection, it is the skeleton on one side and the muscle structure on the other, expertly dissected from each other, to show how muscles and bones need each other to function properly.

I've told some people about the exhibition already, and while it sounded interesting, there were a few moral questions raised, concerning the use of remains in this way. I think it's fine, though, as it's not sensationalist, but rather educational and informative. It's very tasteful, and throughout was a cause of wonder, at the strength, purpose, and wisdom of the Creator who knits us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139). Nowhere was this more evident than in the section with preserved stillborn foetuses - with human features and distinguishable hands, feet and more long before the 'legal' cutting-off point for abortions in the UK. How anyone could continue to favour abortions having seen these infants, and deny that they are people like us is incredible.

So from Robbie Williams and his bodies to the New York Bodies, one is just confusing, while the other is illuminating!

New York, New York

So good, they named it twice. Or so it goes. We're now back in sunny Dundonald, and New York is becoming a memory. We were on the late night flight out of Newark, direct to Aldergrove Belfast International Airport with Continental. Arriving shortly after 9am on Friday morning, it was straight to bed to try and combat the jetlag by getting some sleep! We ended up sitting in the front row of the cattle coach class, just at the kitchen where the air stewards and stewardesses were preparing the meals and talking, so there was no sleep to be had on the plane.

More detailed analysis of the trip will follow, as well as a few photos, but what of
my initial reactions, from across the Atlantic pond?

New York is massive! The buildings seemed so tall, no matter where you looked. Driving down the M2 back into Belfast yesterday, the skyline seemed so tiny in comparison.

New York is bunged! To go with the massive buildings, there are thousands and millions of people every day in New York. One of the tour guides on the open top bus tours told us that Manhattan has an average occupancy of 268,000 people per square mile Monday through Friday. The roads were busy, the streets were busy, and Times Square seemed to always be packed. I'm not sure I could handle that all the time. Never again will I complain that Belfast seems busy on a Saturday!

There was just so much to see and do that another trip will probably be on the cards at some point, although there are other parts of the world that are higher up on the agenda than a return to The Big Apple. All in all, I was glad to have seen it, but am glad to be back in Northern Ireland, with proper food, my own bed and home comforts!

09/09/09

New York is waking up to the 9th September 2009, or 09/09/09. President Obama will shortly arrive in town for the Memorial Service for Walter Cronkite, the veteran US TV news presenter. So our last full day could be quite busy if there's a presidential motorcade towards the Lincoln Centre.

We've had a good week with some sightseeing, some shopping and lots of things to talk about on the blog in the days to come. Watch this space for thoughts from Redeemer Church, the Bodies exhibition, the Natural History Museum, and other Big Apple wonders.

For now though, it's enough to say that we saw the filming of Sex and the City 2 taking place yesterday, just opposite the Apple Store on Fifth. Sarah Jessica Parker and the others were repeatedly walking into one of the expensive designer shops, causing traffic congestion and big crowds of people trying to catch a glimpse of the actors. Don't think you'll see me when the movie is released, not that you would watch that rubbish anyway!

Hellway Paving

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And it was with good intentions that I set out to blog the sessions from New Horizon. However, my plan came undone when my iPhone unexpectedly wouldn't connect to the Internet or an cellular data network for most of yesterday. So I've got notes from four sessions which haven't been blogged, and we're sitting in the big tent again about to praise before hearing Don Carson speak again. Oops.

The sessions and speakers have been great - challenging but also encouraging and edifying, and I've enjoyed sitting under the ministry and Bible teaching of Ray Ortlund and Don Carson. I'll certainly try to blog the sessions when I get home over the next week, but for now, I'm on holidays and enjoying a wee break! Even if I'm getting hammered in tennis by my friend Richard. At least I won three games today and ended the third set 3-3 as we ran out of time!

Now, bring on the Don!

Cruising on a Camel

This was one of the highlights from our recent trip to Lanzarote! Great fun, although a bit wobbly!

Say What?

While we were in Lanzarote, we went on a couple of bus tours to see some of the sights of the volcanic island. As we were passing through the town of Teguise, the former capital of the island, the tour guide pointed out a castle on top of the hill overlooking the town. Telling us something about its history, including pirates, she then said that more recently it had become an 'Amy Grant museum.'

That's strange, I thought. I didn't imagine that Christian singer Amy Grant would be so popular in the Canaries. Did she have a huge following amongst the residents of Lanzarote?

Well, she must have, as the tour guide went on to explain that islanders had brought tickets and photos and momentos to be placed in the museum. So it must be true - a museum dedicated to the Lazarote love of Amy Grant.

And then I realised what she had actually said. Not an Amy Grant museum, but an Emigrant Museum! Lanzarote was one of the last islands to be developed for tourism, so for a long time it had been the poor relation of the Canary Islands, and people had to move away, emigrate, to find work and money. With the rise in the tourism industry, the islanders had returned, and thus had formed the museum in Santa Barbara castle dedicated to their emigrants!

Happy Holidays

Despite the published updates last week, I wasn't near a computer the whole time. The advance publication took on blogger really is great - write up your posts, publish with a future time, and the post is held until that time is reached. Voila!

Anyway, the reason I wasn't near a computer was that Lyns and myself were off on holiday, to the volcanic island of Lanzarote. Some winter/spring sun and a much-needed break. Great stuff.

Temperatures were about 21 - 25 degrees Celsius / Centigrade, which is hot enough for me! Lots of relaxing by the pool, reading, sightseeing, and taking things easy. By Tuesday I had finished all my books, and in the end had to buy one for the journey home, having read all of Lynsey's too! Reviews to come in the near future. Lesson for next holiday - take more books!

One of the highlights was a camel ride near Timanfaya National Park - I'll have some photos of that, and also the sights of the island on Flickr some time soon.

For now, though, it's back to work, with the Easter Vestry on Thursday night, and Holy Week looming next week. There's also a stack of emails, and 575 new blog entries to read on Google Reader at some point. I'm refreshed and ready to go!