First Sunday Evening on the Nomadic - Our last one for a while

This post got lost in the DRAFTS box from 6 April 2014.

We said our farewell on the SS Nomadic. Ward recited the Call To Worship from the beginning of his book, Plain Drink Tea.  Marda thanked Chris and Susan, and said our goodbyes to all those who welcomed us and provided a Spirit filled prayer walking venue for Sunday afternoons.

This "fresh expression of church" needs support from the traditional denominations as well as from those who seek true spirituality without the trappings of institutional religion.  Patronize the Dock Cafe and pay forward.  Support Chris Bennett as a chaplain to the Titanic Quarter and give generously.  This is Christ's body and the church in action.

April is here

This Friday, Ward Stothers, with author Bill McKnight to moderate, Rev Jack lamb to bless us and the librarian Mark Knowles to host us; Ward will officially launch his book.   

Plain Drink Tea  is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  The book can also be downloaded from Kindle.

With three sections, peace, prayers, and a cuppa, there is diversity you can use to warm your soul and encourage your actions.  An introduction and a postscript completes the story.  We do make a difference each one of us. 

Our Irish journey is taking a turn and we return home to California in two weeks for at least six months.  At this point it seems our base will return to Berkeley. Forays back to Northern Ireland will happen as projects warrant.  We are already talking about next year's Passion Walk in Belfast.  Ward and Bill have a concept for another book and some friends never made the pilgrimage to Ireland.

Blame it on the ipad

I had resolved to post monthly but since buying an ipad the use of my computer has diminished and posting a blog requires photos to keep it interesting and I don't often take photos with the ipad.

However this is a season of change and I want to post the observations.  This photo is of the snowdrops on Lime Tree Walk at The Argory.  Ethel called for us on a Saturday and we rode down to this National Trust property to observe the first flowers of Spring, much like crocuses I suppose but what do I know about flowers?

It was a typical Northern Ireland winter into spring day with storm showers making you wonder what you were doing trying to take a walk in a park?  The property is built on a river and the water was quite high.  The house itself was closed so the visitors are there only to walk and enjoy the grounds of this old estate now maintained and managed by the National Trust.

The difference between days with temperatures between 0 and 5 C and 5  to 9 C is tremendous.  We have smiles again as the weather is warming up.  It looks like we have escaped a winter of snow and ice.  This winter was cold for a long time but no snow nor ice to worry about and we also escaped the flooding that England suffered.

On another topic we have marveled at the quality and increase of art in many places from the cartoonist at the networking gathering that the Mayor hosted for the 4CornersFestival to the Peace Paper making event this week.

This is the finished art of our friend Helen Sanlon commissioned for the Drumalis Retreat Centre.  It's inspiration is an aerial view of the property and it is very beautiful.

Next month I will be able to share my delight at discovering this completed work (I saw it in Helen's studio in bits) with my other artist friend, McCall Gilfillan, as we participate in a Tres Dias weekend cloistered at Drumalis Retreat Centre.  McCall will bring her sketchbook.  Me I want to bring my Bible, listen and hear God.

Last of 2013

After the party tonight I will cook and I will eat only healthy, fresh, green, locally grown food.
I promise.  We have been eating a lot of kale, really we have.

This is the last day of 2013.  I hope everything that was suppose to get done got done, because the hours are going.  It doesn't help that it gets dark just after 4 pm and it is very cold, down around freezing.

We have had a great year with many visitors.  Jerem and Conor came in January along with Jennifer and Vicki.  Jon Kennedy moved into The Loom in March.  We went home and renewed visas in April.  We've been to Northumbria in June with Lane, and deepened the relationships with the local Belfast based Northumbria Community by regular meetings and going on retreat to Kilbrony Centre Rostrevor.  Then six sets of visitors came in September and October.  We've deepened the relationships with the North Belfast clergy through the 174 Trust clergy forum.  I learned a few words of Irish.  We sang in the Together Stronger community choir.  We lost Jeff and Kenny.  We met challenges with grace and we prayed together most every day.  Praise God at all times.

It feels like months

I posted in October, a visit to Patrick's grave made in September.  After the Nielsen's visit, Suzan and Eric Miller came to tour Northern Ireland.  We four then went on a big trip and joined 20 other Organization of Women Architects friends and family.  We first went to London for a day, to Venice for three days and then onto a big boat for a cruise of the Mediterranean. 

In this photo in front of the Basilica in the Piazza San Marco,  Darlene and Bruce were not ready and four hadn't yet come. We had a meal together and the next day boarded the MSC Divina which seemed like a floating Las Vegas hotel.  The highlight was being with old friends, getting to know many better and meeting new friends.  
The ports were good too:  Venice, Bari, Katalon near Olympia, Izmir near Ephesus, Istanbul, and Dubrovnik. 
This was a test of Ward's mobility.  He fared well and especially enjoyed the warmer weather.

Patrick's Grave

I took Garald and Carol Lynn to Downpatrick to see the Patrick Center built to educate visitors on the life of Patrick (387 - 460 AD)  We parked above the center at the Down Cathedral and wandered into the graveyard where there was a small wooden sign that said 'St Patrick's Grave.' 
Remembering that Randy Lee ran up on a rainy day, I wondered if he got to see this.  The rock has a very old inscription of a cross and the word 'Patri' with the rest worn away.  The plaque says the remains of St Patrick, St Brigid and St Columba, are reputed to be re-interred here in the 12th Century.

Bill has a video!

Take a look at this video which was made of Bill McKnight, Ward's good friend here in Belfast.

http://youtu.be/UdgWx0nmMbM

More About April

Our trip home to Berkeley to renew our Visas coincided with Marda's nephew Daniel and Julie's wedding.  The wedding was planned to take place at the Faculty Club on the UC Berkeley campus.  Coincidentally the 40th Anniversary Celebration Symposium was also being held at the UC Berkeley campus at Wurster Hall, the School for Environmental Design. 

This is a photo of the book table hosted by the OWA Book Club.  My good friend Wendy Bertrand, on the left, published her memoir Enamored With Place to add to the growing collection of books about women architects. 

The Symposium was planned by another good friend, retired lecturer Mui Ho, and featured several women academics discussing topics around the theme, "Gender Matters."  Gender certainly matters in regards the practice of architecture where perspective is everything.

April Came and Went

Suffice to say the weather was terrific in California and we were very busy.  I'll post a photo soon to keep this Blog going.  We are back in Belfast and have overcome our jet lag.
Take a look at Jon Kennedy's Blog which he has faithfully updated some of which is our news too.
Jon Kennedy, C.S. Lewis Writer-in-Residence, The Loom

Chinese New Year's Eve

We went to a poetry reading today at the Ulster Museum sponsored by the wonderful John Hewitt Society and featuring Emma Must a new emerging poet and Michael Longley a world renown poet.  Ward's writing teacher Lynda Tavakoli was there and the program was chaired by our friend Bill Jeffrey.

Afterwards we took our friend New Zealander John Grant to Sun Kee restaurant for "Yim Cha" to celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of a new one.  John has been doing a marvelous job of pastoral care within our neighborhood including calling in on us on most days.  He gets a hot cup of tea and a respite.

Rev Jack Lamb is away in Turkey this week visiting ancient holy sites which we know nothing about.  We press on building relationships and carrying on the work as it presents itself to us.  Tomorrow is Sunday and the beginning of a new week and a New Year of the Snake on the Chinese lunar calendar.  Prosperity and blessings to all.

A remarkable month

We are thank full.  Our month has been very full of serendipity and fun.  Last night we greeted Os Guinness at The Hub, a gathering place near Queen's University, where he delivered a public lecture and said this was his first visit to Northern Ireland since 1981.  We last saw him in St Louis when he said we were crazy to move to Ireland but provided a nice contact.

The day before we addressed 35 social workers on how the disease affects the person and the carer.  Next week Ward will be part of the Parkinson's UK media campaign.

Several weeks ago the highlight posted on our Facebook page. We met the Republic of Ireland President Michael Higgins, himself a poet.  Our minister Jack Lamb called Marda the night before and asked do you know who the president of Ireland is?  A person named Higgins?  Yes and do you know what he did before he became president?  I have no clue.  He was a poet and you and Ward are going to meet him as my representative.  Oh happy day!  Make sure we don't get turned away at the door.  (this isn't China where we had equal access to the Chan Family Academy along with Bertie Ahern then Prime Minister of Ireland).  Ward intended to give him the poem he wrote entitled Armagh and Mr. Higgins asked him to read it, and when he couldn't because he couldn't properly see it in 12 pt type, the President offered to finish it for him.  Such grace!  You can see the video on Youtube.  Ward's recitation is 10 minutes in.

Autumn Flowers

We were in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Dublin last Saturday and the Dalias are blooming.  This emerald island has flowers all year round.

We have had a marvelous week.  Connecting with people all around town and some far away.  Around town many are recognizing us and greeting us.  Vicki is coming at the end of the month to discuss a home stay project with her students.  Roger and Inge are coming in a few weeks with Sabina and Rose. This week we are going to Portrush with Pat and Daphne for three days at the Ramada Hotel discussing Parkinson's Disease and relaxing. 

End of Summer

We retired this photo of Ward at Mt Stewart from the home page of our website.  I shows that he has been wearing his Irish cap for a long time and that he has had tip toes as a gait for a long time. 

This photo was taken in February 2006 in the gardens of Mt Stewart, a National Trust property on the Ards Peninsula east of Belfast.  We stayed with a family in the Schoolhouse compliments of the head Gardener.

We were again on the Ards Peninsula last night for a dinner with Ethel and her friends at Harrison's a restaurant on a farm just south of Greyabbey with a beautiful view of the Strangford Lough.  A more beautiful evening we couldn't have imagined.  One farmer diversifying his economy and believing in the growing economy here in Northern Ireland.  Praise God for the beauty He created.

Twelfth Survived

The good news is there were no fatalities or serious injuries during the protests on the twelfth. 

This is taken from our third floor dormer in the front of our house.  Up the street is Crumlin Road Presbyterian church and the Edenderry Mill which was converted to condos.  Up beyond that about two blocks is Holy Cross Catholic church and beyond it 100 feet is the Ardoyne roundabout and then the Ardoyne shops, all less than a half mile away.

Since even the local news seemed to confuse the labels I want to clarify that the nationalists and the unionists are political identities having to do with the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, separated into two countries in 1922.  The nationalists and republicans (those wanting to be a part of the Republic of Ireland) and the unionists and loyalists (those wanting to stay with the United Kingdom) are the parallel political identities the latter feel stronger and were willing to take up arms to defend or change the outcomes.  The republican paramilitaries were the IRA and the loyalists paramilitaries were the UVF and the UDA.  The Orange Order is a fraternal organization and they hold parades from April to August with the biggest ones on the Twelfth of July commemorating King William III of Orange defeat of King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 becoming King and keeping a protestant rule since James had converted to Catholicism.  The vast majority of the people do not want to go back to "the bad old days" of The Troubles but they still hold tight to these identities which separate them.

We continue to help people embrace identities that cross over these old identities like Artist, Irish, Christian, Celtic, European, Men or Women, Human Being and Friends.

11 July - Ward's birthday

We've had a great month with the visit of Arlene and Larry Hatfield. Marda ran them around as she likes to do but we made time to sit and talk and Larry made a few drawings and painted.  This one from the beach at Downhill.

Today is 11 July and the bonfires are lit tonight as a pre-event for the twelfth of July the big holiday for the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.  We normally can't stay awake that long as it is light until 1030 and the bonfires start at midnight, it is raining, or the local party is too drunk to participate but THIS YEAR Ethel emailed and said Philip Orr is going to give a talk for the Irish School of Ecumenics at one of the bonfires so we are going along with her for an educational evening.

Will report later.

OMG May already!

Rhodies are out.  Trees are full.  Everything is green.  This week is warm.  Days are long and I'm wanting to go to a garden. 
Ward is a homebody and I have to pry him out.  He will come along mostly willingly but he would NEVER initiate a trip anywhere to anyplace.
That's how we know that this "call" to Ireland was not his own idea but inspired by divine means.
We are basking in the optimism of a new era

here and we are hopeful that the tipping point of
people will get behind a revival of soul, heart, and mind.
I did get to two gardens this week.  We went to Greenmount walled garden which is on the grounds of the Agricultural College.  I also went to Rowallane where we went with the Eastons to view the handkerchief tree.  In bloom here to the right. The tree is from 1904 and was brought from China.  Amazing!
You all must look at the write up of the first vertical garden in Northern Ireland.  Hint it is on the Skainos Building.  I am finally excited about what I'm seeing building and environment wise in Belfast.  Come and visit.

New friends Denise and Mikes

Our new friends Denise and Mike came with their friend Michael Tinne who spent every summer of his life in Co Donegal. His father had a summer cottage. How this visit came about was an email, "Subject: ADX alum”. Denise introduces herself as alum of ADX Zeta chapter, coming to Ireland, and was told she had met me in Berkeley.

She later said she was at the Dwight Way house, my house, and Celeste’s Maybeck mansion, over 10 years ago. Her email said she is an artist (with a website). Bingo! We exchange a few excited emails and set to meet up, later turning into staying with us for a couple of days.

Her work is www.seedsfineart.org and she is active with CIVA. They came and I ran them around Belfast city. Mike is an architect, she an artist using clay, and a type 1 diabetic, they go to a Missouri Synod Lutheran church of 5000 people (St John's in Orange, CA), and she recently fired up a big gas kiln, 7 years after it was provided to her. Her work inspired me and she loved Ward's poetry and our church.

Her advice: Go sell at Victoria Square. God will provide something miraculously so I should build the kiln shed and wait.

Long days out and about

missed a posting in June. With the long days we were out a lot and tired when we got in. With long days and regular watering plants flourish. These Chinese lanterns are twice the size of the ones in my Berkeley garden!

What a glorious month of feeding we have had too. We were reminded of Mount Stewart and Portaferry, by the Presbyterian Women bus run. Mount Stewart was the place where we were hosted by an English couple who were Buddhist back in 2005. Now we learn the Rollinsons have moved to the Zen Garden that is part of the National Trust. That is good karma for them. In hindsight they were people placed along the way to point us to where we would go. Claire said we are lonely here but you will have an easier time moving to Northern Ireland because you will be a part of a church community. She was also one who welcomed us to stay with them when a devout Christian turned us away with a Bible quote. Because we stayed at Mt Stewart we were able to meet Maureen and Doug Edmundson who also encouraged us by many kindnesses. So bringing us to this week's outing we went back to Portaferry to visit Hugh and Anne, friends of the Edmondsons,. God washed us with blessings as we shared time and stories with this precious couple. Hugh has lived with Motor Neuron Disease (ALS) for 10 years and is still enjoying a full life.

Break from Dinner Party prep

Today is a Saturday and I'm ahead of time in prep for our small dinner party. Other than Thanksgiving this is the first dinner party we have hosted.

This photo is from December. Right now the snow is gone but there is a fog in the yard and the temps are down to freezing.

Our tickets are purchased and we head for California on 9 February. Renew our visas and return for a year or more. We like it here. Why Belfast? Because we can, because there is community, because we have a place to be here.

When we return we will pray, do poetry and pottery, resume visitations, assist the minister, weave relationships and welcome guests. Spring is coming!

Final few thoughts

The red door is ours. Now we have a doorbell too. People do drop over and we are blessed by their visits.

We have prayer time on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m. and quiet meditation at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. An evening visit from the Belfast L'Arche community to inaugurate the prayer room was also held this month.

We had eight days of frozen heater pipes but thankfully none burst and three people came to our rescue with space heaters. This started while Marda was away for a short jaunt to Lebanon while she got delayed in London's Heathrow airport both ways. Ward was worst for the wear and Marda returned with our friend Mui who good naturally suffered with the cold as we did.

We are enjoying the last few days of the millennium's first decade. God's blessings to all of you for 2011.