Wednesday, October 07, 2009

getting there

Some highlights from day one in Greece:
-A visit from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, including a generous speech that urged ecological faithfulness, justice and the work toward the Kingdom of God.
-The excited buzz around this visit, including accompanying police, red cross and other dignitaries.
-A local mayor named Polychronis Polychronidis (coolest mayor name ever!) who noted the area’s emphasis on sustainable development.
-That the Orthodox Academy uses the same plastic pitchers we have at my church, only, instead of ice water, they fill them with a slightly-sweet red wine that can be dangerously intoxicating (even in small quantities) after 24+ hours of travel.
-The way a nation of lots of islands and peninsulas makes being situated on the sea coast a possibility for whole lots of people.

Now that we’ve made it through all the very-important ceremonial beginnings to a formal meeting, I’m eager to see what discussion tomorrow may bring. Oh, and I’m eager for sleep. Good night!

2 comments:

Matthew Parker said...

Wish I was there and I am happy to see you blogging again

karen said...

I'm glad to see you blogging, again, too.

Looking forward to the next installment. In fact, see how early I came back to see if today's post was up yet?!

Trust the Spirit not only to help you but to guide everyone else, many of whom likely share your insecurities about how to give words and meaningful action to hope for the world through differing faith communities.

Rock on!