Sunday worship and the Annual Scarecrow Festival

August 12, 2007

Since Friday, we have been based in the town of Guiseley, a suburb of Bradford. Though the industrial mills have long been out of use, the houses throughout Bradford and its hectares of row houses and winding streets still bear the marks of a by-gone era. Most stone permanently smeared with the soot and coal ash that once belched from the mill towers. On Sunday, we worshipped with the congregation of St. Oswald's Parish Church and celebrated the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this ancient church, the parents of those literary greats, the Bronte sisters, were married, and the ancestors of early American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, took communion before heading for the New World. Again, it was in the words of an Anglican hymn, "Cry Freedom" by Michael Forster, that we were reminded of an underlying theme of this Exchange:

"Cry 'Freedom!' in the church when
honest doubts are met with fear;
when vacuum-packed theology
makes questions disappear;
when journeys end before they start
and mystery is clear! (verse 4)"

After an English Sunday lunch of roast, gravy, potatoes, parsnips, and custard with our host families, we toured Bradford Cathedral and participated in the Evensong service led by the Dean of the Cathedral, who delayed his August holiday to spend some time with us. One significant corner of the cathedral is dedicated to educating its tourists and congregants about the growing Fair Trade movement within the Church of England. In nearly every church we visited, from the Dales to Bradford city, Fair Trade ideas and reminders abound. The Church of England, in advance of many American churches and organizations, has embraced and pledged to promote a form of commerce that seeks to take the edge off the often unjust and exploitative effects of globalization. Ever mindful of Christ's admonition that His followers work to alleviate the burdens of the poor and marginalized, Anglican Christians, like those in the Diocese of Bradford, live out the Fair Trade ethic by stocking their churches and vicarages with Fair Trade teas, coffees and other products.

Along side its commitment to just global economic practices, Bradford Cathedral defines itself as a "cathedral eco-congregation"—a place of worship dedicated to living into the Archbishop of Canterbury's "Shrinking the Footprint" challenge to every parish within the Church of England to reduce its carbon footprint. Bradford Cathedral's vision and mission statement has profound implications and stands as a challenge to the entire Anglican Communion:

To reaffirm the biblical vision of creation . . . and recognize
that we are part of creation, not apart from it. To strive
to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew
the life of the earth . . . to play our part in working for a
sustainable society in a sustainable world . . .

August 13, 2007

On Monday, we left our urban landscape for another foray into the Yorkshire countryside. In the picturesque village of Kettlewell, we worked our way down the 2007 Scarecrow Trail of the Kettlewell Church and School's Annual Scarecrow Festival. Most homes and businesses throughout the tiny village—this week inundated with thousands of sightseers—set up creative displays of straw and old clothing, spoofing everyone from members of the royal family to Brittany Spears. This year's theme was the monarchy and each participant followed the trail using daftly worded clues to figure out which king, queen or ruler was personified in effigies of straw and twine:

He lost us America, that wasn't too bad
But he sired fifteen children and then went quite mad.

From Kettlewell, we journeyed to the Priory Church at Bolton Abbey, where we walked among the ruins of the nearly thousand-year old house of worship whose construction was halted, somewhat precipitously, by his majesty King Henry the Eighth, when he attempted to uproot the Church of England from its Roman Catholic firmament. Aimee led the group through some prayerful meditation in pews often frequented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and her royal entourage. The youth lit candles as they reflected on the lives and futures they will return to in a few short days and how they have been influenced by this Exchange.

Later in the evening, every participant in the Exchange was treated to a reception by Bishop of Bradford David James and his wife at the Bishopcroft back in Bradford.

Our thanks to all of our wonderful hosts, new friends, and the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Bradford, and may God's Peace be upon us all!

--Hank and Aimee Bostwick, chaperones