St. Brynach’s and St. Non

Some days, I find my head spins.  This is partially because I have not been in the Episcopal church for very long to know all their rites and rituals (in high church) that are different from the Catholic church.  There are new words to learn/digest and questions I encounter every day on this journey and it’s helpful because there are so many deacons, priests, and long time Episcopalians along this journey.

I’m thankful for meeting Leslie from Australia who is an ordained minister there and she is one who has rallied for women priests in the Episcopal church there.  She’s taking me by the hand and helping me through some of the liturgy in the “high church” services.  She has been a gift to me on this journey. 

Today, I had lunch with Jackie (and Monnie) from No. Carolina.  She is an ordained deacon. I was curious to talk with them because Jackie’s church survived the growing pains and break up of a church who had gone through the same things that St Luke’s went through as a congregation. Half the church disagreed on the role of women as priests and gay marriage.  Although I was not at St Luke’s when they went through the divisive breakup, the details are strikingly similar. 

She told me of their fundraising effort’s and their strategies on how they raised enough money to get their church out of debt. She and Monnie also shared about the grueling processes they went through to become deacons which took over three years.  They also shared about how they came to realize that that was the path they wanted to take. 

I’m finding this pilgrimage is so much more than I thought it would be: lessons steeped in history, ecclesiastical history, liturgical rites and ceremonies, lives of saints...but also human relations as we 20 people interact with each other. Our ages range from 50 something through 80 something ...and each person brings their life experiences and a graciousness about sharing with each other.

Then there are the individuals that Frank and Theresa have chosen to share their knowledge with us as we travel along this path. They are a rich, rich part of this journey.  A perfect example today is Steve Watkins from Nevern whose family dates 100 or more years in St. Brynach’s church.  In his inimitable style, he told us not only of the history of Saint Brynach (as little was written), but also of the history of the church through the centuries.  It was a fascinating journey he took us on as he told of the early beginnings of the Celtic church, the cell communities, the building of a structure, the expansion of structure, the attacks of the Vikings, the arrival of the Norsemen, and finally the Romans.  History was interwoven with a sense of humor (Pilgrims were compared to hippies of the 60s) as well as interspersed with architectural details.  It all worked.  Then we walked the pilgrim path to the site where they kneeled to touch the rock Cross in the stone.  He then took us to the place where the feet of the pilgrims wore the stone thin.  It is at this place that I looked down, in a heart shape stone was at my feet.  

We then returned to Saint David’s where Janet Ingrahm let us down the pilgrims path to the holy well of Saint Non.  Once again, the records of oral tradition and the stories told from ages to ages, coming down generations, shaped our journey.  She would stop and ask for a time of prayer and then that would bring the discussion of history and folklore into an understanding of where we were on the path today. In a word, it was exquisite. She was so thoughtful, reflective, articulate... it drew us all in.

I believe that I am not alone in knowing why I am on this path at this stage of my life but I do know that this is exactly what I need at this stage of my life. 

I know that in my transition from Catholicism to the Episcopal church that I had so much pain that I need to resolve.  It is not easy to leave leave one’s childhood’s faith when it is so ingrained in who you are.  Yet the beauty I’ve discovered is that my church doesn’t require that I leave anything behind ... but invites me to bring the richness of those experiences to the new experiences of a more open and less judgmental church.  

So here I am today, a wandering pilgrim, looking to enhance my relationship to God, just as the pilgrims did on their journeys.

Ps excuse typos, voice texting... and it’s late