Polygamy Porter

Well I just had my picture taken for the "Organization Chart" at work (a big chart showing everyone's position in the company). It happened to be St. Patrick's Day, so I dressed for the occasion by wearing my green Polygamy Porter T-shirt. So now I will forever be remembered as the American who wore a beer shirt promoting polygamy! Oh well...

Friday Night Theatre

Last Friday we went and watched a play at a local college. It was an adaptation of Chekhov’s "The Seagull" by Tom Stoppard. I really liked the play, it was well performed, humorous, and an interesting look at the lives of four passionate artists (true to form, one of them commits suicide at the end).

The evening provided an interesting contrast. Before the play we had about an hour and a half to kill (I finished work at 5:30, and the play started at 7:30). We planned on finding a little coffee shop and having some tea and coffee while we waited. Unfortunately, even in London it can be really hard to find a coffee shop or cafe that is open after 5PM. All that you can find are crowded, noisy, smoky pubs.

So we found the least smoky pub we could and I had a coke while Heather had tea (I just can't drink without dinner). It was interesting to observe the Friday night crowd, just off work in their suits, ties and black coats, all trying to look oh so cool while consuming as much alcohol as possible and carrying on about marketing, the stock exchange, property, or some other inspiring topic of conversation.

So we arrived at the play a little earlier than expected. Now we had a new group of posers to entertain us. It was the college theater crowd: eccentric clothing and hairdos, gesticulating wildly while conversing about theater, music, and other artsy-fartsy stuff.

Admittedly, I feel a bit more comfortable with the college crowd, but the truth is I don't really fit into either one. I go to work as a bourgeois professional for a big company in London, while my heart keeps pulling me in a more bohemian artistic direction. If you have some extra time on your hands, read "Bobos in Paradise" by David Brooks, it talks about a whole culture of people like me, Bourgeois-Bohemians or Bobos. I don't entirely fit the mold, but in some ways I come very close...

JE

Finding a New Church (Part 2)

We have managed to try two different churches so far, and amazingly, I have really liked both of them. They are both quite different.

The first one we tried was Kings Church which is only a few minutes from our house. They are a big church (about 900 people) with two Sunday morning services. They have a really nice building, the music is really good, the preaching is good, they are involved in local and overseas missions, and it just feels good to be there.

The second church we tried was Restore Peckham this church is a little further from our house (about a 10 minute drive). This church is a little bit more "alternative". Their services are on Sunday afternoons (supposed to start at 4:15, but actually start around 4:40) and they only meet three Sundays a month (encouraging you to spend time with family / friends / neighbors on the other Sunday). They don't have a head pastor, but they have several "leaders". Every week, they have a different speaker, sometimes one of the leaders other times someone from another church. Their focus is to reach out to the community around them. The preaching is more of a discussion where members of the congregation are encouraged to comment and ask questions. The service drug on until about 6:30 endangering Heather's other Sunday commitment called "Antiques Roadshow" (it starts at 6:45). They meet in the hall of an old Anglican church, and there were only about 30 in attendance.

So now we have to decide which we like more, or if we want to keep trying other places. Kings Church is so easy to like. It is close to our house, and they are doing great things. Although I know that Restore will be more of a challenge, it definitely feels more like my kind of church, a place where it would be very easy to roll up my sleeves and get involved. Definitely something to be praying about...

JE