Mike McClenahan

In just a few hours Amy and I will fly from Gatwick to Atlanta to LAX. Since May 3 each of us has been living out of a 21 inch roller bag and small backpack: few pants, a few shirts, toiletries, art supplies and a few books. We've learned to live the pilgrimage by traveling for the love of God, letting go, being led, praying, giving thanks for all see and meet, and telling stories. We are ending our sabbatical, but we know we are not ending our "pilgrimage" as we travel back home. We have spent the last 12 days in London in flat of our friends who have been back in California these last two weeks. It's been a great gift to us to be able to relax and begin our transition home. London is a great city. We walked for miles and didn't run out of things to see. The shows are so good it's hard to choose. Public transportation is amazing. The museums are free and so are the evensong services. We worshipped at All Souls Church, where John Stott served as pastor ...

There have been two pieces of art that have caught my eye on sabbatical and have taught me something about our pilgrimage. The first was Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal which surprisingly hangs in the Columba Room of the Northumbria Community. Surprisingly because I have kept a small postcard version in my journal for the last year or so. Part of my discovery in the last year has been the story of the prodigal, the desperation and poverty of the son and the blessing and embracing love of the father. I had hoped we would have been able to see the original in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg with others after the choir trip in Moscow, but we decided instead to fly to London. So when I saw the large poster hanging in Hetton Hall I had to smile. But today we went to the National Gallery, one of the great museums of the world. The one painting that caught my eye, and represents themes of our sabbatical is the Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, the Italian master. This painting has Jes...

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right. Blessing May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors. We prayed this prayer each morning at the Hetton Hall. Since the Northumbria Community is dispersed, companions and friends follow along online or with the book of Celtic Daily Prayer .

Note to reader: Since so many enjoyed Amy's blog last week, this blog is written by another guest blogger who is anonymous. On the Holy Island of Lindisfarne Mike and Amy left the Northumbria Community on Saturday morning. It was like leaving home, they told me. Apparently they grew attached to the creaky floors, ancient Aga (oven stove that heats and bakes at the center of the old farm houses in England), friendly people and daily offices (community prayer four times a day) in the old Hetton Hall, which the community will be moving out of this fall and into their new home in Acton, about 20 miles south. Sorry for the run-on sentences, but I don't know what they have already told you. They arrived in Durham on Saturday afternoon on a cloudy, almost rainy day. They rolled their 21 inch bags to Hatfield College where they stayed in one of the student dorm rooms. Hatfield College is named after Mike's ancestor Thomas de Hatfield on his mother's side. Here's wh...

The Village Cottages on Iona Hi there it's Amy here…I'm going to try my hand at the blogging this week. I think we left off at Iona… well we went on to Edinburgh by way of 2 ferries, a long bus ride, and 2 different trains. It was actually our hardest transition yet. Maybe it's because we have had a long string of traveling, maybe because Mike's allergies were the worst they have been so far, maybe it's b-cuz we paid double the fair for the bus ride as we should have (and couldn't get the refund), maybe it's b-cuz when we checked into our hotel in Edinburgh they had not received our online confirmation so we had to pay the higher price, or maybe we were just tired; maybe all of these! Anyhoo, we spent a few moments pouting …then pulled ourselves together and went out to tour the beautiful city of Edinburgh with our walking shoes on and our rain jackets handy. Amy in the Prison of War Edinburgh is a great city, one of my favorites so far, wi...