Ethiopian Sunrise

It’s sunrise in Ethiopia. I landed in Addis Ababa Ethiopia a few minutes ago at 5:45 a.m. and have to wait until I fly out again at 11:30 from here to Kampala Uganda. I am Looking forward to actually seeing the ground in this next flight rather than trying to squeeze in some sleep in the overnight flight I just finished. I am curious to know what Africa looks like from the air.
I read an article recently that stated researchers had done extensive DNA testing to try and narrow down where in East Africa the human species originated. According to evolutionary theory East Africa, and near the Rift Valley, is where anthropologists believe the earliest human forms of life came from based on significant skeletal remains found. The article explained that researchers were using DNA to narrow down that location specifically. They came up with Addis Ababa as ground zero for the origins of human life. Don’t ask me how or why this place came up but I found the article interesting only because I knew I had a stop here on my trip. As you already know when it comes to the origins of the human species Christians are usually in one of two camps that disagree with one another. One camp, most likely the larger of the two, completely rejects the evolutionary account and believes that the Biblical account of God creating the human species is properly interpreted to say that God created the first human beings (Adam and Eve) in the garden of Eden which would be in the south of modern Iraq. In this view there is no substantive change or evolution of the human being over the time period between then and now. Dress Adam and Eve up in a suit and dress and they would blend in rather well in a modern mall. These folks are strict creationists.
The other camp of Christians accept evolution as part of the process of what God used to bring forth the human species ultimately out of what may have been there prior to that. They are Theistic evolutionists. They accept the anthropological fossil record of humans originating from the primate species at some point in history. The Adam and Eve story picks up this species when God brought them through one of the stages of evolution that granted them consciousness and awareness of being in a relationship with Him. In other words, Adam and Eve were the first two primates exiting the primate stage and entering the human stage by being given the awareness of having a soul made in God’s image and now aware of eternity, love, guilt, fear of death, a desire to express artistically, to appreciate music, an ability to express poetry and, most notably, a capacity to worship.
I’m not going to say which camp or variation of either of them I am in personally…. After all, it is 6:30 in the morning after a sleepless night and too early to think deep like that. What is important to notice however, is that both camps reject the “Darwinian” theory of evolution. Both agree in a sovereign creator -God, who is the author of life and the one to whom all humans are accountable to for what they did with their relationship with him. Both are authentic Christians but simply differ on theories of origin. The big disagreement is really between Darwinian and Theistic evolutionary theory. Darwinian evolutionists merely dismiss outright the creationists as absurd and don’t even bother with arguing with them because they do not take them seriously. Not so with the theistic evolutionists. This growing group of Christian thinkers are taken somewhat seriously by other non Christian thinkers who embrace Darwinian evolution as fact.
Darwinian evolutionists reject the presence of a creator and suggest rather that chance, time and the movement of matter and energy ultimately over time assembled into basic life forms and from there over enough time adapted to the challenges of life and survival (the fit and capable surviving and the incapable going extinct) and evolved from simple life forms gradually into complex ones. This was a completely natural process that required no God or gods to make it happen. Natural selection instead allowed some forms of life to succeed (because they adapted and evolved) while other weaker less adaptable ones did not.
It may be before 7 a.m. but I am awake enough to think in my groggy state that this theory is absurd. Or let me be more fair. It does not stand up to serious open minded thinking and rigorous testing. By the way, Darwin himself did not advocate the idea that there was absolutely no God and his theory was certain. He himself had trepidation with his own theory. Darwin was open minded. Darwinians are less so. There are a thousand ways in which the chances of this kind of random selection and evolution do not work when challenged. The chances of that all of our universe randomly assembled and came together on its own are a trillion times more unlikely than any unlikely event we can imagine. Let me offer just one simple one that, don’t forget, emerges out of a 6:30 a.m. mind.
I am in the terminal at the Airport in Addis Ababa and looking out at the Boeing 737 that will take me to Entebbe Airport in Kampala. Darwinian evolutionists want me to believe in the kinds of extremely unlikely chances that for example there was no creator involved in that 737. No human creator thought up, engineered, built and put into service a complex plane like that. Instead all the materials were around in the universe and over enough time found each other and assembled into the parts (hundreds of thousands of them) that make up that 737. And by chance they just happened to meld, assemble, weld, screw, rivet, attach, mold, and shape together to produce all the complex wiring, computer systems, hydraulics, and everything else that makes up that plane into the flying masterpiece that will safely take me from here to Uganda (oh yeah I forgot to mention by chance it happened to be painted in those lovely colors of Ethiopian Airlines!). Lucky for me natural selection is thorough.
Not credible or believable. I think I’m going to stick with the idea of the Boeing engineers, experts, and craftsmen. I like a creator behind the masterpieces I entrust my life to at 34,000 feet and 900 Km/h.
Having said that, I am awake enough now to entertain the thought that this 737 looks much different than the plane the Wright brothers first flew. D‘OH! I gave something away I vowed I would not. At least I “THINK” the Wright Brothers plane looked different but I have never seen it and was not there to state that emphatically. How’s that for dodging the bullet?
The last point I’ll make about the Darwinian evolutionists is it’s really too bad many of them don’t spend time here in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. If they did, they would discover that Ethiopians have a deep and ancient stream of vital Christianity in some very authentic and historic forms like the Ethiopian Coptic Church. You can see it even in their distinctive and soulful art. There is also a significant Muslim population here. And before these two religions came to Ethiopia, their natural tribal religions were here since the dawn of time. No matter where you go, including this land of human origins you will find mankind building altars and expressing her desire to worship, to contemplate the soul, life after death, eternity, love, guilt and beauty. That has to come from somewhere. Those things are not simply a matter of chance otherwise all the animal species would have them as well. But they don’t. Just we do. That convinces me at even this early morning groggy hour that the signature of the creator is within and behind us.
And it also reassures me that I’ll board that 737, watch an in-flight movie, likely use a toilet, and safely land at Entebbe this afternoon. Thank God for the creators who are the Boeing engineers!

More Mount of Olives excursion pics

Here are some more photos from our trip to the Mount of Olives. This was where Jesus spent parts of his ministry and most significantly where he spent his last evening prior to his arrest. The garden of Gethsemane is at the bottom, and also the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey took place down the mount of Olives and into Jerusalem.

Funny story! While we were coming down the street where in the gospel story people placed palm branches and cloaks on the street for Jesus to walk on I was walking with a young priest from Nigeria. We came upon an Arab man who of course had a ....yes you guessed it, a donkey! He saw us a said "Father, Father......Jesus Donkey Jesus Donkey!" ( I thought he was going to try and convince us it was Jesus' ACTUAL donkey!) So the Nigerian Priest and I posed with the man for a photo which really made him happy. He had a grin from ear to ear. what really helped was that the Nigerian priest was wearing a white ceremonial cassock and looked like the Pope himself! The Arab gentleman was just thrilled. Of course, when we had finished our photo he of course asked for money so I reached in my pocket and gave him what I thought was a good tip. I had not yet really figured out the Shekel system and gave him 10 Shekels. He looked at it and then it dawned on me that I had actually given him 1 tenth of 1 Shekel (or a dime!). Well his face went from ecstatic joy to deep disappointment and he gave me a look that seemed as though I had stolen the food from his cupboards. So I gave my open hand of change to the Nigerian priest who sorted out about 7 Shekels for the man who was then happy again. I think he really liked the "Black Pope from Africa" but I don't think he really liked the "white guy" after that.

There is a church on the Mount shaped into the form of a teardrop that commemorates where Jesus wept over Jerusalem in the Gospel. The Franciscans were doing a mass and so it was closed at the moment we were there. Here is a photo of it.

And then there is Gethsemane as well. The following pics are the garden itself just above our tour guide, a sign indicating the garden and then the church in the garden (of course a church has been built there).

Saturday June 28

Pretty tough being here today and not in Calgary. Brett has the Canada Day Tournament for Lacrosse in Calgary and the last for the season. They've merged a pretty good team together and stand a shot at kicking some @$$. Go Lethbridge Power!

The Conference is winding to a close Sunday. I miss the last morning on Sunday as tonight I will shuttle to the Airport in Tel Aviv to fly out at 1:00 a.m. through Addis Ababa Ethiopia to Kampala Uganda. This has been a truly historic conference and will be shaping much of the future for the Anglican churches of the world for years to come. It is humbling and a tremendous honour to have been part of shaping this outcome. The "Jeruslalem Declaration" will be released to the media tomorrow and will have a significant impact on the Anglican witness in the world. You can read a good story on the conference that David Virtue published on http://www.virtueonline.org/

posted yesterday under NEWS and then Viewpoints: GAFCON Pilgrims...

I am going to try and post more photos but it seems to take quite some time to upload. I have a 3 minute video I took in the Conference that I am trying to post but it takes quite some time as well. It is a clip of the Mother's Union Choir of Nigeria singing in the morning service. It was awesome.

Today I will connect hopefully with 2 or 3 more African clergy on my list, with Stephen Noll of Uganda Christian University (on behalf of my son Carlin), and Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone (latin america).

For now from the Shalom Hotel in Jerusalem, here are some more photos:

One of the Conference morning worship services

Here's a group of us that hung out together for aspects of the Conference. Left to right; me (Alberta Canada), Jerry (Spokane Washington), Ken Harding (Alberta Canada), Paul Oritt (Washington State), Marty Foord (Perth Australia).

Jerry, Paul and I talked about meeting together every few months in Whitefish Montana where Jerry is planting a new Church. He has another colleague in Butte MT who will join us. Jerry is quite seperated geographically from other clergy and was thrilled to learn how close we are from the planned church in Whitefish / Kalispell. He has a vision for several congregations for the upper Northwest USA including Montana. this will afford opportunities to gather regularly for support. I really enjoyed Jerry's company and sensed in him a gifted apostolic calling to plant churches. Paul of course.... well some of you may know Paul and he is simply one of a kind!!! Marty has the theological mind of a steel trap and is on his way to Cambridge in the UK for a 6 month study sabbatical. Ken has an interesting story. He is awaiting God's next assignment as his last one has come to a close in a difficult and trying manner but you wouldn't know it given the peace he has as he trusts God for the next step.

To the left here is my small group that met together after the main morning Plenary session for discussion and prayer. The 8 African folks in the group represent Nigeria (of course!), Uganda, and Kenya, while the caucasians represent the U.S. and me of course the Maple Leaf.

Well, more to come so stay tuned...

Shabbat and moments to rest...

It's sundown in Jerusalem on a Friday evening. Now begins the Jewish Shabbat. The sabbath day begins at sundown Friday and goes until sundown Saturday and nobody can miss it. Everything, and I mean everything, comes to a halt. Shops close, buses stop, museums and all Jewish businesses close, elevators stop on every floor, and if you want a cab....you are going to need a Palestinian driver. All of Jewish society observes the sabbath day here and only essential services operate. One has to go back in time to a Sunday in the 1950's in Canada to remember what a day of rest is where everything comes to a halt. It turns out I should have planned ahead for this as I needed to get to a bank to withdraw some money in U.S. funds and exchange my Israeli Shekels for the next segment of the trip to Uganda. D'oh! Airport exchange kiosk here I come!


Shabbat like everything else grabs your attention here. There is something good about it that touches on the necessary rhythms of life that we the human species need to observe in order to stay sane and not define ourselves simply by what we do for a living. Don't get me wrong, even as a Pastor I don't think I would do too well adjusting to a roll back of the clock to the 1950's when everything closed down on Sundays in Canada. I am too accustomed to getting what I need (or want) when I want it and including on a Sunday. No need to plan ahead, if I run out of something on Sunday I'll just go buy it or if I am too lazy to cook then I'll go out and order it.


But if we are really honest about it, when there is no day at all that is meaningful for relationships and rest and NOT for working there is something not quite right about that. We're always working and doing something in our busy society. And even if we're not working then many of the people we like and are in relationship with ARE working. It's become nearly impossible for two friends or two relatives to harmonize their daytimers to find a common day to spend together -nevermind if we add more than two people to the mix. Forget that! Somebody can't join in because they are busy or working. There is no day anymore that we all agree on together that is about rest and relationships. There isn't even much TIME anymore that is available to agree on together to just rest and hang out. I learned this week that the Africans have a saying about those of us who are Americans and Canadians. "They have watches but they do not have any time!" True indeed!


I am looking forward to the sun going down today. I am exhausted. With the time change (and waking up at 3:30 a.m.) and the long days of this conference I want merely to rest. I am going to skip tomorrows group tour to Galilee partly because I have to pack and be ready to go to the airport in the evening but also because I am tired. I know also that the day will be spent with colleaugues while on the tour scheming, planning, and strategizing about how we will spend the next decade doing great Anglican things for God since we're all jazzed and pumped from the awesome impact of this conference (more on that in the next post). In other words ....we'll be WORKING! Strangely, I am even looking forward to the fact that the elevators stop at every floor of the hotel so that I too don't have to push a button!

As I sit and write this there are in front of me 4 or 5 Orthodox Jewish families in the hotel lobby. They must be travelling or here for a wedding. They are just relaxing in the lobby and observing the Shabbat. Several of the little boys walk past me in their little Shabbat outfits, with the long hair tails in front of their ears, and wearing their skull caps. They stare at me as I stare at them. I must look funny in my shorts and red Canada baseball cap. They are just enjoying the evening and being silly. So are their parents. They don't look rushed and they have time it seems to play with the kids and for the kids to play with them.

Biblical studies tells us that the intention God had for the Sabbath more than simply obeying the Sabbath rules was for the renewal of relationships that the rules were meant to serve. It is no surprise then given that we do not do this anymore that North Americans are amongst the unhappiest people on the earth and the ones most mentally unhealthy. It has been studied and established that North Americans more than any other people on earth, including those living in poverty, are the least satisfied with life and the ones most needing therapy and accustomed to utilizing the services of mental health professionals. Go figure! But hey, at least in our busyness we keep the world's economy humming right along..... even if perhaps it is so that people here and in Africa can have the time to enjoy one another.

GAFCON

The Conference is called Global Anglican Future Conference and it is something amazing in sights to see, content to hear, and to experience. When you think of a typical Anglican you certainly don’t imagine this! This is Anglican at it’s finest and most heavily represented in terms of population. It is overwhelmingly African! The conference is chaired by the Nigerian Archbishop and Primate Peter Akinola. The make-up of the 1300 pilgrims in the conference reflects the make-up of the Anglican churches of the world. Africa alone makes up the overwhelming majority of the world’s Anglicans. Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, all of these countries have their Bishops, Bishops wives and many clergy and lay people here. There are also the leaders of the Latin American, Asian, and Australian churches too. The representation from the West (England, USA, Canada) is quite small and is made up of those whose theology and views are similar to those of the Africans. Here it is revealing one of the most dramatic realities of the Christian churches of all types worldwide. The Christian religion is not (at least by numbers) a white religion. It is black and brown. This conference shows that truth very visually.

The other reality emerging here is the growing assertiveness of the African churches in leadership. They are flexing their muscles and putting their stamp and influence into the theology, direction, and strategy of the Anglican churches worldwide. This appears to be somewhat hard for the English and North American Anglicans to come to terms with. Most British, American, Canadian and Australian clergy here at this conference are like me quite happy with the African leadership role coming into the forefront. This is not true however with many leaders of the Western and white Anglican churches. To many North American churchgoers, religion doesn’t matter the way it does for Africans and for people here in the middle east. Also, the English and the Americans in particular have over the years grown accustomed to being in charge of the affairs and direction of the Anglican witness in the world. After all, they point to the Western missionaries as being the ones to have brought the gospel to many of these countries in Africa and Asia in the first place. As well, they have had and still have the money to back up the clout they have always exercised in leadership. This has created an assumed entitlement of leadership that has expressed itself in defining the theological direction the Anglican world should follow, while representing a small minority of the Anglican worldwide population. But the Africans do not agree with the excesses in permissiveness and the watering down of the Christian religion that the English and the North Americans have done over the years and now they have said “no further, and enough is enough”. This conference is showing this assertiveness. African Anglicans believe the faith they hold. It is not a wishy washy thing for them and they are now putting their stamp on the churches of the west who seem quite lost in their wishy washy beliefs.

The visual images and the worship here in Jerusalem at this conference demonstrate this. The Africans stand out here in their traditional dress which is so dramatic and so beautiful in all the colors. The Church of Uganda contingent here is doing the music and the music is incredible! During the services there is often a spontaneous song that an African may start to sing which of course is joined in by others and then by the whole crowd of 1300. The preaching is often done by Africans and it is customarily passionate. They are injecting into those of us from the western world a much needed and much appreciated breath of new life and fresh air.

I`ve been making lots of contacts with the Ugandan group and they react with joy and excitement when I tell them that I am going form Jerusalem to Uganda. They very quickly say `welcome home`and then insist that I visit their diocese in Uganda. I`ve been invited pretty much all over the country from the West Nile to the North as well as to the East and will have quite a dilemma when I get there and start contacting these Bishops who will expect me to come see them at home and to see their churches.

There is a web site by an Anglican journalist you can go to to read the stories of this conference but more importantly to see the visuals by accessing a link to the photographs that were taken from a helicopter as we gathered on the Mount of Olives Monday. There are two photos there and one shows the entire group of us and the other was just the 300 bishops who are here. That photo shows the make-up of the leadership here ….you can see for yourself at http://www.virtueonline.org/ when you click the NEWS section and scroll through the stories posted there. Don't get bogged down by the stories of the politics of this conference as most secular press stories in Britain, Canada and the U.S. are missing the mark by galaxies when it comes to the awesome content, the joy, and warmth of this gathering. It's like they are reporting on a completely different conference than the one I am at. But hey, that's to be expected with the cynical western media. I will post some pics of the Mount of Olives and garden of Gethsemane visit as well.

Sunday June 22 arrived too early. They had scheduled the Church service to be at the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral in Jerusalem for many of the conference people who had arrived. It’s the oldest Protestant church in Jerusalem going back to the 1830’s. It was a really good service (but the preacher was too long) …..Dana would not have lasted!

I wore the collar Sunday mostly to be identified and to find people from the conference but the black shirt didn’t really agree with the heat or then with me… but it helped to find others there for the same reason as me. Later it also helped in the Old city of Jerusalem… with lesson number one of the Middle East…being assertive!

I hooked up with Marty a priest from Perth, and Jerry a priest from Washington State. To my surprise I also ran into Paul Oritt the priest from Okotoks AB (Paul is now in Washington state). After the service we boarded the buses to go back to the Main hotel where the Conference would be held to register. Name tags are made with a photo I.D. and they have security personnel checking the tags at the doors to the conference. There are some Anglican leaders who because of their ministries and activity in some countries need protection while in Israel and as well given the significance of this conference, protection from disruption.

I hired a taxi after registration being eager to get to the Old city to truly experience Jerusalem. He dropped me off at the Jaffa gate and that’s where the most important taste of this city begins. There are people everywhere and gazillions of little shops where Arab and Palestinian shopkeepers aggressively try to sell you their goods. Then of course there are Orthodox Jews everywhere as well. They are walking, they are praying, they are on cell phones. A few feet away from an Orthodox Jew you might have a Palestinian shopkeeper whose radio is belting out Islamic music and then the reminder to pray. This city grabs you with one very powerful message. Religion matters. Everything everywhere revolves around the central truth here for nearly everyone and certainly for those who live here…life is about religion. Most visitors like myself are here for the very same reason. It was not odd for me to be wandering around in the collar with my video camera because hundreds of other clergy (Anglicans, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics) were also around and taking in the city or going about their religious business. The Palestinian shop-keepers very respectfully call for your attention “Father, Father…hello Father”, quickly followed by “please come into my shop!” Many there are selling religious items and icons and everything else a religious person might want and the collar identifies you as an ideal customer.

I was heading for the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) which is the street Jesus walked on while carrying the cross to the place of the crucifixion. A young Palestinian teenager showed me the beginning point or station number one where Jesus was condemned and sentenced (of course that cost me 10 shekels!) On many of the stations there is a church or chapel that commemorates the various times along the way of the cross where Jesus did something. Some of these are Roman others are Russian or Greek Catholic churches and open and usually in use for mass or simply to walk in to and take pictures.

It is clearly then when it usually hit’s a person that religion matters. After hundreds of times in a sermon or Bible study over the years of my ministry I have talked about this or that aspect of the gospel where Jesus did this or that…but now I was standing where he stood! I sat and took pictures in the chapel where he stood to be condemned. I walked along the Via Dolorosa where he walked his last…. It is somewhat surreal and it does grab your attention.

I discovered the way to fight off the shopkeepers that line both sides of the narrow Via Dolorosa and every other street of the Old City. Here`s where the collar helps. At one shop the young guy wanted me to buy one of his icons or a cross or a religious vestment. I told him "stop talking…it is a holy day for me; it’s Sunday and I am praying!" He then explained his family is Christian (as are many Palestinians) and that he only gets authentic wool weaved by Palestinian women. I told him, "shhh you`re talking!!!!" That was hard for him. It didn`t offend him however because the other surprising thing for a Canadian who visits Jerusalem is that people here always argue! In a busy, cramped, hot, ancient and holy city like this disputes are many. But with Middle eastern people there is no passivity about those disputes. They are out loud, in front of everybody, and with arms in the air. It does not matter how many hundreds of people are walking around and present, an argument is an argument and it is important. Right and wrong just like religion are important here! You just need to thicken the skin, get over it, get involved and take it all in.

Last stop on the Via Dolorosa is the church of the Holy Sepulchre which is on or very near the site where Jesus was crucified and the tomb he was laid to rest in. It is a dramatic place to visit. Lots of people and lots of services happening. It is one of the frustrating parts of this. The Orthodox priests and monks, or else the Franciscans are quite territorial about when processions needs to happen and where the incense needs to be burned and it seems to be a repetition over and over. The problem is that then they always are shooing people this way or that way and out of the way. The doors of the tomb will close behind them and tourists are rushed along. Sometimes you want to just stop them and argue about it and say, “this city belongs to everybody not just you!” But you have to take it in stride and remember that here religion matters and when the doors open again, push your way in. Of course, being pushy is so un-Canadian. We sometimes accuse our American neighbors of being pushy. Watching them here however, you can see them making the adjustment too from being too nice and passive in comparison to this place! I told an American friend that he’s far too nice and needs to get a little pushy. Go figure, a Canadian telling THAT to an American! That’s the way one takes in a place like this where things matter and where religion matters.

Well it’s taken a few days to sort out Internet access here in Jerusalem but I think I’ve got it. “SHALOM“….from the Shalom hotel in Jerusalem Israel!

I arrived in Tel Aviv from a much delayed flight from Newark New Jersey (Continental delayed it from 10:50 p.m. Friday June 20 till 6:00 a.m. Saturday). They put passengers up in a hotel only to have to get up at 3:00 to check in at the airport at 4:30 a.m.

The flight took us over the south of France and across the Mediterranean. It was cool at one point to look outside the plane and see Naples Italy and nearby, a dormant volcano. A young Jewish girl and her dad from Newark and I took turns pasting our faces up against the flight attendants window at the back of the plane where we could stand for a while and look down over the French then Italian countryside. Being the end of the school term many American Jewish families were headed to Israel.

After finally landing at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv I had hoped to see the Conference transport arrangements that would take me from there to Jerusalem but since it was after midnight they were not there. I was looking for an Anglican priest from Vancouver who was on my flight hoping to get transportation together but I was unable to find him. Looking like some dumb lost guy invites the local cab drivers to descend upon you like vultures. This offers the first and most important lesson about being in the middle east -you have to learn to be rude! In limited English he offered a taxi and I the typical friendly Canadian smiled and said “possibly, but wait until I have looked for someone from my flight”. He did wait…..2 feet from my side no matter where I went for an HOUR and continued to re-offer his services. Finally I put a stern 1:30 a.m. face on and in an un-Canadian manner told him where to go (yes along with the middle eastern dramatic arm waving).

I finally arranged a shuttle bus lift that was only $20 instead of the $80 taxi and made what should have been a 45 minute drive to Jerusalem in about 30. These people drive like you would not believe! I checked in to the Shalom, and crashed in about 8 minutes. Off to a good but very tired start.