When I set out to create this blog, it was a project to keep people informed of what I was up to and learning over here, just as much as it was for me to chronicle this season and have it archived for years to come. So that is why I am taking you all with me and jumping back to December!
As I shared a few blogs ago, the Christmas season started earlier here than usual because we filmed the Capernwray Christmas presentation in late November (which has had more than 9,800 views - we would not have even been able to fit more than a couple of hundred people in the conference hall for a live performance!!) On top of that, a friend from Switzerland (Ursina) asked me in November if I would want to create and exchange Advent calendars with her. My memory of Advent calendars was from elementary school where you would buy the calendars with the little doors that housed tiny chocolates. I thought she had to have been really talented to create something like that, but I learned quickly that was not what she was talking about. I cannot speak for all European Christians, but the German and Swiss students here all received large packages from home containing their advent calendars. They contained small gifts and cards to open up each day in the countdown to Christmas. Ursina is a talented artist, so she drew some unique Christmas trees and paired them with verses from Isaiah, and gifted me some snacks and hand-lettering pens. Another sweet event was getting invited to a Zoom Advent kickoff by one of the girl students I had met through my college ministry outreach. She and a few other college girls host a quarterly gathering called “Wonderfully Made.” What I enjoyed most about it was that we made ourselves an Advent prayer calendar. I am sure many of you can remember making the paper chain countdowns for Christmas in your elementary years, and that is what this prayer calendar was. I had it hanging by my door and it was helpful to have something specific to pray for each day. Also, my interactive group and I decided to do an Advent devotional together. All of these things really forced me to slow down and reflect on Christmas in a fresh way I did not realize I had been missing or craving.
Each Sunday night we have a Capernwray evening service. The message of the first Sunday of Advent was asking us, “Are you ready? Are you anticipating the right things for the season?” I wonder now as we look back to just two months ago, how did we make ourselves ready for Christmas? How did we prepare to celebrate and marvel at the arrival of our King, of Immanuel (“God with us,” Isaiah 7:14)? I realize everyone’s Christmas celebrations were impacted in a variety of ways by Covid and the sense of disappointment and sadness was real and palpable. But should it have changed how we prepared our hearts for Advent? In a year of personal, local, national, global volatility brought on by Covid, I know we were all hoping, “Surely by Christmas, things will be different, better - dare I say, normal?!?!” Here in the U.K., even with December out of the second national lockdown, but a more restrictive tiered system than in September and October, no matter how you looked at it, Christmas was not going to be normal or expected. I wonder if this year Mary and Joseph became more relatable than any Christmas before? You want to talk about ‘unexpected’ or ‘unwanted,’ then look no further than the Nativity story! Your fiancé shares she’s pregnant, but she did not cheat on you and you know you aren’t the father. The government orders a census, which means you have to leave the comfort of your family in Nazareth, travel roughly 90 miles south to Bethlehem (not sure if by foot or on a donkey, both sound miserable) when you are days away from giving birth. Unable to find lodging when you arrive, you manage to get placed in a barn for the night as your water breaks and you place your newborn in a horse and cattle feeding trough because maybe that was a better option than the floor with hay and animal excrement!?
What a mess! Somehow, this does not fit the typical Christmas card scenes we see - tidy, clean, smiling, calm, restful… and yet, that barn is holy ground. No longer would God speak through prophets, dreams, or visions; instead, God was about to speak through human flesh, His own Son. And after 400 years of silence, it is the cry of baby Jesus, “born that man no more may die,” that causes a great company of angels to appear praising God and exclaiming, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests!” (Luke 2:13-14) Was your Christmas a bit of a mess? Jesus could easily relate. And as messy as 2020 was, and perhaps 2021 hasn’t looked any better, it seems that Jesus is right at home among the messiness of life. That is always worthy of praise!
Christmas was a month of exploring and some adventure, too, starting with discovering a local wooded area south of Capernwray with some students. It has become one of my favorite places here, and if you come with anything other than some Wellies, you will have some laundry to do right away. It was in these woods that ‘Con and Sher’ decided to film a Christmas Edition of Neature Walk. We had a fancy Christmas meal early in December because some of our students returned home during the England travel-window for university students. Since the sunset was so early, I managed to squeeze in a sunset hike in the neighboring fields well before dinner. Also, we had an “ugly Christmas jumper,” or sweater, party! The surprise and confusion of the European students made me laugh. “Why would I buy an ugly jumper? What do you do at an ugly Christmas sweater party?” But quickly they jumped on the bandwagon and enjoyed assembling their outfit. I watched “Diehard” for the first time ever, and I agree, it is a Christmas movie. :) Our Red Bubble had a white-elephant gift exchange. I gifted a gold karaoke microphone and left with a Michael Scott as “Prison Mike” pillow case. WIN! Among other things, we held a night of Christmas caroling in the courtyard, since we were not allowed to sing indoors. Hearing the Germans sing “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night) easily made me tear up. I love hearing worship or Christmas songs in other languages!
But the most exciting thing I got to do was actually TRAVEL to the charming and historic city of CHESTER in the county of Cheshire. It’s about 2 hours south from where I am, right on the border of Wales. It took us a while to settle on a final destination, though. We had to consider counties that were in Tier 2, since restaurants would be open (at limited capacity), non-essential shops, and museums. I got to put on my travel-planner hat and enjoyed researching Airbnbs, trains, car-rentals (that was a NO for me, haha!), and what the different counties had to offer. Gloucestershire, you’re still on my bucket list. I will visit you and be able to correctly pronounce your name someday! Ultimately, we heard great reviews on Chester, so that’s where we went for 6-days and it exceeded our expectations!
There were 6 of us girls total and we stayed in a great townhome that was cozy and within a 10-minute walking distance of the city center. Something everyone was looking forward to was COOKING and BAKING. The other American, Bekah, and I made breakfast tacos and chili, and between the German and Swiss girls, there was no shortage of tasty and colorful meals. Our first full-day was Friday, the 18th, and we explored the iconic black and white Tudor-style downtown, enjoyed a latte in a below-ground coffee shop appropriately called “The Crypt,” popped into the charity/thrift stores, and just stretched our legs as tourists (ahhh, finally!) Then Saturday we had mostly sunny weather and walked the Roman wall that surrounds the city center. Chester was founded as a Roman fortress in the 1st century AD. There are the ruins of a Roman amphitheater and Roman gardens visible from the Roman wall! Then we walked along the River Dee, and what do you know, “Con and Sher” filmed a special Chester-edition of Neature Walk that day. Sunday we attended a church service - they showed their Christmas production (getting kids and whole families involved is a trend out here), so that was streamed live to the whole congregation. It was sweet to meet local Christians and they were so hospitable and accommodating! Later that day we had reserved tickets to walk through the Chester Cathedral and see their Christmas tree displays. In the afternoon, we found Katie’s Tea Room and enjoyed a proper high-tea. That night we played a murder-mystery game over dinner. I didn’t murder anyone, but we all kind of dressed for our parts. :) On Monday, we all took off on our own to explore any shops we missed or coffee shops we wanted to try. That evening we got to experience a pub dinner. This was a must-do for our group. We asked for recommendations at the hospitality center and one of their top ones was very close to us - Ye Olde Kings Head, built in 1622. We had ourselves a proper feast. Tuesday we headed back to Capernwray in the late morning by train, which seems like the most appropriate form of transportation in England. Unfortunately, half-way into our time in Chester, the government announced there was likely to be a change to the tier system right after Christmas, which essentially prevented us from taking our week-long trip to Edinburgh over New Years. I managed to get a refund on our Airbnb and train tickets though! So, we returned to Capernwray pretty grateful we at least had this time to explore and enjoy another part of England!
A typical Christmas at Capernwray would not have had any Winter Bible School students on site. Instead, they would have hosted holiday conference guests. Obviously, that was not an option. However, there were enough of us that said we would want to stay on site over the 3-week break, so that is where I spent the remainder of 2020. Granted, I knew I was not going to return to the States for Christmas, but I never expected to actually spend Christmas at Capernwray. The student numbers dropped over break and we got permission from the local council to ‘merge bubbles,’ so I finally got to meet, eat, and socialize with the Blue Bubble people, AND enjoy the other lounge and games room that had previously been blocked off to Red Bubble people, like myself. At last, I got to see what the other half of the castle looked like! We had a Christmas Eve service in the courtyard, a walk to the woods (“my woods,” as I affectionately call them) Christmas morning, ate a fancy Christmas lunch, and right on the dot at 3:00 pm, THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND gave her Christmas address to the nation on BBC One. She looked great, by the way.
December 26th is ‘Boxing Day,’ which would normally be a day of grabbing bargains at the shops or taking a walk, guess what we did? Actually, I would have still chosen the walk! One of the staff’s husbands took a group of us to a circular walking path along the coast called Jenny Browns Pointe, 8-miles northwest of Capernwray. It was a windy day, and quite muddy on the trails. If you don’t have a pair of Wellies (rainboots), again, it’s instant regret! A few days later, another staff member took another group of students here, but we walked a different path. I almost didn’t go, but decided I might as well since who knew when I’d get to go for a walk beyond the area around Capernwray. And I am SO GLAD I did because just as I was about to make my way down to the beach, I ran into the Clarke family (such sweet people) from my church placement here! I have only ever seen and chatted with them on Zoom after church, and have had a Zoom lunch with them back in the fall. Getting to see them face-to-face completely made my day! Believe it or not, the beaches in the northwest of England actually have quicksand. I thought that was just something to worry about in the movies in the 1990s - we were okay, but you definitely didn’t stay in the same place for long!
And on the last day of 2020, we actually got some snow. Being so close to the coast, I wondered if we would see any. I spent that day making some vision boards with the girls. Each year I pick a word or two and select a Bible passage (sometimes they go together, sometimes not). It could be something I want to focus on or be reminded of for that year. My 2020 word was “awaken” and my verse was Isaiah 58:11, even though they don’t correlate. For 2021, I decided on “cherish” and “steadfast.” Cherish because I want to do just that with not only Term 2 of Bible school, but in the upcoming transition rapidly approaching, and whatever else God has planned for 2021. And steadfast because I need constant reminders of the steadfast (secure and unwavering) love of Jesus is in my life. My verse this year is Psalm 25:10 (ESV), “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.” I recently read that of the 219 times that the word steadfast appears in scripture, it is followed by the word love in nearly 200 of those times. The Lord obviously wants you and me to know this attribute of His love.
Okay, I think this will wrap up 2020 at Capernwray. I am now in my third to last week of Bible school. Yes, I have accepted this as reality. HA! January was a great month that will have it’s own blog, as will this month :)
Till next time,
In Christ,
Jessica