A Concert and a Service

October 9th, 2006 Bridgewater Apartments, Brisbane, Australia
Because I had no bread I was unable to create the sweet meal that is a peanut butter and honey sandwich. I was sad. But, alas, life goes on. And it most certainly had to, because I had work to do.
I slept until 10:15 Saturday morning, which was the longest I have slept in for quite some time. That was a sobering thought. But I digress. I spent some time waking up and wandering around. At noon I read the final chapter of Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country. I have thoroughly enjoyed that book. Besides the, at times, foul language, it was a very enjoyable and humorous read. And it definitely served as an amazing guide to the wonders of Australia.
For the next five hours (off and on) I wrote my seven-and-a-half page paper for Christianity Rediscovered. I was fried. I do not recommend writing that much in one day at all. I don’t plan on doing it again. But it was good to be done, and it was actually an enjoyable paper to write, just because I was writing about topics which interested me and I appreciated. Once I finished I went down to the Littles’ apartment to ask Rich a few questions about the paper. We then just started chatting for awhile until the conversation shifted to St. John’s Cathedral. I was concert was being performed that night. The wheels began turning in Rich’s head.
“D’ya wanna go?” he asked.
I immediately replied, “Yes.” I mean, come on: what better way to unwind after six hours of homework than to attend a riveting performance inside the stone walls of a cathedral? And yes, I’m serious.
At 7:15, I met Rich, Annie, and the Byrams and we packed into an old, borrowed van and drove across Story Bridge to Anne Street. Tickets cost $30, which I felt was appropriate, because I can’t say for sure when I’m going to be able to do this kind of thing again. Jellico and Searcy (the two places in which I spend the majority of my life at this stage) are not exactly places one associates with cathedrals and concerts. The Queensland Choir was performing, along with musicians playing trumpets, drums, cellos, and violins, the coronation ceremony of King George II from the 18th century, composed in large part by Handel. And it was quite amazing. It made me wonder what it would have been like to be at Westminster when this was actually being conducted for the first time. It didn’t end until 11, but there was a break at the midway point. And I really had nothing else for which I needed to back. It was a very entertaining experience.
We gathered once again with the Cleveland community for worship. It was Shelby’s birthday and a cake was eaten in her honor, and she walked around, smiling broadly, certainly relishing the attention for which was deservedly hers. After all, it was her sixth birthday. Katie and I then retired to the front yard where we threw her Frisbee. It worked much better without the wind blowing in from the ocean. What a great game Frisbee is? I really want to get a game of Ultimate going.
I spent Sunday afternoon relaxing for awhile, as well as beginning my paper for Psychology. I suppose I could say I’m halfway done, but I was just a little burned out with paper-writing, so I decided to put it off for a little while. It’s not due until this Saturday, so I have some time.
At 5:15, around fifteen of us met at the gate to attend evening service at St. John’s. Rich was unable to attend due to a dinner engagement, so he asked me to lead the group over to the church. The service was quite different than what most of us were accustomed to. I had attended such worship services before, so I knew what to expect, but for many it was only their second time inside a cathedral (for some their second time inside a non-Church of Christ church). The choir was magnificent. Those kids can sing! Their singing, accompanied by the power of the organ, echoed throughout the stone interior. I was encouraged by the sheer beauty of the sound. The dean read a passage from Job, and an elderly woman who was sitting in the front pew read a few lines from Hebrews. I think it was a good experience for everyone there to be able to see how other Christians engage in the worship of God. It is most certainly different, and it may not be preferred, but it is important to witness. One person who did not attend asked me back at the apartments how it went.
“I was encouraged,” I replied. “I can’t say I’d want to attend a church like that every Sunday, but I was definitely encouraged.
He shook his head and said, “John, you’re an interesting person.”
“Thanks,” I quickly countered. “Proud to be one.”
Felicity, Katie, and I walked through Brisbane for a little while following the service and got kebabs at our usual little street restaurant. I continued to work for a time on my Psychology paper, but soon discarded that for the movie Van Helsing with a few people. I needed another break, I suppose.
This morning was free. Only Rich’s classes were meeting in the afternoon. I slept until a little after 9 before getting up to run. I wanted to continue to work on my paper, but everyone was using every available computer to write their paper for Missionary Anthropology, which is due on Tuesday. If only my computer was working! It’s a little frustrating, to say the least. Left with no other option, I took a nap, and I was happy.
It was my last time to speak in chapel. I kept it pretty short and pretty simple. Some people had stated that perhaps others were intimidated when I spoke because I had thought out what I said and considered what I believed and was serious about the topics being discussed. I can’t really blame myself for that just because others may not have had the opportunity to think about their beliefs, but I guess I decided to give those few a break. I spoke about St. Francis of Assisi’s prayer (or the one we attribute to him) in which it begins, “O Lord make me an instrument of your peace.” It’s a beautiful prayer that contains principles important to our lives.
At 1:30 we headed into the city, finishing the last three of our little tours. We went to City Hall and climbed to the summit of the clock tower. At the time Rich’s parents came to Australia from England in the ‘60s, this was the tallest building in Brisbane. We then went to Anzac Square before ending at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Rich pointed out the differences between this building, a Catholic church, and St. John’s, which is Anglican. We had some time to wonder around and enjoy the beauty of the building. We took a few notes in the courtyard before being turned loose.
Tomorrow, at 1:30, finals begin. All of Rich’s are tomorrow, so I will be finished with three classes by tomorrow evening. Fortunately, none of his finals are comprehensive, which I thought, in an unbiased frame of mind, was very fair and appropriate. It’s time to take a deep breath and just dive in for a few days, because it’ll all be over by this time Thursday. And then, we travel.