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Re-entry |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/28/2006
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We are home. It took 24 hours from Rome to home with a delay at
JFK but we are here, safe and sound and with all our luggage. It
is always good to be home.
After my ten days in Rome, Jack and I connected and took the train to
Florence. Three days of amazing art, great shopping, and some
rain. We met our friends Jill and Jay Hudson in Florence.
One day we took a wine tour of Tuscany. I learned about Tuscan
wines and olive oils. It was a refreshing change from all the
days of religious art and history.
At the end of our stay in Florence we rented a car and headed to the
west and the cities of Cinque Terra (five earth). These five
villages cling to the coast of Italy. There are hiking trails
that link all five cities as well as a train. We walked and rode
and ate and drank our way through the five villages. The sun
shone and the weather was perfec ...
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Pilgrimage to Vacation |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/19/2006
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I said goodbye to Women Touched by Grace. We got news at our closing dinner that our grant for continuing the program has been approved. So we will meet once a year for three more years, but not in Rome!
I think a difference between pigrimage and vacatyion for me is time for reflection. Usually when I travel I want to see it all. I rush and go full speed and then promptly forget a great deal of it after I get home. This trip had built in time for silence, for reflection, for writing and I think I have absorbed more than usual. I would like to travel this way all the time, but it still feels somewhat wasteful to do othing when I coulod be seeing another masterpiuece or work of art.
Jack and I met at the train yesterday and traveled safely to Florence where we hooked up with our dear friends Jill and Jay Hudson. Moew museums and churches and amazing art. Tomorrow is a wine tour of Tus ...
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oops |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/16/2006
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User error on the computer makes this difficult.
Yesterday I meant to tell you that when the Pope blessed us he "willingly extended his blessing to our families and congregations." So you have all been blessed.
Today we traveled out of Rome (YEAH!) to the little village of Nurcia. This is when St Benedict was born. We had lunch with a community of Benedictine Sisters there.
The countryside is bella (beautiful). The leaves are turning and the colors are beautiful. Jack has arrived in Rome but we have not been a ...
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How could I forget? |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/16/2006
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Papa |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/15/2006
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We saw the Pope this morning. He spoke in several languages and we sang our "Women Touched by Grace" song for him. I am confident he was impressed. What amazed me was the quiet in the crowd. There was a palpable sense of awe/reverence/respect I can't really name it but I sure felt it. Even in our group of Protestants there was a good deal of emotion. For me it was like seeing a famous person, it held no spiritual content.
Four of us went out for lunch after our audience with Papa. One of the women, an Episcopal priest, wore her collar. While there are many, many priests around town and hundreds of nuns in habits and religious brothers, Karen was the first woman any of us had seen in a collar. People on the street stared in shock. Little girls clapped and old men looked like they wanted to spit on her. I thought she was very courageous to wear it. I did ...
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St. Benedict |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/14/2006
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Finally, yesterday we left Rome and saw something other than the city. Subiaco is where St. Benedict began his life as a monk and it is where he first began the order of Benedictines. The monastery sits high on a hill outside the small town of Subiaco. This place felt holy. The quiet and the beauty. St. Benedict went there, leaving his education in Rome, because he found the city to be too busy and corrupt. He could not seek God in all the chaos of the city. I knew there was a reason I liked him!
From Subiaco we traveled to Monti Casino where Benedict wrote his Rule. Again, the monastery is high on a hill. The buildings are newer becuase the original monastery was destroyed in bombing during WWII when the Nazis took over the building.
After my day of feeling very Protestant, yesterday at Subicao I felt I could have been a Benedictine. The important conce ...
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Sabbath |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/12/2006
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Today is the first day of rain and also my first day of rest. We have been walking 5-7 miles daily- even with trains and buses and metro. So many sights and smells and sounds.
Today I am staying at the monastery to try and absorb some of what we have expereinced so far. Yesterday I went to a church that had a picture of an angry nun stomping on Martin Luther. There was also a painting on the ceiling of people in heaven on a cloud with the Protestants falling through a hole and landing in hell. Clearly the reformation provoked some strong emotions on ...
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What kin of church are we? |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/10/2006
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We have a wonderful Benedictine Sister who is our scholar for our gathering. She is an expert in St. Benedict and also in church history. She told us yesterday that the early Roman Church was interested in order- hence the rules. The early Eastern Church was interested in healing- so they used prayer and spiritual direction rather than rules to convert people. I found that to be an interesting distinction.
What kind of church are we?
We visited an ancient church dedicated to Mary in the old area of Rome- Trastevere. Kind of like a Broad RI ...
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Rome |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/8/2006
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A day in Rome. Beautiful weather. Took the train to the Vatican and wandered through some neighborhoods. Great day. last night I worshiped with the Sisters in Italian. I have a lot to learn.
Luggage arrived this evening. Computers are slow and crowed so more later. Also, keyboard is in \Italian so I am struggling!
Ciao.
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Arrival |
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Pastor Teri Thomas' Blog
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By Teri Thomas on
11/7/2006
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I have never been paged in the airport before. But as I arrived in the Delta gate area in Indianapolis I heard my name on the speaker. At the counter the agent informed me that my flight to JFK would be 2 hours late and I would miss my connection to Rome. But not to worry...she could put me on a flight to Atlanta with a connection to Rome that would get me in at the same time.
So 18 hours later I am sitting in the sun listening to the birds in Rome. I am in Rome!
However, my suitcase is in Paris. When it failed to appear on the c ...
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