Sunday, May 30th, from Jason's Diary

...Had breakfast (Jacob and I have discovered Wheat A Bix cereal)...

Attend services at Eden Baptist Church. I notice how, unlike most churches in the US, there are very few parking spaces for churchgoers. So they are creative (walk, bike, park and walk, etc.)...

Worship at Edens was powerful and wonderful. Julian welcomed the congregation to worship, we say the hymn "When morning gilds the skies", Julian led in a prayer, a young man named Rob gave a stimulating talk to the the young people on "bearing each others burdens", the Scriptures were read (I Peter 4:7-11), and we sangs songs of praise to Christ.

Tears filled my eyes - I looked over at Jen and she was crying too! - as we sang:

Lord I come to you/Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from they grace/that I've found in you
And Lord, I've come to know/the weakness I see in me
Will be overcome/by the power of your love

Hold me close, let your love surround me
Bring me near, draw me to your side.
And as I wait, I'll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with you
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of your love.

We prayed the Lord's prayer, and sang "Brother let me be your servant":

"We are pilgrims on a journey
We are family on the road
We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load"

Julian preached a strong sermon - biblical, expository, moving - on Galatians 5:26-6:5 on Burden Bearing. He stressed how, as the community of Christ led by the Holy Spirit, we are responsible to bear one another's burdens; this implies that we must be willing to share our own burdens (so others can carry them). Julian did an excellent job in teasing out all the implications and nuances of this command. At one point I began to cry again as I watched my friend and brother preach this gospel that we both have given our lives to proclaiming and which is, to us, dearer than life itself.

After services we stayed around a bit for tea, chatted with a few people. Then back to the Hardyman's for a delicious lunch: roast beef, horseradish sauce (I think I ate the whole jar), potatoes, carrots, peas, bread and an absolutely delicious rasberry crisp with a warm custard sauce poured over it.

Jenny and I are realizing how little we have had time and space to slow down, cook meals, eat together.

At 2:30 Jenny, Jacob and I went on a tour of Cambridge put on by the Christian Heritage Trust. We started at the Round Church which is owned now by the Trust. Raunald Macaulay (sp?), the son-in-law of Francis Schaeffer leads this ministry.

Peter was our guide. It turns out that he is a member of a PCA church in Atlanta, Perimeter. He and his wife have lived in Cambridge for the last two years to support the work of the trust.

It was a truly amazing tour. Unfortunately, I'm not able to remember many of the details but here goes...

First we visited St. John's College, then Trinity College (I believe it was in the hall to the chapel at Trinity that we saw the statues of Wilberforce, Newton, and others. We also saw the famed apple tree that led to Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity. We visited Gonville & Cauis College (I can't remember for sure, but the path around one of these colleges is famous for being the path run in the Chariots of Fire). We saw the fountain/pool where Byron would sneak out at night and swim naked in. We visited Kings college, chapel (stupendous).

We also visited a number of churches: St. Benets, St. Edwards, Great St. Mary's church (in one of these churches we were shown Latimer's pulpit where the English reformation was launched from!), and Holy Trinity Church (where Charles Simeon preached).

We also saw a number of important sites like the Old Cavandish labratory (where the atom was first split)...

One can't help reflecting on the juxtaposition of this rich Christian history with the growing secular culture in England...

Jacob and I attended the Sunday evening service at Eden. Jonathan Berry, who is with True Freedom Trust spoke on "Homosexuality: Clarity and compassion": it was an excellent talk; very biblical, thoughtful, articulate...

Closed the evening visiting with Julian and Debbie, while the kids played risk on the floor.