Pilgrimages
An English Pilgrimage
Entries 7-9, Monday-Wednesday, Second Week of Advent:
Hay-on-Wye, Wales: Ours is Not to Reason Wye
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending, . . .
That's what the clouds do, as we cross the River Severn into Wales. Indeed, the Severn is in historic flood stage, the result of the wettest Fall season in hundreds of years. The rainfall and flooding are a major problem for many, but the December-blooming roses are a joy to the eye.
Nearing Hay-on-Wye, we drive through the "Golden Valley" which C. S. Lewis and his terminally ill wife Joy regarded as "their" special place. Today the Golden Valley is discernible, but only barely, through the rain. We park roadside to view the intense green of the valley and hillsides and to consume our "picnic" lunch not quite alfresco, and the steam on the windows complicates the view even further.
The center of Hay-on-Wye.
Then we arrive at Hay-on-Wye, the world-famous village supported by more used-book stores than you'd expect to find in London. The River Wye borders the village and marks the boundary between England and Wales.
Others may have other ideas, but of course I know that Hay-on-Wye exists to collect, and to make available to me, books for the Epworth Chapel on the Green library. My search, therefore, is for books which influenced the Wesleys, which were by or about them, or which they influenced. Because John Wesley was so intellectually inquisitive and analytical because he wrote and spoke so broadly, the scope of my investigation encompasses a good deal of the Christian tradition.
With success, too, including a frill or two, such as a "phonograph" bound form of The Book of Common Prayer, i.e., a secretarial-shorthand version.
Then, also, because Epworth Chapel on the Green is Wesleyan-Anglican, my hunt for books includes a review of everything which was either Wesleyan or Anglican.
Well, yes, there is another thread to follow: books from whatever part of the Christian tradition, which explore the matter of personal holiness-which should always be understood as being holiness enabled by God's grace freely offered to us without regard to any merit of ours.
One book I particularly anticipate enjoying is Marshall, A Devotional Study of the Advent Antiphons. Now that Epworth Chapel on the Green is using the "O" antiphons each Advent, supplementing their public use in worship with devotional study could be of great value.
I am greatly pleased to acquire several versions of some very old Methodist hymnals, which fill in some gaps in Epworth's collection of Wesley hymns, especially suggested hymn tunes for them.
A curiosity is the volumes published by Epworth Press in the 1860s called Christian Miscellany. They reflect an optimism of worldview that was typical of both the Victorians and John Wesley-that Christ came not only to save sinners but also to redeem and restore the world, in this life.
In the narrow, winding lanes, early closings, and utter quiet of quaint Hay-on-Wye, that process seems to be coming along quite well.
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Grant us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
- The Book of Common Prayer
- Christopher
All Contents © 1999-2010 Epworth Chapel on the Green. All rights reserved.