Day Nineteen ~ Full of Pride on the last day!

Today's Youth Perspective ~ Abigail Cairns

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Today was bittersweet. We had a great day and it was a perfect ending to a fantastic exchange. The day started at St. Paul's in Shipley, where the lesson today was from Leviticus and talked about accepting "aliens" or foreigners. And as being aliens for the last 19 days, it could have not been more fitting because the hospitality we have received has been amazing. A wonderful homily by Rachel was given that pinpointed this theme and with the events that have happened over the last few days in our own country it reminded us as to the importance of accepting aliens where ever they may be. After church we took the train to Leeds to march in the Pride parade. We marched with thousands of people through the crowded lined streets of Leeds. It was amazing to be able to participate in such a showing of support for the LBTG+ community. Among with other Christian faithful, we were able to show that God loves all. After we completed the parade we headed back to St. Paul's to clean up, then headed to Ben, Rowan, & Ann's, where they prepared a tea of roast, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots, followed by a fruit truffle for desert. When dinner was complete we all went back to our hosts to start the dreaded packing for the return trip tomorrow. 

There are so many people here that we need to thank for making this such a wonderful exchange. First of all we would like to thank Tony Hesselwood, Liam Jagger, Aimi Walton, Rachel Hesselwood, & Sarah Haigh who were the leaders that planned every thing we did. Host Katherine, Gary, Helen, and Phillipa in Holme Wood. The people of The Eldwick Church for have us for tea and Compline. Everyone at Scargill including Rachel, Lucy, Linzi, and Ella. Host Mark, Ben, Rowen, Anna, Steve, Elaine and Alison (for cooking). Bishop Nick, his wife Linda and Bishop Helen Ann for hosting us for dinner. The clergy and staff at Ripon Cathedral. Dean Jerry at Bradford Cathedral. John and Nikita who were with us in London. And all the countless others that we met along the way. We would also like to thank DIOSWVA, including Kendall & Mark, and Bishop Mark. All of our home parish's of St. John's ~ Roanoke, St. John's ~ Lynchburg, St. Paul's ~ Salem, St. James ~ Roanoke, and Trinity ~ Arrington for their support. And all who donated financially to each of the youth.    Thank you, from all of us!!

                                             

Day Eighteen ~ A day in Leeds

Today’s Youth Perspective ~ Hatley Loop

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Today we spent the day in Leeds. This morning we walked down to the train station in Shipley and took the train to Leeds, which took about 20 minutes. A short walk through town, we arrived at the Royal Armory Museum. The museum holds artifacts of war that goes back centuries. Originally stored in the Tower Of London, this museum was built especially to house these items. After a couple of hours, we stopped for lunch before heading back in town to the Kirkgate Market. An open market in the center of Leeds that holds a wide variety of shopping options. Around 4:00 we worked our way back to Shipley to finish our Pride Day posters for tomorrow. After a curry dinner, which was the group's favorite food, we all went back to Rachel’s for some relaxing group time where we worked on henna tattoos, before heading to our hosts for the night.

Day Seventeen ~ Now that's a fire!

Today's Youth Perspective ~ Cailin McCool

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This morning we all met at Rachel's and caught a bus to Keighley. We went through the train station that transported us back to the 1920's. We boarded a steam train who's engine was built in 1920 and took a 25 minute ride up the valley to Howarth. Walking up the hill from the station we arrived at the small village. With cobblestone streets, it felt like we were time traveling. After about an hour of exploring the shops along the main street, we walked 10 minutes out into the countryside and had lunch in one of the many fields. The day was beautiful and the views were too. In the village we toured the Parsonage, which was home to the Bronte Sisters and the parish church where most of the family rest. This is also the link parish to Christ Church, Blacksburg. Once we finished we walked to the station and caught the 3:00pm train back to Keighley, and a bus back to Shipley, where we had "afternoon tea" consisting of tea, coffee, or milk shakes and scones with cream and jam.Then after a time of rest and a delicious 'british-mex' dinner prepared by Rachel, we drove out to the Whyches Camp. They were hosting a group of Girl Guides from Ireland who had been stranded in Yorkshire after their jamboree was cancelled due to rain in the area. We all gathered around a bonfire and sang camp songs until the fire was down enough to have s'mores the British style, with digestives (a cracker with chocolate on one side) and marshmallows. We all had a great time and made some new friends.