Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Day Fourteen ~ Bye Scargill, Hello Shipley!


This morning we woke up to say good-bye to our new and old friends at Scargill House. They gave us a nice farewell and off through the Dales we went. Through the beautiful scenery our first stop was Bolton Abbey. The most visited parish house in England, the famous ruins date back over 800 years. We walked across the stepping stones across the River Wharfe and along the river to the Cavendish Pavilion where we had lunch. The whole estate belongs to the Cavendish family, who are the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. After lunch we drove to Shipley, but not before heading to the "Cow and Calf" rock formation, where a scene from the movie 'Calendar Girls" took place. It was raining pretty hard, so Cole, Nora, & Jo were the only ones to venture out to the rocks. Then we headed to Sarah and Rachel's house, where Abigail and Hatley will be staying for the rest of the trip. The next thing on our agenda was dinner with Bishop Nick at his residence in Headingley. Met by his wife Linda, we were joined by Bishop Helen-Ann, Area Bishop of Ripon and husband Miles. After a wonderful dinner and conversation we headed back to our new host families. Cole and Charlie went to stay with Mark, Vicar of Windhill, Nora & Cailin with Steve and Elaine, and Brian & Jo with Ben, Rowan, & Ann.





















Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Day Thirteen ~ Kettlewell, Starbotton, & Grassington

We started today with morning prayer in the chapel at Scargill, along with their community members. After breakfast we put on our hiking boots and headed down the road to Kettlewell, about a 15 minute walk. There, Sarah organized a scavenger hunt of Kettlewell and in pairs the youth had to find landmarks that she photographed and picture themselves in the scenes, 18 in all.
After they finished, and a quick tea break, we set off north along the moor to Starbotton about 2 miles away. Once there we crossed the river and headed back south, stopping in a field to have lunch among the sheep. Walking back through Kettlewell, we ended back at Scargill to grab the mini bus for an afternoon in the village of Grassington. Then after a dinner of fish & chips with ratatouille, Tony led a lesson on hand bells followed by a screening of 'The Calendar Girls", which was filmed here locally showing some of the beautiful landscapes we have seen over the past few days!

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Mid-exchange reflections by Abigail Cairns and Nora Terrill

It has only been a week and a few days since we've been in England, however it feels like years since we left London. Each day feels like a week, like time has morphed into an alternate universe almost. Reflecting back on when we got here, I don't even feel like the same person. Now I'm not saying that I've done a complete personal 180, but I feel like my world now has shifted, almost like an upward spiral staircase (perhaps St. Paul's Cathedral). With each place we visit, I'm seeing more and more collections of people's livelihoods: their dreams, their vices. As a group we keep saying how we feel like we're in an alternate reality, and to an extent, it is. Virginia  and England are a juxtaposition of two very different climates, cultures, and virtues; however there are so many glaring comparisons that you can not ignore. The rolling hills, the rain that feels and smells the same, the sharp similarities of Bradford and Roanoke, but most of all, the biggest similarity I've seen is the wish to create community and peace. YMT does several events for the youth in the DIOSWVA area, to involve young people the Church. In England, there are so many youth programs and fundraisers to keep youth off the street, to create a better town and community. Looking deeper, to me it seems as though both sides are really just aiming to create peace and prosperity. They both want to empower youth to find themselves and their morals, to inspire them to seek change. There may be an entire ocean between us, but that does not stop societal issues, poverty, discrimination, etc. While I've realized that all humans crave comfort and safety, it wasn't until now that I realized the smallest and intricacy of the broad concept of peace. ~ Abigail Cairns

When we arrived in Holme Wood, I immediately felt welcomed and like I was part of the community. Our hosts were so hospitable and welcoming. On our first evening there Gary and Helen took us on a walk around the estate. There, I learned more about Holme Wood and some of the missions of the parish to improve the overall well being of the community in need, even if they don’t attend church. It amazed me how involved in the community St. Christopher’s is. It seemed like everywhere I looked I could see God working through the people of the parish to form a beloved community in Holme Wood. On Sunday, we attended the Connect service at St. Christopher’s. This service was more laid back and interactive than a traditional service. I loved how it made church a more accessible and less daunting community to come into as a stranger. The kindness of the parish was incredible and I could see God working in so many ways through these wonderful people that I got to be with for a week. ~ Nora Terrill









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Monday, July 29, 2019

Day Twelve ~ Is it a pie or cake?

Today is day two at Scargill House. This morning after a breakfast of hard boiled eggs and croissants , the group attended church services at Scargill with their community. It was a contemporary service written by Jean Denniston. After the service there was time for fellowship with coffee, tea and biscuits followed by a quick rest. Lunch was "DIY" sandwiches, soup and salads. At 2:00 in the afternoon, it was time for a 4 mile around trip hike up the moor behind Scargill. Through rolling sheep fields, over stone walls that were set hundreds of years ago, we arrived to a rock formation called Conni Pie, named for the village Conistone that sits below in the dale of Wharledale. We could see for miles. Back at Scargill we had a couple of hours before tea (dinner) to relax and complete a scavenger hunt on the property. Dinner was a traditional roast, along with corn & carrots, Yorkshire pudding with gravy, and roasted potatoes. At 7:30 we went out for a bonfire, however after few songs and fun laughs it began to rain and we had to abandon the field and head inside. As an alternative, we decided to watch a movie until bed time.

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Mid-Exchange Reflections by Charlie Schindler and Hatley Loop


Hi, my name is Charlie Schindler and I am from Lynchburg, Virginia. I have been staying in England for the past week now and have found out some pretty interesting things in that time. When we first landed there was a sense of fulfillment, our Jet lagged bodies trying to process the time difference. We were all extremely excited and ready for the weeks ahead. We hit the ground running with only stopping by the hotel to drop off our luggage. We then made our way through the city of London as touristy as we could. We went on a river boat cruise and to the London eye to get a bird’s eye view of the city. Although we all knew in our heads we were in not only in a new city but a whole new country it still felt like we were just in another big city, except for the mass amount of public transit. Everywhere we went we took at least 2 different trains and then walked another couple of blocks. After another action packed day of tourism, food, and enjoyment we caught a train to the city of Leeds. From Leeds we took another train to Bradford, we all quickly brought our stuff into our rooms and hit the hay, exhausted from all the walking we had done while in london. When I woke up the next day I truly felt like I was in England. We were staying in an estate called Holme Wood, and I was staying in the vicarage next to St. Christopher’s. We attended not one, not two but three church services that day and none of them the same. The first was a bit more traditional and was held in the church. The second was held at St. Christopher’s but in their meeting hall, this service was more laid back and focused on bringing the community of Holme Wood together. There were games and arts and crafts for the younger children and conversation with activities for the adults and youth. After the services we had lunch with the families. Finally the third service of the day was a night prayer held at a Methodist/Anglican Church. The church had invited us for dinner and we congregated after we ate. The church itself was perched on a hill with a big field and a moor behind it ( a moor is what we typically think of when we say countryside England, big open fields with stone walls dividing it). The next day we went to a science museum in the morning and a mosque in the after noon. The mosque was a very interesting experience as the islamic population in America is not only small but dispersed. While here there are immense amounts of citizens from India and Pakistan. This influences a lot of the culture as seen in clothing, cars, and most importantly food. We went of for curry that night and I ate my heart out. It was safe to say that I was in a food coma. We had tons of authentic Indian cuisine from appetizers to entrees to the absolute best food ever Naan, with butter and garlic. The next day we went to the seaside village of Whitby, now when I say it was beautiful, it was beautiful! Amazing architecture and a gorgeous landscape. We visited a church and the ruins of an abbey. We then got into the ocean which was frigid but felt extremely nice as it was almost 90 degrees. The town of Whitby is supposedly the town where Dracula landed from the boat that took him from Transylvania. The next day we helped with a children’s day trip put on by the church, just one of the many things they do to help the kids in the neighborhood. We took the kids to a beautiful old manor of sorts. We helped them complete a scavenger hunt around the house and then took them to a playground on the property. We met plenty of kids that ranged from 6-11 and all full of energy. Later that day we helped arrange a USA trivia night for the older youth of the area, it was a lot of fun and we enjoyed some pizza afterward. The next day was the day of record breaking for England for the month of July and this was only made worse by the fact that no where in England is there Air conditioning or at least a ceiling fan. It was intense, but we made up for the heat by staying inside as much as possible. We helped at second chance cafe that employs volunteers to give them job experience and potential new jobs in the future. Cailin and I worked in the kitchen with one of the other volunteers. We got to know him and found out he was an ex convict and was now sober for three years. It was truly powerful to see what the church does for the community and the people in it. Their focus on bringing new lives to the people of Holme Wood was quite amazing. That night we packed our bags and were off to Scargill, where we are now, but not not without stopping in Skipton. We went to a true medieval castle that was restored so that we could walk around. The castle even had a dungeon, castle towers, and wall surrounding it. We then traveled to Scargill and quickly fell asleep. I unfortunately woke up the next day, today, congested, cold and all around sick. That pretty much recaps our whole trip so far, I know it’s a lot. Now that we are at Scargill we have time to just relax and reflect on the amazing week we have had. I have thoroughly enjoyed your time here and have felt such a deep connection to God while here. Our group had gotten extremely close during our time here and have made many new friends from across the pond and helped to deepen the connection between our dioceses. ~ Charlie Schindler


As we flew over the ocean on to the island I looked behind myself to Cole and over to Nora and Cailin, then over to my left, Abi and Charlie. Reflecting on all the laughs we had in just eight hours, I knew then it would be a great trip. We settled in to the Ibis hotel and enjoyed our stay in London as very typical American tourists. We then got on lots of trains and tubes to head to the small town of Holme Wood. This town is weighed down by poverty, however as our stay there progressed we all quickly realized how much their tight-knit community and church do to help each other. We spent a day with children, ages 5-11, venturing around an old estate and playing in the playground. By spending time with the young people of this community we were exposed to the love they all have for each other. Now, as we are in Scargill, a beautiful retreat center, I have time to reflect on our trip thus far. I’m thankful for all the people I’ve become closer to and the people I have met. My eyes have become open to other communities and different ways of doing things. I’m excited to see what Scargill and the rest of the trip brings to the group and myself. ~ Hatley Loop