The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
September 2, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 31

Everything But...
           A number of people have asked me about my study/vacation this year and a few of you will know of my Syriac avocation/addiction/affection. Syriac is an Aramaic dialect closely related to the language of Jesus and is the primary liturgical/historical language of a number of Oriental Orthodox Churches. I have pursued Syriac studies since seminary and it has greatly enriched both my understanding of the gospels and my spiritual life.
           So on August 6th a long day's journey into the night landed me in England for the 15th International Patristics Conference at Oxford which is held every four years. Patristics is the study of early Christian ‘fathers.’ This is the third time I have attended this Conference and over 800 were in attendance. It was a great time to visit with old friends and to make new ones.
           A long time friend from Oxford days, Kristian Heal, and I organized a three afternoon workshop on the ‘Syriac Book of Steps’. I published the English translation and introduction to this 4th century text (for monastics) with Martien Parmentier of the University of Berne (Switzerland) in 2004. Kristian and I are co-editing a volume of new essays and studies on the ‘Book of Steps’ and we were successful in our goal of encouraging both senior scholars and graduate students to examine this book for its spiritual riches. Thirteen papers were presented from 8 countries (3 continents).
           My paper entitled “Disturbed Sinners: In pursuit of Sanctity in the Book of Steps” would take some explaining - I won't be insulted if you walk away in the middle of the explanation. Although I find it intellectually and spiritually stimulating I realize that not everyone does and this is why I normally don’t inflict my love of Syriac on the congregation.
           The extra-curricular activities climaxed with our gang in the very seats of the Inklings (C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien) at the Eagle & Child Pub. But for me it peaked on Sunday morning when I preached again at Summertown United Reformed Church where our family had worshipped.
          Monday, the 13th I flew to Copenhagen and then by train to Malmö, Sweden, where daughter Winifred is living and going to university. A badly twisted knee, incurred on a student exchange in Belarus when she pretended to be a washing machine during a game, meant a visit to the physiotherapist and my parental insistence on keeping up her exercises. Talk about multi-culturalism! The Möllen district of Malmö is incredibly rich with Turkish, Iranian, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Cameroonian neighbours. Aurally, it is a true Pentecostal experience to walk down the street.
          Finally, it was a day bus and ferry across the North Sea down to Berlin to stay with son Sidney at the English language camp where he has been the sports counselor. Camp finished on August 19th and on the 20th I helped him get ready to head off to Tampere Polytechnic, Finland, for a program in environmental engineering. Then I returned to Malmö, went on to Gatwick, Minneapolis, and home. What a relief to finally land in Regina at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning (Aug 21) after a three hour delay in Minneapolis. Fred and Sid are doing just fine. Sid is a hard worker who is now fluent in German and headed off to a new language and a new country (Finland). Fred after a semester on an Erasmus exchange at Viadrina University in Frankfurt an der Oder in Germany is back in Malmö. She loves Sweden, her school and her classmates. And me - I was just very happy after my travels to find Molly waiting for me at the airport and to go home to a hot cup of tea and a warm bed of my own.