England/Scotland 2024 Pilgrimage – Day 11: Durham Cathedral, Whitby Abbey, York

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Ahhhh! Last night I was in bed with eyes closed at 10pm and slept until almost 7am. How good it felt!

After another delicious hot Full English Breakfast downstairs, we checked out and headed an hour and a half to Durham Cathedral. This is a place we’ve looked forward to visiting. Not only because of its age and its relationship with church history, but because N.T. Wright had been the Bishop of Durham from 2003 to 2010.

N.T. Wright

N.T. (or Tom) Wright’s books and teachings gave me hope during my long season of “crisis of church.” His DVD series with Michael Byrd, The New Testament In It’s World, has shed light on how first century Jesus-followers would have received the teachings we currently call The New Testament.

Language and Interpretation Challenges

This whole trip, I’ve been struck with how I understand English, yet, there are things that I don’t understand about Great Britain culture. They say and do things differently than me, which can make me misunderstand (or mis-interpret, if you will) and see things quite differently than what they intended.

A visual example from today: On the highway, we were confused about a circular sign that had a picture of a truck with a cross bar through it. In the USA, a sign with a slash (\) across the picture means don’t do it. So we interpreted it as meaning no trucks on this road. So strange that they couldn’t be on this road that was like our interstate. We also saw a circular sign with a bike on it. Wow! You mean they let bikers ride on their interstates? How dangerous!

Then Gregg remembered learning European signs years ago. The slash (\) through the picture means that any restrictions are no longer in effect. And the picture without a slash means the beginning of restrictions. So, trucks WERE allowed on this road and bikes were NOT allowed.

Culture, customs, perspectives, context, time period, what the speakers and hearers understand each other to be communicating, and a whole lot more than just the words must be considered when trying to understand ancient (and current) messages.

Durham Cathedral

The area right around Durham is old! As in, medieval times. The Durham Cathedral was built in the 11th century and is the final resting place for Saint Cuthbert. The enormity of the building reminded me of the enormity of God. Curiously, as I walked into the door, I caught my breath. It was like a small, quick inhale and then it felt like I couldn’t breath for a few seconds. It was a visceral response.

The cathedral had many respectful reminders of saints in the past. It came to my awareness (not for the first time in my life, and it is embarassing to admit) that deep inside, I’ve thought of many people who have believed a bit differently than me as just “going through the motions.” I couldn’t grasp that they, too, have/had a strong love and desire to honor God and King Jesus.

Confession

This trip has helped me learn more about the many monks, kings, and others who gave up their comforts and even their lives for the sake of sharing the gospel of Jesus. Their lives have challenged my deep seated, subconcious assumptions that impact my perceptions of others. Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Eucharist Service

We knew we had a lot of miles to cover today and we needed to check into our York lodging by 6pm, so our plan was to stay at the Cathedral until noon. When we got there, we learned that there is a Eucharist service at 12:30. We went back and forth about it, finally deciding we’d figure out how to make it work. It was special to worship God and take communion in a place where believers have prayed for over 900 years.

Whitby Abbey

After the Eucharist service, we quickly returned to our car, figured out how to pay for parking, and headed sound an hour and a half or so to Whitby. Whitby Abbey was part of a monastery founded by Abbess Hild in 657 for both men and women. In 664, they held a synod to talk out differences between believers.

Some Christians followed the Roman traditions while others followed the Celtic traditions. The two main areas of differences were not over theology, but over the date Easter is celebrated and about how monks should cut their hair. Rather than physically fighting over their differences, they met, known as the Synod of Whitby, talked, and came to an agreement. The Celtics decided to adopt the Roman dates for celebrating Easter. I don’t remember what the hair decision was.

The Abbey is a beautiful, large ruins now. It has a history of being abandoned, then revitalized, then abandoned again during the Reformation. Then it was bombed in 1914 by the Germans during World War I. Restoration work has been done and it is open to walk around. We didn’t take the time or money to go inside. We appreciated seeing it at a short distance. It is amazing!

York

Another hour and a half ride and we were in York. We’ve rented a small apartment for two nights near the heart of historic York. When Gregg turned to unlock our door, I couldn’t believe it. The apartment is located at the base of a city gate, the Monk Bar. Construction began in early 14th century. The top story was added in 1484. A mere 540 years ago.

Medieval York

We walked through the narrow, cobblestone streets. There are few vehicles, so the roads are mainly pedestrian. It was fun to look at the shops. We were also on the hunt for a place to eat dinner as well as where to get breakfast tomorrow morning. We finally picked a pub known for their pies. I had a fish pie again with sweet carrots and broccoli, Gregg had fish and chips. I also drank a Fentiman’s ginger beer since it was invented here in Yorkshire, England in the 1700’s.

We received a sneak peek of York Minster Cathedral from the back. We plan to visit tomorrow.

Slow WiFi

Well, it is almost midnight. Gregg is sleeping. Thankfully, the alarm is set for 8:00. This post is about done, except for adding photos. I’m having difficulty doing that because the wifi here is very sluggish and slow. So, if you are reading this and don’t see pictures, you’ll know why. I’m on the comptuter right now. I’ll change over to my phone and see if that helps.

Until tomorrow… embrace the adventure!