Celtic Chickens And Ascension Day In Kaslo, British Columbia

I drove six hours between snow-capped mountains, on deer-frequented roads which require cars to have snow chains between October and April, over the 1,200m Monashee Pass, across Arrow Lake on a ferry, to the small town of Kaslo, where Karen and Dirk Pidcock were my generous hosts. Dirk has Voyager vows with our Community. Someone at Sorrento Centre told me they had Celtic chickens. I found out what this meant. Two chickens had been named after Celtic saints - Brigid and Hilda - but a bear had attacked the chicken house and they are no more. Never mind - there is still a rooster named Cuthbert.

The Pidcocks had invited folk from local churches to an Ascension Day gathering at their church of St. Mark. Following a 10.0 am service, at which I preached on Christ and creation, nearly thirty people gathered round large tables for a teaching day. Dirk asked me to give people a sense of who I am, what the Community of Aidan and Hilda is, what Lindisfarne is about, and four key things about Celtic Christianity that we can take hold of today.

The church has made a labyrinth in its grounds, which walkers on the riverside trail sometimes use. We had a lunch break beside it. For the final session Dirk invited people to say what they would like to know more about. A brief outline of early Celtic church history, how to make a pilgrimage to Lindisfarne, and how Kaslo church could develop as a village of God were three requests.

It was announced that we would eat supper at the local hotel, and anyone was welcome to join us. Among those who came was a couple of ex catholic non-churchgoers, and we had great conversation.

The journey back to Sorrento revealed a touch of exhaustion, so I stopped off at the at Crazy Creek Hot Baths and relaxed. We gotta keep the rhythm.

Posted at 19:45pm on 14th May 2010
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