Tidbits from England

Writing from North London.

As I write, we have slept our first night in London, and I am well aware that 99% of you have turned your bodies into sleep mode. I am currently looking at a lovely garden in our backyard and some classic British homes. The cool breeze is refreshing, and I hope it is a sign of good things to come.

There is so much I could say about my time in Jersey, but I hope to offer some words in my Friday post. Any writing will be sporadic until I get to America. I have had little time to reflect and assess. Suffice it to say that the CREC is not just alive in this English channel but thriving under the leadership of a terrific session. I could not be more delighted with what I witnessed these last few days.

London Town

Our arrival in London was chaotic. Our first stop at Heathrow Airport was relatively mild on Friday compared to our mid-day arrival yesterday. The airport reflected the largest metropolitan area in Western Europe. It was cacophonous. We got our Uber, which took us to a nearby hotel for our meeting. The area is a bit rough, but a synopsis of the European immigration model which has been quite disastrous.

This part of London looked like a beaten-down fortress. I am sure it was stunning at one point but now it looked dirty and rather unsafe. Still, our guests managed to find a superb Portuguese restaurant run by an outrageously gregarious Portuguese woman. We had some fine skewers of beef, sausage, and chicken. We were all pretty content. We returned to the hotel for coffee made by a fairly meticulous Indian man who took over 30 minutes to make what a standard barista would make in five. Still, the coffee was good, and though they failed to provide a heavy cream (a form of caffeinated misdemeanor), it was still a great experience.

Our meeting went extremely well. If time allows on the trip back, I will try to offer some thoughts on the future of the CREC in the UK and the Channel Islands, but I can only say that I am extremely encouraged after our meeting and hopeful that God will do great things among these dear brothers.

England is destitute of good and healthy churches. The Church of England has swallowed the camel and the needle and is choking at their own doing. The adjacent groups that left the Anglican Church have also compromised at various levels into some form of Anglo-Catholicism, some variation of egalitarian drivel, or some attempting to hang on for dear life as they fight against the vicious trajectories.

We headed to the station to get on our tube to our destination. Though we made a few mistakes, we eventually made it to our host, who warmly welcomed us and made us feel right at home. We talked about Psalm-Singing and the musical future of the CREC in London and had some great wine with dinner.

We have one breakfast meeting in the next hour and then get on the tube to Oxford for two more. I think we will be a bit more skilled than yesterday. It will be our longest day yet, and we expect plenty of walking to add to the collection. Please do remember us.

Cheers,

Uriesou Brito