Alabama

I've been to many states in this big beautiful country that I live in. From east to west and north to south, I've lived in or visited many of them in my lifetime. This is, however, the first time I've been in Alabama. I flew here from Michigan on Wednesday, with four other people from my congregation. We're here for a residency as the Baptized for Life initiative at Virginia Theological Seminary draws to a close.

Wednesday was a long long day of travel, beginning at 7:30am with a carpool pick up of the team members.  Our flight had a layover in Atlanta before arriving in Birmingham. And as a result we spent  more time waiting in airports than in the air. We encountered an intense storm on our hour long flight from Atlanta to Birmingham, and the flight attendants were directed to stay seated and buckled in. Long stretches of that flight that were very bumpy, the plane shifting violently from side to side. Thank goodness it was only an hour and by the time we were ready to descend the storm had move east and the last few minutes of the flight were fine. 

The airport reminded us that Birmingham is an historic city, rooted in the racial challenges this country has caused by enslaving people. The civil rights movement and many of its leaders and events took place right here. 

At the airport we met up with about thirty other people and we all boarded a bus to drive an hour northwest to Camp McDowell. The drive took us along a highway and then into rural Alabama. The drive was beautiful. The economic challenges of rural America were also evident.

Camp McDowell is gorgeous and very comfortable, comprised of several buildings for meetings and group gatherings and then cottages with common room areas and private bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. The views are stunning. 

Our first night was just a simple check in, dinner, and then relaxation. 

The first full day included an opportunity for each of us to share our BfL story. 

The day included a long break for rest. I used the time to walk around the lake, about a mile. It's a beautiful trail and some gorgeous plants and trees, different from Michigan. 

Last night the group participated in a coffee house experience of sharing our stories. The room we were in had a lovely fireplace, a delicious spread of brownies, pecan pie, moon pies, and other goodies brought to us from Good Shepherd Church in Mobile, AL. The stores shared were heart breaking and heart warming, vulnerable, and full of love and hope. The story my team shared was just fun. You can watch our rhythm and words here:

Christ Church BfL short story

Today was centered on building a covenant for what comes next. And tomorrow we head home. It's been a very good, very full, very lovely week.