Nancy's Sabbatical

"Dear Nancy it was great meeting you last week. You can certainly email me again. Here is my response:  Last night’s presentation could be described as science fiction because... a) in a Greek Orthodox context we don't hear clergy men celebrating love between two people of the same sex. b) same sex attraction is more of a hindrance for one's salvation and is not acceptable to act upon this attraction. Sexual act between people of the same sex is a sin that cannot be celebrated. Abstaining from sex would be the solution. c) many conservative clergy men attack homosexuality and adopt hatred speech. Hope this is helpful All the best" From one of the 26 participants  

Hi all, we made it to Patmos. I have a new configuration for this blog, so it may take me a while. For now I’ll try to send you some photos.

Hi again, One thing I am noticing in Athens.  Many people travel as families with a variety of ages. We have seen a fair amount of families with very small children. The other night at our restaurant, there were two Dads with two small children. Of course, I am not positive they were two dads, but that was my best guess. I would have loved to have met them and asked how their travels are going. We hear a variety of languages every day. That is cool. Children are everywhere in the city. Plus, I saw several groups of children touring today. We sure hope to meet some families on Patmos.  All for now, Love, Nancy

We will take a flight from Athens to Kos early on Sunday morning.  The island of Kos is supposed to be pretty. We’ll be there for several hours. Then, we will find a ferry to take us from Kos to Patmos! WooHoo.  If you are reading this, I get to ask you for prayers once again. Dear Lord, help Robert and I remember to be pilgrims on a journey and to go slowly, to savor. Actually, this morning we had a nice quiet time. I read from some verses on friendship. We have time for each other on this trip, so I am praying to take advantage of this slower pace. It has been a bit hectic in Athens, but we are about to slow down, starting tomorrow!  So I’m writing tonight, Saturday, realizing we will leave our apartment quite early to catch that fligiht.  OK, so we will slow down after that early flight, ha. Love, Nancy

Greetings all, Our friend, George, helped us find the public transportation and we went with him to the outskirts of Athens. First we enjoyed lunch at a very hole in the wall place that perhaps no tourists would ever find. The food was delicious! Then George put us on public transit to Glyfada which is on the ocean. We traveled back to city center, by way of a beach path and a tram. You will see a photo of Robert getting a foot massage. This is a beach along the way. Today, April 28, we toured the Parthenon which is on the Acropolis, which means high hill. We can actually see the Parthenon from our bed in this VRBO apartment in the center of the city on the 6th floor. I am sending a photo of that too. Also, I went to the Acropolis Museum. From a tour book, “as the highest part of the city, the rock is an ideal place for refuge, religion and royalty. The Acropolis Rock has been used continuously or these purposes since Neolithic times.”   f  

Greetings everyone! First of all, thank you to all of you who kept last night in your prayers. I felt the results of having your prayers. Rather than any nervousness, I had a deep sense of gratitude and peace. I might not be able to write a lot right now, so will give you the shortest summary. For those of you who do not know, I was asked to give a 45 minute presentation. The title and subtitle of my talk was, “Isn’t Religion Supposed To Be About Love? LGBTQ people narrating their journeys toward full inclusion in the church.” People who are in a post-graduate program called Human Rights and Education, former students, and members of LGBTQ groups were invited by email. We knew that since it was not a required class, there might be no attendees! So, to our delight, there were about 26 people. Most of them were people who are currently teaching school. They are already teachers, but are either taking classes for an advanced degree, or they were former students from this program. We es

Hello Everyone! Well I took some interesting homeopathic pills while on the international night flight and they must have worked. I’ll keep you posted, but for now, my jet lag is gone. I got up my usual time, 5:00 am in Greece... spent time on tonight’s presentation, and just got back from two hours of walking and running a bit in Athens. I’ll share just a few photos.  Now I’m back at the apartment around noon to pick up Robert!

Greetings! Please join me in prayer, “Dear Lord, this is the day you have made. Help us rejoice and be glad in this day! Use Nancy to your glory. Help her be a peaceful pilgrim today as you prepare her for giving the talk tonight. Bless Nancy and Robert with peaceful pilgrimages today as they explore Athens and all the rich history in the many ancient ruins. Give them grace to move slowly and to savor. Prepare those who are considering attending tonight’s talk. Oh Lord, prepare their hearts and minds to receive words of peace and grace, acceptance and celebration. And anything else you see that we need, dear Lord, we ask for in your name, Amen.”  Thank you if you happen to be reading this today. Robert and I are trying to figure out if Athens is 7 or 8 hours earlier than Central Time. So we at least have it narrowed down... so in Wisconsin for example, you could pray for us during the time block of 10:15 am to 12:15 pm and you will cover us. The title of the talk is, “Isn’t religi

These are photos of my walking around the city of Athens yesterday. I was able to sleep on the airplane, so when we arrived into Athens yesterday (Wednesday) after our night flight, I decided to walk around the city. I viewed some ancient ruins, but actually didn’t really know exactly what I was seeing, ha. I met Zara, an Iranian woman who now lives in Virginia, USA. She and I walked around and that is how I got photos of me and the cats. Lots of cats here in Athens! And last night at dinner, we sat outside, and a cat was sort of pestering the couple who sat next to our table. The kitty only said hi to us, then she decided to visit others. Enough of my babbling, I’ll now give you photos of my walking around town on Wednesday, April 25. Hey, if you are reading this, thank you! It is really fun for me to be able to record this experience day by day on a blog. WooHoo.  I am going to write sort of a prayer in my next blog, so hope to remember that. Now I will upload photos which seems t

Greetings! I’ll share photos in this entry and in the next one I’ll try to explain. Well, Hmmm, how about if I explain the photo of dinner last night. This is Robert, the husband, with darker hair, George, with lighter hair color, and Villy. Villy is a professor at the University of Athens, and she is the person who has been my amazing Greece contact since about February of 2017 when I was writing the sabbatical proposal. Villy has arranged for me to give a talk tonight. I’ll mention the talk in a later blog. And George is from Duluth, Minnesota. He is Greek, speaks both languages fluently and is the Greek Orthodox God father for Anna who taught me some Greek language in her home in Superior, Wisconsin.

https://serendipitydodah.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/serendipitydodah-for-moms/ Go to this site to read a story of a parent with a transgender child

Greetings everyone! Robert and I have a layover in Toronto. There was an accident here yesterday, 10 people killed when someone drove a van into a busy street. News on airport TV is about this.  We have a several hour time here. I’ll send you a photo from Pilgrim Lutheran Church worship on Sunday, April 22.     Next time we talk will probably be from Athens. I am thankful for each and every one of you who send us your kind wishes and prayers. Love and prayers back to you, Nancy

The church was packed this morning. When you are sitting in the pews and look toward the front, there are tables and chairs on both sides for parents and children of all ages to sit. Kids are invited to color and it really seemed to work. Kids sang two or three times. Pilgrim has a children’s choir director, and this level of quality investment in kids tells kids and parents- kids are valued here. A 5th grader ushered. A parishoners led the children’s sermon- very inclusive of all ages. Today Pilgrim’s new Pastor Jen was installed. The time invested in today’s worship was evident in choice of music, liturgy, everything. By design, lead pastor Carol has mostly all congregational members leading worship. Things probably went longer than their original plan, but they didn’t seem to mind. It was a day of celebration. Pastor Jen preached on Mark 10:13-16 when Jesus shows how much he values children. Excellent message Pastor Jen! There was more welcoming during coffee fellowship but I n

Photos of streets filled with cars and a few more posters inside Pilgrim church  

Working together Brad’s council created a welcoming statement. Part of his call has been to work together in visioning for the future. I hope to also give you all their list of values- that are on the wall. For now, here is their welcome statement and one more poster.

Here are some photos from the church where Brad is pastor...