Monthly Archives: July 2008

A Non-Violent Generation – Sam Wollenberg

July 29, 2008 – 4:59 pm
By s.wollenberg | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (2)

Well I am now “officially” home in Vancouver and while listening to the glorious rain fall outside and writing papers on the Anabaptists, I decided to carry on my train of thoughts by finishing up my last blog post.

Non-Violence. Quite the concept when you think about it. To be a true supporter of non-violence and peaceful resistance one must whole heartedly commit to withdraw from any form of retaliatory violence, armed protection, and, some would argue, self defense. As much as I try and convince myself that i would be able to do all of these things when confronted with such situations, I really think that in the end, i would fall back on violent resistance and put up a hell of a self defense. These two terms, non-violence and peaceful resistance, mean the complete sacrifice of ones self in the hopes that the opponent will have the audacity and sincerity to utilize the same method of conflict resolution, but as history shows, that rarely occurs.

History has shown us that violence is a way to take something for one owns gain, take back something that was stolen, accumulate wealth and property, exterminate a disliked peoples or simply to prove that the power is there and effective. And yet, after all of the evils that have existed or exist, WWI-II, communist Russia, military regimes, corrupt presidents and politicians, what remarkably stands out to me, is the methods used to resist them. I realized this during our last debriefing at the Winchester Vineyard when Peter asked something along the lines of “What will be the greatest understanding that we can take away from this trip” and after mulling it over for a few minutes, the thing that stuck out in my mind was the monumental task of choosing peace over violence and resistance over aggression. Despite all the atrocities that have been the result of totalitarian rulers and oppressive forces, it wasn’t these feats that stood out to me. It was the courage of those that chose a different method and, successful or not, were willing to sacrifice themselves in the hopes that history can be changed.

I guess my final thought would be in the form of a few questions. How can we as Christians choose a different, peaceful approach to the numerous conflicts surrounding us today? How can we produce a non-violent generation that actually considers the available possibilities before resorting to primal instincts? I don’t know how I will react in every confrontational situation I am presented with and I am sure that there will be times when I think the best possible cure for some guys ignorance is a whack to the head but I hope I can exhibit some signs of change that assures me history cannot eternally repeat itself.

Post Trip Reflection on Valles De Los Caidos – Jennifer Ngo

July 25, 2008 – 9:50 am
By Jen Ngo | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

Yes, this post is about the first “big” historic spot we visited on the SSU Europe Trip 2008, and yes, it has already been a week since I got home. Why? Why is this post as behind in time as my journal entries? Why am I still stuck in Spain? We went through cathedrals like bowls of rice (for me) or plates of salad (for Mel) or mounds of any food (for Kendall), but Valles De Los Caidos (aka VDLC) still stuck out to me. Like many of the cathedrals and places we saw,  VDLC has a unique history and is an architectural masterpiece. But most importantly, it made me think about two questions which I was to ask myself again and again throughout the trip: What is human evil and what do we do in the face of it? And is this/can this be a sacred space for worshipping Jesus? VDLC is the beginning of the struggle for hope and goodness as seen through history. I can’t say I have perfect answers to these questions and to all the other questions these two questions provoked, but I have asked a lot more good questions. I do hope I’ve come to better grounds with this specie called humankind.From the glorification of war at VDLC to the horrors of concentration camps, we see the darkness of man; yet from the fascinating design of Gaudi’s architecture to the tales of heroic acts at Omaha Beach, we see the goodness and creativity of man; then in the passionate and radical lives of the various saints (Francis, Teresa etc) to the majestic beauty of the Alps, we see the constant presence of God. The world we live in can be rather foggy, and human nature can be so complicated, yet everything can also be oh so simple. I found out that it all have to do with choice. Are we willing to accept the fact that there is always something dark in our nature, yet still choose to make the most out of the good that is in us as well? Are we willing to choose make each space we visit a space that God can also visit? These are choices which we can make.There is a quote in my old prayer book back in secondary school in Hong Kong (it’s Anglican, it’s cool), and it goes like this:” God, please grant us the serenity to accept the things that we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.”Evilness and sacred spaces, history and its lessons… don’t know how to finish this thought, I guess I’ll just let it hang. 

Post-Trip Reflection – Mike Cheatley

July 23, 2008 – 9:36 am
By Mike Cheatley | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

Alas, I am home. I have my own bed, free food, and a pile of new academic responsibilities for the next couple weeks. I still feel like I am in the processing mode for a lot of what happened on the trip, so it is difficult to attempt any kind of summary.

I have a choice of topics to write about. There is the surface level personal experiences (a rock concert outside of Vienna; para-gliding in the Swiss Alps). The assigned academic experience (Western history; lectures on the Renaissance, Reformation, etc). The personal struggles and conflicts (group dynamics; understanding world evils and the responsibility to action that it warrants).

It seems the last of these topics might be the best, partly because it is related to themes that some of our profs have been talking about recently. Throughout the trip we learned about different examples in history where people abused power and instigated great evils. Obvious examples are learning about the extermination of Jews, handicap persons, and homosexuals at Dachau and the repression and starvation of those under Stalin. In both of these cases there is a dichotomy of responses to both the Nazi and Stalinist puritan ideologies. Some people accept what they are fed, often caught up in the illusion of propaganda and failing to see the–dare I say–absolute and intrinsic evil within it. However, there always seem to be voices that stand for the good at these times. I am reminded of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Hans and Sophie Scholl who opposed the Nazi ideology and lost their lives because of it. While in Prague, we learned about a young student, 20 years old, that burned himself in protest of the Communist occupiers.

What is interesting is that each of these figures became martyrs. This gives me insight into a question that had been bothering me for some time: How do we respond to evil (in its many forms)? After Dachau our group had a debrief session. I had a brief chat with Walter after this expressing my frustration with the issue. To paraphrase his response, there comes a point when, if we truly believe in righteousness and goodness, we are willing to die for it. This is not a ‘will to death,’ but the recognition of a higher Good and Moral and refusing to give in to evil when it tempts us with the easy way out. Is that not how Christ died?

So, do I stay quiet at injustice? Do I shut up and convince myself that ‘it would not make a difference?’ It is one of the most difficult and challenging tasks to figure out what the practical responses look like, but God help me if I ever give in to passivity and indifference.

a little late… about 4 countries too late – Dana VanVeller

July 15, 2008 – 4:30 pm
By dana | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

Well.. this is a reflection i had after visiting Dachau, a concentration camp in Germany… but i figured i would post it anyways.

Dachau was a horrible place to visit, absolutely terrifying in the realities that existed in this place and in many other places all over Germany. it is so hard not to be weighed down by the darkness. It is easy, and necessary, to be caught in grief and to fill yourself with bitterness and hatred. This needs to happen for a time, but how can we move on while still in this mindset? Though is feels wrong and impossible to do so, it is important to look at the places that light has pierced the darkness–where the good has won and the evil has been pushed aside. i was not particularly conscious in doing this. i walked through the museum at the end of the day, after seeing the torture buildings, the barracks, etc. i walked through becoming more and more unwilling to take in any more awful information or view anymore terrible photographs. i was not intending to see any good (and even now it feels strange to claim that there is good), but i came across a panel about art and expression in the camp. There are documented songs written by prisoners, there were poems written, art created, and codified letters sent. These prisoners, though significantly oppressed still found enough of themselves left to create something pure and something untainted by the SS or the Nazis. These were tiny breakthroughs of the human spirit. it was art for both message and sanity. it is amazing to me that these people could still sing, could still create–these raw human expressions show a strength greater than the oppression and violence of the SS

This tremendous strength is only recognizable at an individual level. the general ‘big’ picture does not reveal these individual victories and, of course, is impossible to accept as good–it was not. but i think that this is one way by which we can find hope and an ability to continue on as humans who do good despite the evils that can exist within us. the power of response is what makes a person great.

anyways… this is me trying to find hope and victory in the oppression of Nazi Germany. hope it makes sense.

Popes and Pubs – Karis Taylor

July 15, 2008 – 1:38 pm
By karisktaylor | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

Since resigning myself to the fact that I will never be the Holy Roman Catholic Church’s pope, I have begun toying with the idea of becoming an Oxford Don. C.S. Lewis was an Oxford Don, and he got to sit in leathery, smokey, dimly lit pubs with his friends and discuss magical stories with them. I want to do that. I got to visit the Inklings’ favorite pub, The Eagle and Child (or as they knew it, The Bird and the Babe), which inspired my erudite aspirations still further. Indeed, I was so inspired that I decided to come up with the perfect name for the pub that I will frequent when I do become a stodgy old professor smelling of books and foreign tea. I’ve been writing down names in the margins of my Once and Future King copy as they come to me. They are all %100 original. Here are some of them: “The Worm and the Kettle”, “The Hat and Spaniel”, “The Fawn’s Foot”, “The Shrub and Rug”, “The Wig and the Whale”, and “The Fiddler and the Estonian Princess”. I might have some difficulty actually finding a pub with any of these names exactly, but hopes and dreams are such noble things, and nothing is ever impossible.

The other brilliant thing about England besides their pub names is their curry. London is a kick in the trousers because it doesn’t matter what ethnicity your bus driver, waiter or businessman is, he or she will have a British accent. Yet regardless of the accents’ assimilation these cultures have brought to this big English city the most tasty recipes. Last night I ate something that I can neither pronounce nor spell but I will remember forever. I think there was lamb in it, and chutney. Second only to the food was the service. After being scorned by almost every continental waiter I was grateful for our small town-Irish-vegetarian server (who seemed to be quite taken by Miss Katie Mott, I might add).

Since we fly off tomorrow, I think it fitting to write that this Europe trip has been a glorious experience for which I am eternally grateful, and I am sorry to leave, but I know that Europe has not seen the last of me.

A Prayer from a Pilgrim (on the way home) – Zoe Fitch

July 15, 2008 – 1:30 pm
By Zoe Fitch | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

Lord, you are in the silences here
and in the creaking of the old wooden pews
and floorboards.

In the swish of a jacket as it reaches for a pen
and in the ticking of the clock.

Welcome us, Friend Whose closed door keeps us in
Forgive us, Father Who takes no offense
Cleanse us, Spirit Who sees the heart inside in the skin

shannon may broke the elevator – Tyler Wilson

July 15, 2008 – 12:34 pm
By tyler wilson | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (1)

No cause to worry, the elevator is now in fine working order.

In other news; a reflection inspired by our final debrief together.
Pete asked us what questions we are now asking ourselves as a result
of travelling and learning in Europe. Here’s where I’m at:

I find myself asking ‘What does it take to be an artist, and what
purpose does art serve?’ Certainly there is a huge spectrum of art,
and it is difficult to define, but some things simply cannot be called art, and some simply must. For example, our discussion of Klimt, a racy painter who portrayed women masturbating sparked a meaningful conversation about the difference between pornography and art. I believe that some of the difference lies in the intention of the artist. The same is true of an artist such as Pollock or Picasso. While any child may be capable of some of the same art, the child would be painting with a different intent, and that is where I believe beauty becomes art.

As for what purpose art serves, I just don’t know. Throughout Europe we have seen countless examples of religious propaganda painted by artists who were paid by wealthy church systems. I believe that to a large extent this method of, and purpose for, art has died away. Probably for the better. But that doesn’t meant that art has nothing to say about current religious matters. On the other hand, art can very clearly be a means to voice political messages, as we learned from Goya and Picasso. I suppose that I find myself on a journey to learn how and when art can be used to give voice to social and political injustice, and to find a personal expression of that art form.

Life in the homeland of Narnia – Krystal Muise

July 15, 2008 – 6:26 am
By muisekm | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

Just a few days ago, we were able to spend time in Oxford, England. The town is everything you could imagine of an English town. Filled with houses that are considered new if they were built in the 17/18th centuries, flower pots, Tea shops and of course Oxford University. While i have dreamed of going to Oxford (as i am sure every university student has done once or twice) seeing this magnificent city sprawling with 30 different colleges was really wonderful. Peter explained that there was a SSU student who went to Oxford for a graduate studies program and described how lonely the world of Oxford really can be. The silent undercurrent of a social hierarchy is still engrained into much of Oxford, and in part the wider English culture. Nevertheless it was fun to day dream about Harry Potters life at Hogwarts (which was filmed in a section of Oxford U) and try to imagine being an Oxford student. The history seemed to seeping out of every corner and street of the entire town it was fantastic! I also was able to go to Eagle and Child Pub, the pub that C.S. Lewis, J.R. Tolkien, and other infamous authors would meet weekly and discuss their newest book ideas, philosophy and regular life over a pint and fish and chips. It was INCREDIBLE!

While Oxford University may not be in my future, it was wonderful to visit and gave me a passion for returning and experiencing more of English life.

As we leave the open road…Mel Weatherhead

July 15, 2008 – 6:01 am
By mel weatherhead | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

Today, we pack our smelly bags full of our dirty clothes and get ready to head back to Canada in the morning. I think that I’m quite ready to be settled (in a way) again, though I know that as soon as it happens I’ll want to be off again, flying to some new destination.
Days on the road have been wonderful. I don’t think I could ask for a better group of people or leaders to be travelling with, but there comes a point when your body breaks down and you can no longer soak in another museum or cathedral. Perhaps my appreciation for the art, the genius and the incredible places we’ve been to will slowly soak in more over the next year, as I go into my fourth year and begin to process my situation in life, my place within the community I have been blessed to be a part of, and where I will go afterwards.
Before Europe, I thought I understood how valuable the SSU community was in my life. I now realize how little I knew then (and probably how little I know now), but these people around me have taught me how to love and forgive beyond what I thought I was capable of. Perhaps it’s the forced hours on the bus, falling asleep to distant (or very close) snoring, or coping on the days when you just want to be alone. In every way this community has taught me to forgive, to step out of my comforts and become a person I never thought I could be. Though I am still learning, I know that this experience will stay with me forever, it is changing the way I see the world and my place in it.
‘In community life we discover our own deepest wound and learn to accept it. So our rebirth can begin. It is from this very wound that we are born.’ -Jean Vanier, Community and Growth.

Nothing is Free in Europe – Hannah Beck

July 13, 2008 – 5:46 pm
By Hannah Beck | Posted in Europe 2008 Comments (0)

It all started as we were driving into Italy and were warned that a humble fee would probably be expected upon using the bathroom (Toilets, WC, Loo, etc.). It was said that there were people whose job it was to keep these facilities in a fair state and that paying to relieve yourself was a tradition that was started long ago and was passed on through time; so we accepted it and made sure that we had change in our pocket when nature called. Little did we know though, that this was only the beginning of a fee filled frenzy. Apparently this tradition started in Italy but has somehow been widely accepted by the other countries. Questionable.

Another beef I have is with paying to get into churches. Since when does God charge us to worship Him? As if he doesn’t have a hard enough time getting people to pay attention to him in the first place, we are now discouraging congregational worship by putting a cost on entering His temple. Of course, that is disregarding the fact that most people these days don’t enter these Cathedrals and Churches to worship God, but rather to take pictures and attempt a closer look into history. So, I guess I can’t say I blame them; but still, not free.

Next we have the internet. Oh boy the internet. Thankfully we’re at the ‘winvin’ right now (also known as the Winchester Vineyard) and we’ve been so lucky as to get free unlimited internet, a true luxury. I don’t have to put up with my increasing blood levels and heart beat as I watch my remaining internet time tick down before me, as if it’s counting down a time bomb. I’ve almost dropped as much money on the internet as I have on fresh pints of ‘real ale’ here in England.. and that’s saying something. I choose not to really count up how much I have actually spent on the internet so far as it might make me ill and make me realize how much I’m a child of the 21st century… but to paint a broad picture, there were times when an hour of internet cost more than the pay that I would receive for an hour of working at the Quik Pik (disclaimer: that was in grade 10). Needless to say I couldn’t bring myself to do that, so I would only use a half an hour.

And then there’s the ’sit in’ cost at restaurants: the fee placed on top of the regular price of an item that is implemented if you want to eat inside the restaurant. Why can’t I just sit and enjoy a coffee, that I already feel guilty about having because it’s my second or third that day, without dropping an extra 20 euro cents on it… ok sure, 20 cents really isn’t that much, but it sure adds up after a while. Well anyway, I decided to show them by buying that coffee to go and taking it outside and sitting on their sidewalk… sticking it to the man.

Obviously we would also have to pay to camp, no complaint there, but I have to start questioning what we’re paying for when we use the outlet to plug in the toaster in the morning and blow a fuse. One toaster! The least we can ask for when camping is a bit of electricity to make coffee and toast our bread; but I guess we would have had to upgrade to the supreme package to be able to plug in more than one thing at a time.

The last thing, and also the thing that inspired me to write this rant in the first place, is paying for hot water. I’ve been told that we actually got lucky on this trip in not having to pay for it as much as in the past; point taken, but I think there’s still room to rant. After taking a cold shower and coming to the point where I thought my brain might actually freeze, I decided to splurge and buy a shower token. Content with my decision and ready to relax in the shower, I popped my coin in the machine and started shampooing my hair. I had just about got the soap out when Bam! it was cold again. I paid a euro to get some hot water and it lasted all of 5 minutes, therefore taking away my ability to enjoy the shower and making me cold in the end anyways. Shouldn’t this be included in the camping price? They could at least try to pretend it is like the electricity..

Well that’s enough for now. I must say, as much as they charge extra for stuff in Europe, I’m actually quite ok with it because frankly, that’s what you do in Europe: spend money.