From: "The Rev'd. Robert Wurst (by way of Rev. Eric J. Stefanski, )" To: Subject: CLIMB: Britain Mission Society Trip Update Date: Friday, November 02, 2001 12:54 PM Subject: CLIMB: Britain Mission Society Trip Update Sent: 10/10/20 4:13 PM Received: 10/14/00 3:58 PM From: The Rev'd. Robert Wurst, loehe@mail.com To: Confessional Lutherans in Missionary Boldness, CLiMB@CAT41.org Britain Mission Society -- Update on Trip to Great Britain Greetings to you, dear saints of Christ. I thought that you might want to know how things are going on my visits to the congregations of the Evangelical Church of England. The trip is going very well. I have learned much of the conditions of our Lutheran brothers and sisters this past week. I arrived at Gatwick Airport on Friday, October 6. The trip was uneventful (though sleep was elusive). To help me get on schedule, my friends, the Revd's Dirk van der Linde and Ned Brockwell, took me on a short tour. We went to the British Museum where I saw the Codex Sinaiticus--one of the ancient texts of the New Testament. It was a marvelous look around some of the oldest original manuscripts of the English language - Beowulf, Shakepeare, etc. On Saturday, I met with the Executive Council of the ELCE in Ruislip (Rice-lip). We talked about our work and how we desire to aid the congregations of the ELCE with good Lutheran books and our encouragements. That evening, I ate a Harvest Dinner with the congregation of St. Andrew . Ruislip. On Sunday, I preached and administered the blessed sacrament of the Altar to God's people at St. Andrew. Their pastor, the Revd Jonathan Naumann, is teaching at Concordia University in Bronxville, NY. Before the Divine Service, I led a Bible class on Acts 2:42. We had a good discussion that morning. After the service (and a couple hours rest), I left for Coventry for a visit. I stayed with a retired pastor and his wife, the Revd Marvin and Mrs. Marvin Brammeier. They were very gracious hosts and told me much of the history of the ELCE. They came to England in 1957 from the U.S. and came to love this country. On Monday, Pastor Brammeier took me to see the cathedral in Coventry. Some of you might remember that Coventry was heavily bombed in WWII. The cathedral was hit by an incendiary bomb and was burned to the ground. The outer walls are still standing though. It was very humbling to stand in a place that I had only seen in pictures up until now. We then visited the new cathedral. After lunch, I paid a visit to the pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (the Revd Hans Leed). We had a nice chat. Whew! On Tuesday we travelled to Cambridge. There I visited the ELCE seminary, Westfield House. I presented the books that we purchased to them. They were very grateful for the love and concern that you have shown to them. IN the evening, Pastor van der Linde and I went to Evensong at Gonville and Caius (Gon-vill and Keys) with Mrs. Cheryl Naumann and her son David. We then ate in the University's dining hall. It was quite a treat! Cambridge is quite a town. On Wednesday, I found myself in Ruislip again. That day, one of St. Peter's members took me to visit the congregation in Harlow, an 1-1/2 hour drive. After a nice visit with the Revd Paul Fry, we returned to Ruislip. I then spent the afternoon separating the remainder of the books into boxes for the rest of the churches. That evening, I taught another Bible class on the Divine Service to some of St. Andrew's members. Their usual 1-1/2 hour class got stretched out to 2 hours. You know me... :) Thursday found me taking the Lord's Supper to an aged and homebound lady. She had not been able to receive the Supper since Pr. Naumann had left for the U.S. Later that morning, Cheryl Naumann took me to visit St. Paul, Borehamwood. We had lunch with 2 couples. They have been without a pastor for quite a bit of the last 10 years. They are very dedicated Lutherans. When I gave them their books they almost couldn't believe that someone would care enough to give them such precious things. We talked much of how the Britain Mission Society could help them. We will be purchasing new hymnals, catechism materials, and VBS materials for them. We parted company with many hugs and tears. I must also thank the Naumann family. What wonderful Christians and gracious people. This past Friday, I found myself in Tottenham with Pr. Van der Linde and his wonderful family. I took a little time to see a few sites. We went to see Buckingham Palace, etc. We had a coffee in Trafalgar Square. It felt good to relax a bit. Today, the 14th, I spent some time with the van der Linde family. Besides being a pastor, Pr. Van der Linde is doing work for his doctorate in early English literature. His wife, Lynne is deaf and suffers other physical ailments (as many of us do). Their son, Joel, is a dear lad. He has cerebral palsy. Most all of his care falls on Pastor van der Linde. But they go about it joyfully. Joel has a great sense of humor. Tomorrow I preach at Holy Trinity, Tottenham. After that, I must purchase train tickets to Petts Wood on Monday and then out to Plymouth for some time with Pastor Brockwell. Well, better get back to work. I miss you all greatly. Thank you for all your prayers on behalf of our Lutheran brethren. Their need is great but their strength is in Christ. Thanks be to Him who saved us from our sin with the shedding of His precious blood. To Him be all the glory. Amen! Cheers! Pastor Wurst + + + Confessional Lutherans in Missionary Boldness + + + The CLIMB e-letter brings you unedited, uncut reports directly from the mission field, whether in South America, Africa, Europe, inner-city, rural, or collegiate America, or military installations and battle sites around the world. 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