it was cool. i only managed to make half of it (quite far away) but it was nice to bump into abba seraphim again (i am trying not to actively stalk him!) and i had a warm welcome from the 2 eastern orthodox clergy members i spoke to.
i always like to hear metropolitan seraphim talk, he seems to know all the local saints personally and he understands the british culture perfectly (wish i did, but i've not been alive as long as he has, so i have time to improve!)
we had a fascinating talk from an anglican professor who has written a book on the history of Christianity in britain and ireland (michelle brown, who i didn't get to talk to, but when i got home i realised i already had her book! i thought some of the slides were familiar!) she seemed delighted to hang out with a relatively small group (i suppose about 50 people were there) of orthodox Christians and seekers. i imagine she is quite famous and gets to speak at much bigger events.
at the end, i had a lovely chat with a group of 3 EO converts who were all really new to orthodoxy (one only baptised days before) and who were active in their faith despite the language barrier. the priest is working hard on his english, and one of the converts was studying greek. their stories were in some ways similar to my own and we all encouraged each other.
i managed to restrain myself in the bookstall (it helped having only £3 on me!) and it was nice to see the church members (from different nationalities) doing their part to educate the people of britain about their faith. they even had some booklets in different languages.
i would encourage everyone to run a similar day in your parish (ideally together with other neighbouring parishes).
you just need 3 or 4 speakers, some drinks and snacks, a small collection of books and a few people willing to welcome visitors.
advertise in all the local churches (of different denominations who are interested in church history) and in the local newspaper and people will come as God draws them.
thanks to anyone who prayed - please post your events here so we can pray for you too!
