The joy of normality

Church life at St John’s has continued this week without any great events or surprises; but in some ways that is part of the quiet joy of pastoral ministry. The daily office is said (in our case, by Jo and me together in the sitting room); a small number of the faithful gather for evening prayer in church on Tuesday, and a few more for the Wednesday afternoon Bible study. But that often has its surprises – not least in the commitment to prepare and reflect on the chosen text (in this case, the Gospel of John) and the questions that are raised. Each Sunday is also a different experience. Numbers are not high here, and the absence of people on vacation is felt. But one never knows how the worship will develop, what response there be to the sermon and to the celebration. Sometimes our expectations are met; sometimes there is a hard to define but real sense of the movement of the Holy Spirit.

So there have been no mass conversions. But we look forward to baptising an adult refugee from Iran, a highly intelligent artist who has developed a real awareness of what Christian faith means and who brings a great deal in her quiet way to our Bible study. And who knows what other opportunities will arise in our final three weeks’ ministry here.

Life in Izmir continues as normal, apart from the nightly ‘democracy watch’ assemblies, arranged with the ‘encouragement’ of the ruling AK Party. Friday night’s seemed to start earlier and went on for some time, as we could hear the PA system from our balcony; but in time, the noise and music from the local night-clubs gained their usual dominance. The newspapers that are still published seem to continue to devote most of their space to the after effects of the attempted coup, and to demonise Gülen, and increasingly the USA and European media, for their failures to join in the denunciation and their temerity in criticising the Turkish government.

We’ve continued to explore and enjoy the locality. This week, we managed to get ourselves to Çeṣme, a resort famed for its beaches, though we concentrated on its 18^th century street fountains and distinctive houses and its restored Genoese/Ottoman fortress, with an interesting museum. The local authority have restored a former Orthodox church, which still boasts a number of ceiling mosaics. Thanks to the local tourist map we also discovered two excavated sites dating up to 5,000 years ago – one of which shows evidence of an archaic but developed winery! Getting there had been the usual challenge, with no indication from the metro station where the coach park was; only a couple of phone calls to Jo’s friend, and the helpfulness of a passing family – and the chance that a coach about to leave had two spare seats – enabled us to get there! The coach driver was helpful in pointing out the way to explore the old city. By chance we met him later, sitting and talking to some friends. He invited us to join him for a glass of ҫay; we were then gently quizzed about our political views – so we had to be diplomatic – though they were delighted to find out I was a priest, even if I had to try to explain about the Church of England!

Another expedition was to find the site of the original Aeolian settlement of Smyrna, at Tepekule. It was mentioned in a couple of books, including the official guide – which gave no indication of how to get there. Without the help of Google maps, we could never have found an absolutely fascinating and extensive area of excavation; there are remains of 9^th century BC mud-brick walls and a fountain (still with its water source), and what may be the oldest Temple of Athena. Why does Izmir take such pains to hide its treasures?

For Prayer

1.            People are expressing concern about our having to leave. Pray for continuing provision of ministry, and the successful appointment of a full-time chaplain.

2.            Pray for ‘our’ asylum seekers, that they will not have to wait too long before finding a country to offer them a permanent home.

3.            Pray for the Iranian woman preparing for baptism.

4.            Pray for a return to normality, and greater freedom of expression, in Turkey.