Happy Spring; Happy New Year

Today (March 20^th, the Spring equinox) is Nowruz (or Norooz): New Year in the Persian Calendar. It’s a time for family celebrations in much of the Western Asia. So it is a poignant as well as joyful day for ‘our’ Iranian refugees, who are banned from ever returning to their families. It is too easy for us in the West to see refugees as a ‘problem’, without reckoning on how much they have lost in becoming exiles from their homes. Very few would have chosen such a state of unrooted-ness without good reason. By coincidence this year it’s also the transferred Feast of St Joseph, the patron saint of families. In my sermon yesterday, we were thinking about Jesus’s words from the Cross to his Mother and St John, and reflecting on the ‘family’ nature of the New Israel to which they pointed.

Yesterday’s worship seemed to go quite well – though we are missing a few people, who have had to go abroad on trips for various reasons. We are blessed in having some good musicians to lead the singing and to play preludes and during the communion: yesterday one Turkish, one American and one Iranian.

It’s been a ‘normal’ week. On Tuesday we went again to St Mary Magdalene’s church in Bornova. The church is actually older than St John’s, in Greek Revival style; originally, it was a separate ‘parish’ catering for some of the wealthier European merchants. There are still some large mansions in the area; but it is now dominated by the extensive campuses of Ege University. There are students everywhere. The church is a bit neglected, but there may well be potential here. At Evening Prayer, the congregation of a dozen or so was mostly drawn from members of the Turkish Işik Church, who also share the use of St John’s. We use Common Worship, but the songs are a mixture of English and Turkish, and the Biblical readings are also mixed. Three or four children looked in before the service, and stayed for most of it – leaving during my short homily (but I don’t think they were making a protest about my theology!) Several students also took advantage of the opened gate and doors to look inside – all part of this fascinating openness to the Christian presence in Izmir. (On Saturday, we were told, some 380 people – a number visibly Muslim - visited St John’s!)

We managed a couple of days off. On Thursday, we visited the two major archaeological sites. Old Smyrna, in Bayrakli, was deserted as it had been last year. It’s not well signed, but has some interesting remains, dating back to the 8^th century BC, and including the oldest known Temple of Athena, and the oldest surviving Greek water fountain, from which water still flows. The Agora in town consists of classical Greek and Roman remains, including those of a vast Basilica, with underground galleries; there are also many Ottoman gravestones. That site at least appears on tourist publicity – but there are no leaflets to guide the visitor. Izmir seriously underplays its history! Saturday was sunny, so we repeated our long walk beside the Aegean of a couple of weeks previously, and finished with some exploration of the former Jewish area.

Izmir continues to be peaceful. There is an increase in the number of large Turkish flags hanging on public buildings, as the referendum on increasing presidential power approaches (voting on Easter Day.) The President has just told Turks living in Europe that they should have five children, to increase their presence. That won’t go down well with many people, especially those Islamophobes who suspect a Muslim plot to turn Europe into Eurabia/Europistan!

Otherwise, all goes well. The weather is, at last, a bit warmer. People are friendly; we had a warm greeting from one of the fishermen we used to see last summer. It’s interesting to be keeping Lent here, and having to forgo the joys of baklava and other pastries, as well as eschewing the nice restaurants on the Cordon. We look forward to Refreshment Sunday, and beyond that to Easter!

Please pray for:

Iranian refugees, as they miss their families, and feel frustrated by the closed attitudes of the West.

The ongoing process of selecting a permanent chaplain for Izmir.

Outreach to the many visitors who come into our churches.

Continuing health and safety for us both.