Arrival
We’ve arrived in Lincoln, tired but elated. Dramatic weather accompanied us. Our flight out of Dulles was delayed by a storm so severe that the wind pushed the parked plane sideways on the tarmac (fortunately we were not yet on board.) After an overnight flight, we had a successful rendezvous at Heathrow with Jack, Jon, and others arriving by different flights. We set off for the journey north under intermittent downpours, then banner blue skies edged by towering clouds, over a flat countryside dotted with giant white windmills. As we approached Lincoln, someone spotted the towers of the Cathedral Church of St Mary of Lincoln on a ridge across the fields. The awe and excitement only increased as the coach let us off right across from the Cathedral at our hotel.
With temperatures in the 60s and winds gusting up to 50 mph (per weather apps), it’s an invigorating change from the sauna of Northern Virginia. On little to no sleep, some went to Evensong this evening, and some just strolled around the Cathedral quarter. Walking into the Cathedral Choir for the first time, some of us choked up. It’s not just “we made it at last!” but something much more. We have a week to contemplate that beautiful, ancient space, that river of worship over centuries that we will enter into. Thanks be to God for this journey.
–Kate Beddall
