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The boys are spending their Autumn holiday with my parents in Enschede, so Karolien and I took the opportunity to go on a short Autumn hiking trip to Zuid-Limburg. This is the only part of the Netherlands that has hills, the rest of the country is as you may know as flat as a pancake. The weather was beautiful and we walked a quite long track through the Gulp and Geul valleys. More pictures here.
On our way to Limburg for a few days hiking, Karolien and I came across this Sacred Heart of Christ statue in Leende. The text on the statue says: "From the parochians of Leende to their King." About 83 years ago it was placed in the centre of town, and in 1999 moved to a more quiet part called Boschhoven's Pleintje.
Now, for some reason the statue is missing three fingers: the middle and index fingers that form the sign of blessing, and Christ's thumb.
I'm still recovering from a week of flu when Nuno sends a report of the Connect Portugal gathering held last weekend in the beautiful beach town of Sintra. He writes: "We spent quality time sharing life stories, vision and encouragement for the future. It was, I believe, the first time in our country that such a diverse group of Christians (institutional church, emerging groups, freaks, etc.) were united in an ambiance of true relationships, with people pouring their hearts out while sharing the ups and downs of trying to be the church of Christ."
In the middle of the Dutch Week of Democracy democracy was at an all time low. In Utrecht, the city where I live, the fourth city of the Netherlands, a referendum was held to choose a new mayor. Only 9.3% of those entitled to vote participated in the election, and 16% of those who voted intentionally devalued their voting form. As the outcome of a referendum is only binding with a 30% participation, it was a clear disaster. How come? Are people not interested in democracy?
It's beautiful Autumn weather, so I took the boys to the flower gardens of Gooilust, near Hilversum (open: Saturday and Tuesday afternoon). They love to search the forest for coloured leaves, branches and chetsnuts.
With a group of Connect Europe friends we are exploring Zinzendorf's Order of the Mustard Seed. As we plan to meet in Prague for a community weekend, I suggested to extend the three-fold Vow with a fourth commitment:
Being true to Christ
Kind to people
Bringing the gospel to the nations
Valuing Czech beer for what it's really worth
This proposal was welcomed with zeal. Phil Anderson even came with a solid undergirding from church history. "The whole beer idea is faithful to a great tradition of European Celtic spirituality," he said, quoting St. Brigid’s prayer (Brigid of Kildaire was an Irish Celtic abbess from the 5th century).
