Lindisfarne and Hexham

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

Another fascinating and historically rich place was Lindisfarne or Holy Island. This island is on the north east coast of England. In about 635 AD King Oswald requested that St. Aidan come to Northumbria as a missionary. St. Aidan set up a monastery at Lindisfarne as a base for the evangelization of this area of England. A short time alter St. Cuthbert became Bishop of Lindisfarne and is recognized as one of the most important saints of medieval England. After the Viking raids which began in 791 St. Cuthbert's remains went on a long journey which ended in Durham where his remains rest in Durham Cathedral. Below is the island where Cuthbert spent much of his time in seclusion and spiritual preparation for his very influential ministry. Linda and Nathanael in the ruins of the Abbey at Lindisfarne.

A short history of the island.

A monument to the journey the monks took to remove Saint Cuthbert's remains form Lindisfarne after the Viking Raids.
The Ancient Town of Hexham

Hexham Abbey was founded in 674 AD by Saint Wilfrid. It's a beautiful church that dates back to about 1200 with a small crypt under the sanctuary where Christians worshiped when the abbey was founded. It was a humbling experience to stand in the very place where some of the earliest English Christians worshipped. The next four pictures are of the Abbey.

The paintings in this picture are of the Apostles and were painted in medieval times. As I looked at these paintings in this impressive place of worship there was a sense of the profound majesty of our Lord's Church and it's amazing history.

This is a picture of part of the crypt where worship took place in the 600's. Around the Abbey were some very impressive gardens and a site I had not seen yet; lawn bowling. It was interesting to watch these teams of men bowl and try to figure out how the game is played.

Linda, Nathanael and I strolling through the gardens of the Abbey. Nathanael thuoght it was great stuff to ride with grandma in the wheelchair (If you didn't know Linda fell and broke her leg during our stay in England. As I write this her cast is off and she is almost fully mended.)

Sedburgh and North Sea Beach

Sedbergh

One place we visited was the town of Sedbergh, the ancestral home of one of Linda's great, great-grandparents. Below are some pictures of the town and Greenwood Hall. Greenwood Hall is the farm that her great, great-grandfather, James Braithwaite, came from. The current occupants weren't home but had given us permission to look around the grounds.

Here is Linda by the entrance to Greenwood Hall.The family gathers for a picture in front of the old homestead.Some of the many flowers around the farm.In this picture we are in the back of the home. Just behind us are some rolling hills with sheep grazing which you see in the next picture. The view in every direction was about the same - rolling hills with sheep grazing. It's kind of like time stood still. The next four pictures are of the town of Sedbergh a short distance from Greenwood Hall. Originally we thought this would be a small village with not much to see or do. We were pleasantly surprised that just the opposite was true. It was small but had a number of quaint restaurants, shops, churches, and bookstores. We had a good day exploring the town and homestead.

The first four pictures below are of one of the streets and some of the restaurants and shops followed by a picture of the church Linda's ancestors most likely worshipped in. The last one is of Linda and I enjoying a typical English lunch. The lunch came with a huge wedge of cheese which was delicious!

North Sea Beach

In this last section you'll see pictures of Jeremy, Nathanael, Sarah and Bill at the beach by the North Sea. Linda, Jackie, and Will had decided to stay home and take a break. It was a cool, cloudy day (normal for England) but in spite of that we had a great time at the beach. This beach would be fairly close to where the Vikings first invaded England thirteen hundred years ago.

Jeremy and Nathanael looking for treasure.

Sarah and Nathanael work on building a few sand castles.Three generations wading in the North Sea. Good picture Sarah!

The next picture is of the cliffs by the beach that rise above the sea. Then in the next four pictures we are exploring the caves between the beach.

Well, that's the end of this rather long blog of our vacation in England. I have almost 700 pictures so consider yourself blessed that I didn't post all of them!

Thanks for allowing us to share our trip with you.

Bill and Linda

Christmas Greetings 2007

Merry Christmas from Our Home to Yours!

We hope all of you had a wonderful year and that this time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ finds you and your family doing well. If we have not heard from you please drop us a quick note, we’d love to hear from you. The last year has held many changes for us and we’re excited about sharing them with you.

Last December our ministry at Cicero Christian Church came to an end and, through what was clearly a move of God, we were offered a pastoral position at Webb Chapel United Methodist Church. For almost a year now we have been serving the wonderful people of this church in rural Indiana. What’s rather amazing is that it is Linda’s home church! We won’t elaborate on the details, but if you are interested please call and we’d be glad to share the story with you. Bill has had a busy year serving and working with the people of Webb Chapel.

Linda concluded her position with the Central Indiana Crisis Pregnancy Center in February. Her three years there were a blessing to her and the staff, volunteers and clients of the center. After moving Linda took two part time nursing positions. She serves a few hours a week with a home health agency and works twenty hours a week as a school nurse at the local high school. This position gives her the wonderful opportunity to enjoy and minister to the many students who come in to see her each day. Being back home also gives her time to see her family more often and help her parents with any medical concerns.

One big piece of news in our family is the birth of our new grandson Nathanael Harrison. Nathanael was born July 24th and is a wonderful little guy. As you can see from the picture he is undoubtedly the best looking baby around! How does he manage to stand up with dad when he is only four months old! He is Jeremy and Jackie’s first child and we hope not the last! If you want to see more pictures of Nathanael check out Jeremy and Jackie's blog. Here's Nathanael opening his first Christmas present.

After spending a wonderful year and a half in Oregon and California working at national parks, Sarah is now working full time at a pharmaceuticals company near Indianapolis. She is enjoying her challenging job as an Accu-check Customer Support Specialist and is doing a great job. She has a nice apartment and is attending a church she truly enjoys. One of her favorite pastimes is cheering for the Indianapolis Colts which has obviously paid off. Could there be another Super Bowl for them this year? Sarah also has a great blog which you are welcome to visit.

Other than the birth of our grandson and a wonderful week spent at a pastor/spouse retreat center in Wisconsin, a big event in our lives this past year was time spent in Israel. Last December we truly enjoyed ten wonderful days traveling the land of Israel. It was exciting to be in the land of our Savior’s birth and see the places where He lived, ministered and gave His life for us. The picture on the right was taken in Linda’s favorite place; the Sea of Galilee. To be where our Savior walked on water, calmed the storm, and did much of his ministry was beyond description. Bill’s favorite places were the tomb where Christ rose on that first Easter, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Nothing can compare with seeing Scripture come to life! Have a Wonderful Christmas Celebration! Bill & Linda

Baby Nathaneal is Here!

Our first grandchild, Nathanael Harrison Bergstrom, has arrived! He is a beautiful baby and we can't wait to get to New York to see and hold him! What a joy to see the miracle of this new baby. Below are a few pictures of this beautiful little guy. For more detail and pictures go to Jeremy & Jackies blog.

A Sleepy Boy

A Proud Dad!
A Proud and Tired Mom

Our Grandson Nathanael Will be Here Soon!!

On July 12 our first grandchild is scheduled to enter the world. We're very excited for Jeremy and Jackie, the soon to be Aunt Sarah and of course ourselves. As soon as possible we will post a few pictures of Nathanael. Below are the excited soon to be parents during our visit to New York last year.

A Wonderful Retreat in Wisconsin

In May Linda and I went on a wonderful pastor/spouse retreat at Cedarly in Wisconsin. Cedarly is one of three locations operated by Pastors Retreat Network designed especially for pastoral couples. It was a wonderful week of relaxing, eating fantastic meals, taking canoe rides, riding bikes and just being lazy. We did a some exercises for spiritual renewal but mostly just enjoyed ourselves. If you're interested their web sit is pastorsretreatnetwork.org.

Less than a mile from Cedarly is an Episcopal seminary our son Jeremy told us about. The grounds were great and you could sense that it was a wonderful place to train for ministry and simply enjoy the pastoral setting. Below are a few pictures of Cedarly and the seminary.

Cedarly Pastors Retreat Center

Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary

A Little Less Than One Month After Our Move

Linda and I (mostly Linda) worked hard to settle into our new home. With just a few days to go before the one month mark all but two boxes are unpacked. Quite an accomplishment I'd say! Below are a few pictures of the inside after settling in and a picture of our country church.

We are enjoying the people of the church and our ministry here. They are good people who have received us well and made us feel at home. I'll say more latter but for now here are the pictures.

As you walk in the front door you see a favorite picture that was given to us by our church in Roanoke when we left.

The entry way

The next two are of the living room.

Our bedroom Our Family Room

And last of all the kitchen which we have yet to paint.

This is a picture of Webb Chapel United Methodist Church where we are serving.