Before continuing my “Journeys of Paul” travelogue, I must  express my gratitude to the Christ Presbyterian bell and children’s choirs for their excellent worship music this past Sunday. The bell choir played “Three Early American Hymn Tunes” and the children sang the call to worship, “Sing and Rejoice,” and the anthem, “Ubi Caritas.”  Many thanks also to June Gladding & Anne Scroggs.

 Paul traveled 13,000 miles, mostly on foot, on the three missionary journeys after his transformation on the road to Damascus.  While it is usually referred to as “the conversion of Paul,” he actually remained a Jew, yet a true disciple of Christ. 

Many scholars think it is important to understand the geography of the places Paul visited in order to get a true picture of the growth of the Christian Church.

Day 6: Ephesus, my favorite of all the ruins we visited, was the most important seaport of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), and a center of commerce, politics, and religion.  Paul spent over three years there and preached in this massive grand theatre which had a capacity of 25.000 spectators.

The library shows a rare craftsmanship, and was the third biggest library of the ancient world. It took twenty years to complete.

 Day 7 – Corinth and Athens:  The city of Corinth inspired Paul’s most familiar letters.  Here we saw the remnants of a secular city where many

believed Paul’s message and were baptized.

 The trip to Athens featured the architectural splendor of  the ancient

Acropolis, the Parthenon (bottom photo), and Mars Hill, where Paul preached the gospel to the intellectual Athenian community of his day.

 Next week: Mykonos, Naples, Pompeii

Between jet lag – someone described it perfectly as “swimming in syrup” – and being under the weather since day 3 of the cruise, I can’t get much together this week.  Here’s a brief start of my travels:

Day 1 and 2:  

Bus tour of Rome, then at sea on the Celebrity Reflection.  Huge ship, I was lost much of the time. I had a veranda stateroom; it was great to see the ocean close up and ruins from a distance. Fortunately, no seasickness!

Day 3 – Santorini, Greece

I wish I had ridden the
donkey up the hill to this delightful and picturesque volcanic island, but alas, no nerve.  Spent some time in an Irish Pub…Go figure!

Day 4 and 5 – Istanbul, Turkey

Saint Sophia was one of several great churches Constantine the Great built in important cities throughout his empire. Following its destruction, it was rebuilt between 532 and 537 under the personal supervision of Emperor Justinian I, with gorgeous mosaics and marble pillars. I found it interesting and wonderful that over the years it has been both a mosque and a church.

More next week.

Meantime, join us Wednesday night for Christmas Cantata practice – 8pm until 8:45 – at Christ Presbyterian Church.