International Easter Rally: Part 6 - Easter Rally Begins!

I awoke Sunday morning well-rested and full of excitement and anticipation. Sunshine poured in my window when I pulled the curtains back and the lush green grounds of Purley stretched happily into the boarder trees surrounding wood. Stepping out on to the terrace with a cup of fresh coffee, the first thing I noticed was the variety of song birds. Living in rural Maine has blessed me with the beauty of many sights and sounds, including the singing of birds; but never before had I heard this many different birds and their rich chorus of song. Then I remembered the conservatory from last night and realized that the birds that I heard that evening were real and not recorded. The birds back home are never so vocal at 9 pm I thought. Breakfast was made to order omelets. The teens had asked me about the quality of food at Purley early in the trip and I did not have a answer for them. Now I did. Amazing. Hands down the best retreat food I have ever had. Meals were interesting, delicious and varied. Coffee was never stale, fruit, snacks and biscuits/cookies were always available and the large vat of hot water for tea was bottomless. The food quality and attention to detail was remarkable. This was no retreat food. This was gourmet hotel cuisine.


The rest of the Easter Rally teens were not to arrive until the late afternoon, so we had the morning free to explore. I had an afternoon meeting scheduled with adults interested in the youth program but was free until then. After breakfast, the teens and I found the obstacle course and games room. The obstacle course was a series of well constructed, sturdy low rope and wood challenges laid out in a shady grove of trees at the edge of the grounds of Purley. It was fun to watch the teens negotiate the course and ride the zip line.

Then we discovered the games room, with ping pong, pool, foosball, and a soccer/football table. It was nice to see a room set up where the teens could hang out on their own and it was fully enjoyed. A British Chalmers or Teen Storage if you will, but newer and with more table games (albeit less teen ambiance). I got a chance to meet my friend, Sam Kennion (we met at Camp 2003, an international young adult retreat held at Temenos), who came to Purley with his mom for lunch. His mom was participating in the afternoon youth meeting and Sam came to visit and spend a nice afternoon at Purley. I introduced Sam to the teens from the States and they had a great time playing in the game room while I met with folks from the British Conference in the conservatory. It was here that I met youth leaders Jenny and Steve Jones and their wonderful children. I had emailed back and forth with Jenny and Steve for months prior to the Easter Rally as they were the ones who coordinated much of the event and worked as the primary liaisons between North America, the UK and Purley. Throughout the planning process, they were incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and accommodating. Although I doubted it possible, I found Jenny and Steve to be even more friendly and gracious in person. They are a lovely and inspiring couple and their three girls (aged 8, 4 and 2) are simply a delight. I thoroughly enjoyed them and look forward to many years future in their company. After our youth leader meeting, where we discussed the challenges and trials of the New Church in England and how to fund and promote youth programs, we gathered for our opening BBQ supper (later I came to know this meal as tea). Most of the teens were here now and only the Canadian group (Pam with teens Ashleigh, Joesph and Jordon) and one late teen arrival (Miles) were left to join us. The group ate in distinct tables according to countries and I sensed a bit of anxiety and nervous anticipation in the air. Perhaps this was just me, but being an ocean apart can create a bit of unrest in the steadiest of minds. Once the Canadian's arrived and ate a quick supper, we began our first session. I believe there were now 22 teens at Purley. We met in the Olive room, which came to be known as the Common Olive as it used to be called the Common Room in old Purley days (I found the folks who grew up at Purley had a quaint and quite understandable fondness for the old room names, numbers and pre-renovated building layout). Anne went over a bit of Purley housekeeping and then Jenny reviewed the rules, schedule and dos and don'ts. She also led a great icebreaker (that I knew as "people bingo") where we met people and filled in squares on a paper with their traits and talents. To close, I led an opening activity relating the creation story in Genesis of how we are all created in God's image and then asked the teens to create their own paper person collage in the image and likeness of themselves. I also introduced some basic ideas of heaven in the form of a Universal Divine Human. We concluded the evening's program with a simple candle meditation and prayer of gratitude for our safe travels and arrival.