A Sabbath in Bristol (3 July)

Shabbat Shalom, as I used to write in my Sunday emails home from the JC. Well, I’m in England so I guess it’s Happy Sabbath.

This morning we went to a ward here in Bristol (well, Whitchurch, actually). It was so fun. The ward members were excited to have us. We started with Relief Society and then went to the YSA Sunday School (we brought the class size up from about 8 to 28). They were a fun group. I know some of the people that they know because I served my mission with some British, Welsh, and Scottish sisters. They invited us back for FHE that night, but we weren’t able to make it back.

Sacrament meeting (fast and testimony meeting) was awesome. The youth here have totally impressed me. One of the men in the ward turned 90 today and so he had a bunch of family there. With the thirty of us and his family, the chapel was full and there was a great feeling in the meeting.

After being bussed back to the hostel, Lori and I went to the Church of St. Mary Redcliffe where we looked around and studied scriptures for about and hour and a half. It’s a really neat church. We got to talk to one of the ladies there and she answered a lot of our questions about the Anglican church. We went home to break our fast and then went back to the church for a special festival Evensong. It was lovely, just like last time. The organ was awesome! It’s really interesting to see how others worship. I see both similarities and differences from our church.

So it’s been a good day—a bit more low-key than other days in the week. Tomorrow night I’ll be in London! I’m excited to settle into a place for more than a few nights. I don’t feel really prepared to start classes on Tuesday, but we’ll cross that bridge (perhaps the London Bridge?) when we come to it. 

I'm not sure what this sign is trying to tell me, but the Church of St. Mary Redcliffe is in the background.