{"id":482,"date":"2013-12-16T16:14:46","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T16:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.dminlgp.com\/?p=482"},"modified":"2014-08-13T20:53:53","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T20:53:53","slug":"london-bridge-is-not-falling-down-a-visual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/london-bridge-is-not-falling-down-a-visual\/","title":{"rendered":"London Bridge is Not Falling Down! A Visual Ethnography Learning Synthesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

VISUAL ETHNOGRAPHY LEARNING SYNTHESIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

London Bridge is Not Falling Down!
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Personal Interests<\/strong><\/p>\n

Waiting to board my British Airways flight to London I realized how very different this international trip felt compared to my first international trip exactly two years prior.\u00a0 On that September evening I was waiting to fly across North American skies and the Atlantic; in 2011, I was aboard a Qantas flight for almost fifteen hours crossing the Pacific.\u00a0 I remember feeling anxious, nervous and quite uncertain about what to do once my husband and I arrived.\u00a0 Everything on that trip was new to me right down to the arrival forms.<\/p>\n

Even though I was flying alone and had never been to London, the anxiousness I felt two years ago had been supplanted with anticipation and calm that I would find my way.\u00a0 I had directions to the hotel from the train station, I had my ticket for the Heathrow Express, I had experienced International customs so I knew what to expect, and I knew how to handle a long flight. \u00a0I noticed the difference experience brought.<\/p>\n

Two years before, my husband Steve and I lived in Melbourne, Australia for seven months, the result of a short-term work assignment for the Boeing Company.\u00a0 We lived, worked and worshiped in Melbourne.\u00a0 My Australian experience with its British heritage shined through when I arrived in London.\u00a0 I felt like I had come home.\u00a0 Of course there were differences \u2013 black cabbies instead of yellow with black checkerboard, pounds instead of dollars.\u00a0 I was in London, but I instantly fell into familiar routines before crossing the street, looking right, then left, then right again.\u00a0 The building architecture and many of the mannerisms were familiar.\u00a0 The climate and weather reminded me of the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

Our London Advance had the flair of an adventure, not an exotic, far out of place adventure that billboard posters or television commercials tout, but the kind of adventure in which you know you will learn something new and expand your perspective.\u00a0 The kind of adventure that happens not because of what you do but because of the people you are with.\u00a0 Highlights of the London Advance included our visit to Lloyds of London, our Evensong Service and brief tour of St. Paul\u2019s, our walk about on Friday and again on Sunday, early morning Communion Service at Westminster Abbey, a visit to the British Museum and National Gallery, our visit to Oasis in Waterloo, and personal walks in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.\u00a0 These are highlights of places, tangible reminders of places I went; paths I walked.<\/p>\n

My prior experience in cohort based online learning taught me that rich community can develop among those with whom you study.\u00a0 I found this to be true once again. \u00a0Before the Advance I read my colleagues blog posts and interacted, but I did not know them, nor did they know me.\u00a0 The weeks leading up to the Advance provided the crucial introduction; because of the Advance I became committed.\u00a0 There was not a formal covenant among the sixteen of us, yet I came away vested to this process of doctoral studies.\u00a0 Despite my personal doubts about why or even if I should continue, I knew that walking with my colleagues was going to be as much a part of my Doctor of Ministry (DMin) learning as any assignment or dissertation.\u00a0 Spending ten days together I was fascinated with my colleagues in my cohort (LGP4) who they are, the work they do, the varied places they come from and grateful that we were together.\u00a0 Through the course of the Advance my appreciation extended as well to the LGP3 cohort.<\/p>\n

During the Advance I paid attention to things that sparked my interest and drew my attention.\u00a0 I am fascinated with the existence of old and new in London.\u00a0 On any given city block (or laneway) there would likely be both old and new buildings together.\u00a0 Tube stations that have been upgraded (or in process), utilizing efficient ticketing systems, run through tunnels several hundred years old may be located across from pubs that are several hundred years old.\u00a0 Modern architecture amid buildings that are centuries old, London holds England\u2019s history.\u00a0 At least that is how it appeared to this American.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had conversations with people that have little use for history, they press toward something new.\u00a0 You cannot escape the past in London.\u00a0 It is everywhere.<\/p>\n

Old and new is not just reflected in the architecture.\u00a0 It is often what the architecture represents.\u00a0 London holds the memory, influence, reflection and tension of the British Empire.\u00a0 Who England was once is evident amid the grandeur of the Parliament buildings, its gardens and palaces, and in \u201cthe\u201d place, Buckingham Palace. Yet these are not just a reminder, these are places of activity and governing, they reminded me that we could hold onto vestiges of the past, while transforming for function and purpose in the present.<\/p>\n

I was also struck by relationship between countries, England and the United States.\u00a0 On our brief tour of St. Paul\u2019s I felt a bit of awe learning some of the cathedral\u2019s history, the back portion of the cathedral\u2019s demise from a bomb in WWII, the resolve to save the cathedral at all costs, the rebuilding of the destroyed portion and it\u2019s dedication to the servicemen of the United States who died to protect the English people.\u00a0 Seeing the dedication written on the floor gave me pause.\u00a0 As did our trip several days later to Waterloo to visit Oasis Church, this church is steeped in history and significance.\u00a0 The location of the church had its beginning as Surrey Chapel in 1783. From this one place Christ\u2019s mission has had far reaching influence.\u00a0 Since coming home I have pondered over what we learned about its history, what took place and what continues to take place.\u00a0 I am not certain if \u201chumbling\u201d is the right word, but that best describes how I felt when Jason shared with us the history of the Stars and Stripes spire built with funds donated by the family and friends of Abraham Lincoln dedicated in his memory. \u00a0All because of the inspiration and support Lincoln received from the work of William Wilberforce.\u00a0 The place used for his central London base for his meetings would have a new spire some one hundred years later.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Oasis Church in Waterloo is also a place committed to building community and bringing hope. During our visit on Monday morning we had an opportunity to gather in their worship space amid tables and chairs enjoy a coffee and see how this place is part of the community.\u00a0 Mums with young children in strollers out for a walk popped into the warm space.\u00a0 The lunch preparations underway in the kitchen caught my eye because this is an area I am part of in my home church in Tacoma, Washington. \u00a0This church is part of the community, a space and a place for those in the neighborhood to \u201cbe\u201d during the weekday apart from Sunday worship.\u00a0 So simple and so easy to miss, unless I see the contrast between a typical church ministry with program designed for others with this church with open doors fully part of the community, just as the a trip to the grocers.\u00a0 There was something else I noticed in this visit, probably because we face something similar in my own church; the building has physical needs.\u00a0 There were places needing slight repair, a pillar in need of plaster touch up, paint needed here and there, a wire alongside a wall that went nowhere, and a small kitchen area.\u00a0 Yet despite these things community ministry is clearly invested.<\/p>\n

The next day we heard from our cohort sisters and brothers in LGP3 as they shared their dissertation focuses.\u00a0 My strongest memory of this day is held in the word, grace.\u00a0 I saw grace extended to one another.\u00a0 When you have a group of Christians coming together for study there is certain to be a variety of experiences and theological perspectives.\u00a0 It is true of LGP3 and LGP4.\u00a0 \u00a0Time and again I noticed during our breaks one coming to sit alongside another.\u00a0 People I know have different perspectives came and sat down alongside one another.\u00a0 I did not hear the words that were spoken, but I saw grace given and received side by side.\u00a0 If we can listen to one another there is hope.<\/p>\n

New Knowledge and Synthesis<\/strong><\/p>\n

The knowledge edge for me came in how we learned.\u00a0 We heard from men and women experienced in their field of study or profession, from those deeply vested in ministry in England and internationally.\u00a0 This was important.\u00a0 Context was a crucial aspect of our learning exposure. As we heard from and visited with church and ministry leaders we had an opportunity to hear what they had to say from the important vantage point of context.\u00a0 We heard from advisers bringing their context, culture and experience, demonstrating their own growing edges and bridge building.<\/p>\n

We visited with the Reverend Jeremy Crossley, the Rector of St. Margaret Lothbury located in the heart of London\u2019s in the financial district. He described his role and function, the pressing needs of those that work in the financial district and how he adapted the parish ministry recognizing needed accommodation while responding to the uncertainty facilitated by change with the \u201cidea of Christian hope, that God has the last word.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 He explained his mission to provide services for people that work in the city, seeing himself as a vicar to a parish, not a chaplain to a congregation, available to anyone, being present, being trusted.\u00a0 Surely this is what is meant by constructing a contextual theology, \u201cbringing our understanding of Scripture, our cognizance of our heritage and our reading of our cultural context into a creative trialogue.\u201d[3]<\/a> \u00a0Amid relics, some of which were several hundred years older than my country, there was ministry was a creative edge.\u00a0 A reminder that when our focus is on those we serve our praxis will be informed and transformed.\u00a0 \u201cOur understanding of Scripture and reading of culture are interrelated, and both are affected by our place in the ongoing movement of God\u2019s people in the world.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Surely old and new, established and adaptive must coexist together.<\/p>\n

The creative edge was also demonstrated as we learned about the beginnings and history of Lloyd\u2019s of London.\u00a0 From its beginnings in a coffee shop in 1688 where sailors and merchants gathered to exchange information leading to the creation of insurance to the society it is today, \u201ca modern market, insuring against specialist risk and helping people to do new and astonishing things.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Practice and Application<\/strong><\/p>\n

The conference on Saturday, which was open to ministry leaders and not just for DMin students, provided vital interaction and engagement with local church leaders and retired ministers.\u00a0 We engaged in learning that embraced the methodology of ethnography \u201cas an approach to experiencing, interpreting and representing culture and society that informs and is informed by sets of different disciplinary agendas and theoretical principles.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Martyn Pearcy had three questions for us that morning.\u00a0 First, from Matthew 16, who do you say that Christ is and what are you going to do about it?\u00a0 Secondly, what is the Church and what are you going to do about it?\u00a0 Finally, what is a minister and a leader?\u00a0 Why bother and what are you going to do about it?\u00a0 Honestly I had not considered these questions on any consistent basis since our return from London.\u00a0 However in writing this paper I realize these questions are at the heart of our doctoral studies.\u00a0 He focused us on our task as a minister and leader in the Church to be occupied with God and to be occupied with God\u2019s agenda.\u00a0 This lies at the heart of reflexivity.\u00a0 For social theorist, Anthony Giddens reflexivity \u201cmeans a world of self-monitoring \u2013 of our own lives, the lives of others (both proximate and distant), and wider social happenings.\u201d[7]<\/a>\u00a0 Although we often distinguish between individual and institutional reflexivity,[8]<\/a> there is a sense in which our answers to Pearcy\u2019s questions integrate personal and church, the individual and the institution.\u00a0 His reminder, to me in particular, is that the call of leadership is a call to wisdom.<\/p>\n

Synthesis and Methodogy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout the semester we were challenged to think critically. I affirm that critical thinking is among our essential practices in Christian discipleship.\u00a0 We have the opportunity to engage thoughtfully with vital questions, to gather and assess relevant ideas, to form well-reasoned conclusions, to think open-mindedly and to communicate effectively.[9]<\/a> David Ford demonstrated the art of inquiry and theology through asking questions and addressing fundamental issues. \u201cThe more one explores both Christian theology and the critiques of it by atheists and others the clearer it is that what is fundamentally at issue, simultaneously, the nature of God and human nature.\u201d[10]<\/a>\u00a0 This was evident throughout the semester, magnified by our experience in London. \u00a0We learned from women and men who have sought God, trusted God, taken risks, experienced success and failure.\u00a0 We have been encouraged us to seek God realizing that there is the possibility \u201cthat questioning, seeking meaning, and exploring intellectually might be an occasion for awakening trust and challenging to a decision.\u201d[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

My visual representation comprises a brief selection of photos taken during our London Advance reflecting images, architecture, scenes, history, and people.\u00a0 The web address (url) is listed at the end of this paper.\u00a0 Old and new, remembrance, adaptability, influence, sacred space and developing friendship were things I sought to capture.\u00a0 Giddens expressed, \u201cHow people think about, monitor and reflect on what they do, is crucial to how society constitutes itself.\u201d[12]<\/a> Coming home I have sought to be more present, to be attentive, open to the challenge of embracing old and new, looking for ways to adapt and create fresh experiences and to understand why I do what I do in such a way that my footprint will be filled with grace and always learning.<\/p>\n

Flicker ID: clmgfes. Setting: Public. Photo set: Visual Ethnography Observing & Learning.<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/62520303@N06\/sets\/72157638524418053\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

[1]<\/a> Oasis Church Waterloo Information flyer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a> Quotation from personal notes taken during our visit at St. Margaret\u2019s Lothbury with Rev. Jeremy Crossley on Fri., September 27, 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a> [3] Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, Who Needs Theology? An Invitation to the Study of God<\/em> (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 112.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 113.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a> [5] Lloyd\u2019s, Market,<\/em> (London: Sunday Publishing, Summer 2013). Note: no page numbers given in this quarterly publication.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a> [6] Sarah Pink, Doing Visual Ethnography<\/em>, 2nd<\/sup> ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc, 2007), 22.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[7]<\/a> Anthony Elliott, Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction <\/em>(New York, NY: Routledge, 2009), 133.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a> [8] Ibid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[9]<\/a> Linda Elder and Richard Paul, Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools<\/em> (Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2009), 37-45, Kindle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a> [10] David F. Ford, Theology: A Very Short Introduction <\/em>(New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999), 60.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[11]<\/a>\u00a0 Ibid., 43.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a> [12] Elliott, 132.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VISUAL ETHNOGRAPHY LEARNING SYNTHESIS London Bridge is Not Falling Down! \u00a0Personal Interests Waiting to board my British Airways flight to London I realized how very different this international trip felt compared to my first international trip exactly two years prior.\u00a0 On that September evening I was waiting to fly across North American skies and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,62],"class_list":["post-482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-ve","cohort-lgp4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1816,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482\/revisions\/1816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}