Church on the road

I’ve made some interesting observations over the years about faith development while traveling. During August 2014, we were in Chicago and Quebec, attending church in both places. My home church had Bible readings each week that followed a sequence, known as the Lectionary. I don’t remember anymore which passages were read that month, but I noticed that the passages followed each other over the weeks. For example, at home in Massachusetts earlier in August, I heard the beginning part of a certain Bible story. The next  Sunday in Chicago, the sermon referenced the reading that week, which was whatever happened next from the passage the previous week. Then in Quebec, the church was following the same Lectionary, and we heard more of the story. Now, many stories are already familiar, but it was really neat to travel many miles and hear that continuity!

In Europe, we have the opportunity to attend church on base or off base, depending on what type of service we want to attend, such as contemporary, traditional, Gospel, etc. When we are on the road, we are sometimes lucky to find an English speaking service, like in Prague, with phenomenal music, too! Other times our flights or drive times or no English services nearby have resulted in us listening to podcasts. Well, someone more talented than I has arranged for automatic downloads so we can listen to good preaching and sermons. My favorites are: Nadia Bolz-Weber, Jon Niketh, Rick Warren and the team at Saddleback, and Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago. We usually listen in the car, but one time we were “stuck” in Copenhagen waiting for a bus, so listening to a podcast straight off the iphone helped to pass the time in a constructive way.

What are your favorite podcasts? We also have motivational podcasts such as Byron Katie, Martha Beck, and others to inspire us.