My Traveling Companions

Well I am all packed up and ready to go, but I've got hours before Graham drives Marty and me to Logan Aiport. Since I'm sure I'll have stories to tell about both of them before this trip is over I may as well take a few minutes now and introduce my traveling companions.

I first met Marty Cox when I came home for Thanksgiving break during my freshman year of college. He was the new Methodist pastor in the church I grew up in, and he invited the college students to come to the parsonage to meet him. I remember he played a Billy Joel album - I'm pretty sure it was The Stranger. I thought this seemed relatively cool, at least for a minister. My dad died later that same year and some time after that Marty married my mother; which makes him my step-father. He is "Poppy" to my two boys and nephews and nieces, and still pastor of Hawley United Methodist Church twenty-eight years later--rare in any denomination, but especially rare for Methodists. I told Marty on a whim almost that I was going to be making this journey to Jerusalem and was surprised (but glad) when he said he'd be interested in coming along.

I've known Chris Owen for almost as long. We met as international students at the University of St. Andrews during our junior year abroad in October 1983. There was an orientation for Americans, which is where I also met Hathy. So Chris was around when our "courtship" began and has been a friend ever since. (Like my immediate family members, Chris is one of those who attended ALL of my ordinations--UMC and Episcopal!) Chris, like me, was a Georgetown student; but our paths had never crossed during our first two years in DC. We remained friends during our senior year, however, and ever since. My path from Georgetown took me directly to Drew Theological School and ordination three years later. Chris's journey was more circuitous: an M.Phil back at St. Andrews and high school teaching before he ended up at Andover Newton Theological Seminary and was ordained in the United Church of Christ. I preached at his ordination, which was very cool. He and his wife and kids live about an hour north of us in New Hampshire where he serves a congregation; we stay in touch by meeting for breakfast in Fitchburg about once a month. When I was on sabbatical in 2008 we did a class together at our alma mater on Christian-Muslim relations and had so much fun we figured we'd try to do something together every year. We'll may have to re-evaluate that plan after this trip!

So my bags are packed and I'm ready to go. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to share about Marty and Chris as they are both "characters." ;-)

The next post I make will be, I trust, from St. George's...