Atlantic to Pacific Coast - On the road with Rev Sean Robershaw</tit= le>  <link rel=3DthemeData href=3D"SeanOn_the_road_files/themedata.thmx"> <link rel=3DcolorSchemeMapping href=3D"SeanOn_the_road_files/colorschememap= ping.xml">  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US style=3D'tab-interval:36.0pt'> <div class=3DSection1> On the road with Rev Sean Robertshaw <o:p></o:p> Team Rector in The Upper Holme Valley Team<o:p></o:p>= Obama in Washington to Thomas Merton via Jack Kerouac and Graceland<o:p></o:p></s= pan> RevÕd Sean Robertshaw was first introduced to the cult classic Jack KerouacÕs ÔOn the RoadÕ by a friend while training for ordinationÐ the two of them have just = met up in New York to retrace that road journey on their very own pilgrimage th= at took in the inauguration of AmericanÕs first black president, Graceland and= the Abbey of Gethsemane. RevÕd Sean writes: <o:p></= o:p> ÒThomas Merton and Jack Kerouac walked into my life together while I was training f= or ordination at Cranmer Hall, Durham back in 1991 and theyÕve never stopped bothering me. <o:p></o:p> On the R= oad Ð KerouacÕs autobiographical novel of his freewheeling road trip across the US with his buddy Neal Cassady (known as Dean Moriaty in the book) - just captured my imagination: the road, the idea of journey; the sen= se of freedom to simply be was jumping off every page.<o:p></o:p> While Thomas MertonÕs writings and thoughts on being alive to the moment, and sil= ence and solitude to access the depths of oneÕs own true self, also made a tremendous and lasting impact. Both writers have informed me, shaped me; my life and (delete this word my) ministry over the years.<o:p></o:p> It was a colleague at Cranmer College, Angus Stuart who first introduced me to Kerouac. I vividly remember our first encounter Ð we passed along the corri= dor, both dressed in black leather (like Elvis), and we both, with perhaps inappropriate good-natured humour, saw the numbingly pointless side of some aspects of ministerial formation. The truth was neither of us quite fitted = in with the scene for different reasons but we both loved music and poetry Ð I guess in our own way we were dissenters but committed to the exploration of= the spiritual life. We started an alternative poetry group back then called Vis= a, cosÕ</= span> Ôthe other college group was called Access!Õ It wasnÕt subtle, but it was honest= ; we still exchange poems via email.<o:p></o:p> On January 19, I flew into New York to meet up with the now RevÕd Dr Angus Stuart, an Anglican priest in NW Vancouver, to retrace the exact r= oute Kerouac and Cassady travelled in part two of On= the RoadÐ exactly 60 years to the day after Kerouac did it.<o:p></o:p></= p> On the Road is KerouacÕs autobiographical comment upon life as it is lived; it= is ruthlessly honest, often funny, and sometimes sad but importantly, it is wr= itten without judgement. The story is about relationships, friendships, the journ= eys and dreams of young men who lived boldly during a time when the ÔAmerican D= reamÕ was being suffocated by conventional culture. They themselves were the poet= s, thinkers, musicians and dreamers of a whole generation of people, known popularly as ÔThe BeatsÕ. Those dreams continue to inspire the hearts and m= inds of the 100,000 people who buy this book every year.<o:p></o:p> Here in the UK, I can drive from Huddersfield to London and think, ÔI've driven a whole three and half hours!Õ (If youÕre lucky through traffic.).But in the = USA, you can get in a car, start driving and not stop until you reach the other = side, and thereÕs no traffic. And sometimes thatÕs what life is about; reaching o= ut for the other side; side of life; side of being; side of self... <o:p></o:p= > ÔThe roadÕ in America seems to just continue... I was exploring that as a metaph= or for the Christian life. The backdrop to my journey is marked with colours, textures and a geography which is unprecedented here in the UK. The US is a vast, largely unexplored, awesome and dangerous place. And: the same is true for us isnÕt it; we are vast, awesome and often dangerous individuals, who = so often remain largely unexplored.<o:p></o:p> IÕve travelled in Canada and the US before, usually visiting places and people w= ho were associated with The Beat Generation of the 1950s, or Thomas Merton. Th= is trip has been in the making for two years and was about following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and being alive to self and place.<o:p></o:p></sp= an> New York was Kerouac's starting point for that trip, and as Kerouac and Cassady did, Robertshaw and Stuart headed south to Washington, D.C to arrive on the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, just as they too had witnessed TrumanÕs inauguration 60 years earlier.<o:p></o:p></= span> This was a truly remarkable moment in history and to be there, just to be there,= was amazing! It was a day for the Black African Americans who thronged the stre= ets. We were stood near the Washington Monument when Obama had finished his spee= ch. There was an atmosphere of tremendous joy, it felt like a yoke had been lif= ted, but more than that: there was an unspoken deep recognition of all that had = been wrong before. Only the day before had been Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Day in America, a national holiday. = Many of the older African American women stood near me started crying; I will remember for ever President Obama saying something like: ÒThe time has come= to put away childish things, to affirm our enduring spirit, to choose a better history and embrace the God given promise that we are all equal, all free a= nd all deserving of happiness.Ó He sounded like an Old Testament prophet, and = I guess he was trying to! It was a lot for a white Anglo-Saxon European to take in.= <o:p></o:p> To witness that, to stand on that soil and to bare witness to that moment of change; it was literally being present as history= was being unfolded. <o:p></o:p> From Washington we diverged from the original route to take a side trip up to Memphis, Tennessee to salute Ôthe kingÕ ~ try a = Google search! Elvis was perhaps the biggest icon of popular culture across the wo= rld. In 1977, when he died, I was 11 years old; I can still remember who told me that piece of news. The first record I ever bought was ÔElvis a Legendary Performer Vol. IIÕ and from then IÕve been a life-long convert; as Lennon s= aid, ÒBefore Elvis there was nothingÓ. His influence as a performer has been recognised across the world: many of the artists I listen to now were hugel= y influenced by him. Elvis had faith in Jesus. You know when you stand in front of his g= rave at Graceland, perhaps one of the most popular sites of pilgrimage in the western world; while you look upon Elvis, you are being looked upon by Chri= st, in the form of a statue that would grace any Catholic church in the world. ItÕ= s an interesting perspective isnÕt it you looking at Elvis while Jesus looks at = you. Everything in Memphis, and especially Sun Records, reeks of popular culture= and faith. And: it was here that Dr Martin Luther was assassinated whilst on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, 4th April 1968.<o:p></o:p>= From there we went to Kentucky to pray at the Trappest Abbey of Gethsemane, wher= e Fr Thomas Merton, monk, and writer, lived and worked for most of his adult lif= e. Here we joined the community and became part of their cycle of prayer and worship. It gave us time for reflection and allowed us to make an afternoon= Õs pilgrimage to MertonÕs hermitage in the woods. Merton believed the silence and solitud= e of a monastic life was the key to unlocking your true self; just walking into = his hermitage gave you such a sense of space and freedom to be. I remember look= ing round at its simplicity, touching the things Merton touched, looking upon t= he items that shaped his life right there in the middle of the woods and think= ing, what a peaceful place to sit and to be and think and write. <o:p></o:p></sp= an> Merton takes a bit of getting into and IÕm no expert. He said lots of things about= the spiritual life, and in one sense anything he ever wrote might become a quot= e, but this quote has helped me with my journey, ÒOur real journey in life is interior it is a matter of growth and deepening and an even greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts.Ó That inward journey for me has always been connec= ted to the land and geography. I guess thatÕs why I enjoy living in such a beau= tiful place as the Holme Valley; itÕs where my clay was shaped and that feeds my being. I was never happier on the trip than when at MertonÕs hermitage, or = when praying with the Monks in the Abbey. There was such joy in that place, a pl= ace of retreat, a silent place, a place doing its best to hide from the world.<= o:p></o:p> The last part of the trip we were struck by the sheer distance and never-ending landscapes as we drove back to New Orleans and, resumed the ÔOn The RoadÕ route. Kerouac and Cass= ady visited William Burroughs in New Orleans and we visited the very house that= he wrote about, ÒWe went to old Bull L= eeÕs house outside town near the levee. The house was a dilapidated old heap with sagging porches running round.Ó I remember crossing the Òbrown watersÓ of the Mississippi = River to get to the house; it was quite something, it was great to Òdig it!Ó When we left we headed w= est through Austin, Texas, ÒYou drive a= nd drive (Jack) and youÕre still in Texas tomorrow night,Ó and then El Paso Texas, Òarriving at dusk,Ó as K= erouac did, and then up through Palm Springs to the, Òentryway to the great Tehachapi PassÉwhere Dean took the wheel and carried us clear the top of the world.Ó And then west down into the San Joaquin Valley, ÒIt lay spread a mi= le below virtually the floor of California, green and wondrous from our aerial shelf.Ó To our journeyÕs end crossing the Oa= kland Bay Bridge, Òit carried us in,Ó in = early evening to arriving by darkness in downtown San Francisco on to OÕFarrell S= treet. ÒWhen we staggered out of the c= ar on OÕFarrell Street and sniffed and stretched; it was like getting on shore af= ter a long voyage at sea.Ó<o:p></o:p> I stayed a day in San Francisco visiting the ÔBeatÕ scenes. This was the last view of America Thomas Merton had. He stayed with Lawrence Ferlinghetti before leaving for Asia, where he died in a freak accident in Dec 1968. It = was a ÔBeatÕ who waved goodbye to him at the same airport I flew home from. <o:= p></o:p> We met some truly amazing people along the way, people who popped up like road= angels and blessed us, most of them Christian and in that fact was a reality relat= ing to belonging. Hospitality and grace was shared generously time and time aga= in. The Christian community is diverse but alive and healthy in its caring in America and we benefitted from this.<o:p></o:p> ÔOn The RoadÕ might be read as a parable of life and parables can have very different meanings for their readers. This journey gave us the space to thi= nk, concentrate, reflect and be. It made me particularly aware of where I am located in this life, confirmed to me that IÕm still going forward and taking risks, but al= so reminded me through longing and absence, that my most treasured love is hom= e, West Yorkshire, the Upper Holme Valley with my wife Sally and our two child= ren, and the community we serve.<o:p></o:p> ENDS<o:p></o:p> Quotes f= rom On the Road, Jack Kerouac, Pub Penguin Books in G= B 1972<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01C9B7A6.3EFC0E10 Content-Location: file:///C:/D02AC884/SeanOn_the_road_files/themedata.thmx Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-officetheme UEsDBBQABgAIAAAAIQCCirwT+gAAABwCAAATAAAAW0NvbnRlbnRfVHlwZXNdLnhtbKyRy2rDMBBF 94X+g9C22HK6KKXYzqJJd30s0g8Y5LEtao+ENAnJ33fsuFC6CC10IxBizpl7Va6P46AOGJPzVOlV XmiFZH3jqKv0++4pu9cqMVADgyes9AmTXtfXV+XuFDApmaZU6Z45PBiTbI8jpNwHJHlpfRyB5Ro7 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MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_01C9B7A6.3EFC0E10" This document is a Single File Web Page, also known as a Web Archive file. If you are seeing this message, your browser or editor doesn't support Web Archive files. Please download a browser that supports Web Archive, such as Windows® Internet Explorer®. ------=_NextPart_01C9B7A6.3EFC0E10 Content-Location: file:///C:/D02AC884/SeanOn_the_road.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="macintosh" Atlantic to Pacific Coast - On the road with Rev Sean Robershaw</tit= le>  <link rel=3DthemeData href=3D"SeanOn_the_road_files/themedata.thmx"> <link rel=3DcolorSchemeMapping href=3D"SeanOn_the_road_files/colorschememap= ping.xml">  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US style=3D'tab-interval:36.0pt'> <div class=3DSection1> On the road with Rev Sean Robertshaw <o:p></o:p> Team Rector in The Upper Holme Valley Team<o:p></o:p>= Obama in Washington to Thomas Merton via Jack Kerouac and Graceland<o:p></o:p></s= pan> RevÕd Sean Robertshaw was first introduced to the cult classic Jack KerouacÕs ÔOn the RoadÕ by a friend while training for ordinationÐ the two of them have just = met up in New York to retrace that road journey on their very own pilgrimage th= at took in the inauguration of AmericanÕs first black president, Graceland and= the Abbey of Gethsemane. RevÕd Sean writes: <o:p></= o:p> ÒThomas Merton and Jack Kerouac walked into my life together while I was training f= or ordination at Cranmer Hall, Durham back in 1991 and theyÕve never stopped bothering me. <o:p></o:p> On the R= oad Ð KerouacÕs autobiographical novel of his freewheeling road trip across the US with his buddy Neal Cassady (known as Dean Moriaty in the book) - just captured my imagination: the road, the idea of journey; the sen= se of freedom to simply be was jumping off every page.<o:p></o:p> While Thomas MertonÕs writings and thoughts on being alive to the moment, and sil= ence and solitude to access the depths of oneÕs own true self, also made a tremendous and lasting impact. Both writers have informed me, shaped me; my life and (delete this word my) ministry over the years.<o:p></o:p> It was a colleague at Cranmer College, Angus Stuart who first introduced me to Kerouac. I vividly remember our first encounter Ð we passed along the corri= dor, both dressed in black leather (like Elvis), and we both, with perhaps inappropriate good-natured humour, saw the numbingly pointless side of some aspects of ministerial formation. The truth was neither of us quite fitted = in with the scene for different reasons but we both loved music and poetry Ð I guess in our own way we were dissenters but committed to the exploration of= the spiritual life. We started an alternative poetry group back then called Vis= a, cosÕ</= span> Ôthe other college group was called Access!Õ It wasnÕt subtle, but it was honest= ; we still exchange poems via email.<o:p></o:p> On January 19, I flew into New York to meet up with the now RevÕd Dr Angus Stuart, an Anglican priest in NW Vancouver, to retrace the exact r= oute Kerouac and Cassady travelled in part two of On= the RoadÐ exactly 60 years to the day after Kerouac did it.<o:p></o:p></= p> On the Road is KerouacÕs autobiographical comment upon life as it is lived; it= is ruthlessly honest, often funny, and sometimes sad but importantly, it is wr= itten without judgement. The story is about relationships, friendships, the journ= eys and dreams of young men who lived boldly during a time when the ÔAmerican D= reamÕ was being suffocated by conventional culture. They themselves were the poet= s, thinkers, musicians and dreamers of a whole generation of people, known popularly as ÔThe BeatsÕ. Those dreams continue to inspire the hearts and m= inds of the 100,000 people who buy this book every year.<o:p></o:p> Here in the UK, I can drive from Huddersfield to London and think, ÔI've driven a whole three and half hours!Õ (If youÕre lucky through traffic.).But in the = USA, you can get in a car, start driving and not stop until you reach the other = side, and thereÕs no traffic. And sometimes thatÕs what life is about; reaching o= ut for the other side; side of life; side of being; side of self... <o:p></o:p= > ÔThe roadÕ in America seems to just continue... I was exploring that as a metaph= or for the Christian life. The backdrop to my journey is marked with colours, textures and a geography which is unprecedented here in the UK. The US is a vast, largely unexplored, awesome and dangerous place. And: the same is true for us isnÕt it; we are vast, awesome and often dangerous individuals, who = so often remain largely unexplored.<o:p></o:p> IÕve travelled in Canada and the US before, usually visiting places and people w= ho were associated with The Beat Generation of the 1950s, or Thomas Merton. Th= is trip has been in the making for two years and was about following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and being alive to self and place.<o:p></o:p></sp= an> New York was Kerouac's starting point for that trip, and as Kerouac and Cassady did, Robertshaw and Stuart headed south to Washington, D.C to arrive on the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, just as they too had witnessed TrumanÕs inauguration 60 years earlier.<o:p></o:p></= span> This was a truly remarkable moment in history and to be there, just to be there,= was amazing! It was a day for the Black African Americans who thronged the stre= ets. We were stood near the Washington Monument when Obama had finished his spee= ch. There was an atmosphere of tremendous joy, it felt like a yoke had been lif= ted, but more than that: there was an unspoken deep recognition of all that had = been wrong before. Only the day before had been Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Day in America, a national holiday. = Many of the older African American women stood near me started crying; I will remember for ever President Obama saying something like: ÒThe time has come= to put away childish things, to affirm our enduring spirit, to choose a better history and embrace the God given promise that we are all equal, all free a= nd all deserving of happiness.Ó He sounded like an Old Testament prophet, and = I guess he was trying to! It was a lot for a white Anglo-Saxon European to take in.= <o:p></o:p> To witness that, to stand on that soil and to bare witness to that moment of change; it was literally being present as history= was being unfolded. <o:p></o:p> From Washington we diverged from the original route to take a side trip up to Memphis, Tennessee to salute Ôthe kingÕ ~ try a = Google search! Elvis was perhaps the biggest icon of popular culture across the wo= rld. In 1977, when he died, I was 11 years old; I can still remember who told me that piece of news. The first record I ever bought was ÔElvis a Legendary Performer Vol. IIÕ and from then IÕve been a life-long convert; as Lennon s= aid, ÒBefore Elvis there was nothingÓ. His influence as a performer has been recognised across the world: many of the artists I listen to now were hugel= y influenced by him. Elvis had faith in Jesus. You know when you stand in front of his g= rave at Graceland, perhaps one of the most popular sites of pilgrimage in the western world; while you look upon Elvis, you are being looked upon by Chri= st, in the form of a statue that would grace any Catholic church in the world. ItÕ= s an interesting perspective isnÕt it you looking at Elvis while Jesus looks at = you. Everything in Memphis, and especially Sun Records, reeks of popular culture= and faith. And: it was here that Dr Martin Luther was assassinated whilst on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, 4th April 1968.<o:p></o:p>= From there we went to Kentucky to pray at the Trappest Abbey of Gethsemane, wher= e Fr Thomas Merton, monk, and writer, lived and worked for most of his adult lif= e. Here we joined the community and became part of their cycle of prayer and worship. It gave us time for reflection and allowed us to make an afternoon= Õs pilgrimage to MertonÕs hermitage in the woods. Merton believed the silence and solitud= e of a monastic life was the key to unlocking your true self; just walking into = his hermitage gave you such a sense of space and freedom to be. I remember look= ing round at its simplicity, touching the things Merton touched, looking upon t= he items that shaped his life right there in the middle of the woods and think= ing, what a peaceful place to sit and to be and think and write. <o:p></o:p></sp= an> Merton takes a bit of getting into and IÕm no expert. He said lots of things about= the spiritual life, and in one sense anything he ever wrote might become a quot= e, but this quote has helped me with my journey, ÒOur real journey in life is interior it is a matter of growth and deepening and an even greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts.Ó That inward journey for me has always been connec= ted to the land and geography. I guess thatÕs why I enjoy living in such a beau= tiful place as the Holme Valley; itÕs where my clay was shaped and that feeds my being. I was never happier on the trip than when at MertonÕs hermitage, or = when praying with the Monks in the Abbey. There was such joy in that place, a pl= ace of retreat, a silent place, a place doing its best to hide from the world.<= o:p></o:p> The last part of the trip we were struck by the sheer distance and never-ending landscapes as we drove back to New Orleans and, resumed the ÔOn The RoadÕ route. Kerouac and Cass= ady visited William Burroughs in New Orleans and we visited the very house that= he wrote about, ÒWe went to old Bull L= eeÕs house outside town near the levee. The house was a dilapidated old heap with sagging porches running round.Ó I remember crossing the Òbrown watersÓ of the Mississippi = River to get to the house; it was quite something, it was great to Òdig it!Ó When we left we headed w= est through Austin, Texas, ÒYou drive a= nd drive (Jack) and youÕre still in Texas tomorrow night,Ó and then El Paso Texas, Òarriving at dusk,Ó as K= erouac did, and then up through Palm Springs to the, Òentryway to the great Tehachapi PassÉwhere Dean took the wheel and carried us clear the top of the world.Ó And then west down into the San Joaquin Valley, ÒIt lay spread a mi= le below virtually the floor of California, green and wondrous from our aerial shelf.Ó To our journeyÕs end crossing the Oa= kland Bay Bridge, Òit carried us in,Ó in = early evening to arriving by darkness in downtown San Francisco on to OÕFarrell S= treet. ÒWhen we staggered out of the c= ar on OÕFarrell Street and sniffed and stretched; it was like getting on shore af= ter a long voyage at sea.Ó<o:p></o:p> I stayed a day in San Francisco visiting the ÔBeatÕ scenes. This was the last view of America Thomas Merton had. He stayed with Lawrence Ferlinghetti before leaving for Asia, where he died in a freak accident in Dec 1968. It = was a ÔBeatÕ who waved goodbye to him at the same airport I flew home from. <o:= p></o:p> We met some truly amazing people along the way, people who popped up like road= angels and blessed us, most of them Christian and in that fact was a reality relat= ing to belonging. Hospitality and grace was shared generously time and time aga= in. The Christian community is diverse but alive and healthy in its caring in America and we benefitted from this.<o:p></o:p> ÔOn The RoadÕ might be read as a parable of life and parables can have very different meanings for their readers. This journey gave us the space to thi= nk, concentrate, reflect and be. It made me particularly aware of where I am located in this life, confirmed to me that IÕm still going forward and taking risks, but al= so reminded me through longing and absence, that my most treasured love is hom= e, West Yorkshire, the Upper Holme Valley with my wife Sally and our two child= ren, and the community we serve.<o:p></o:p> ENDS<o:p></o:p> Quotes f= rom On the Road, Jack Kerouac, Pub Penguin Books in G= B 1972<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01C9B7A6.3EFC0E10 Content-Location: file:///C:/D02AC884/SeanOn_the_road_files/themedata.thmx Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-officetheme UEsDBBQABgAIAAAAIQCCirwT+gAAABwCAAATAAAAW0NvbnRlbnRfVHlwZXNdLnhtbKyRy2rDMBBF 94X+g9C22HK6KKXYzqJJd30s0g8Y5LEtao+ENAnJ33fsuFC6CC10IxBizpl7Va6P46AOGJPzVOlV XmiFZH3jqKv0++4pu9cqMVADgyes9AmTXtfXV+XuFDApmaZU6Z45PBiTbI8jpNwHJHlpfRyB5Ro7 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