Utah

Well we made it to Salt Lake City and Brigham Young University (actually in Provo) after about 24 hours of travel. We weren’t prepared for how shrouded in snow capped mountains this region is. 

How’s this for a backdrop to the uni?! That mountain in the background is higher than anything in Australia.

After a mixed night sleep wise we headed off to Devotions with our host Miranda and what turned out to be literally thousands of others. Walking there was like being in a crowd streaming into a major sports game or concert and when we got there it was huge!

Apparently all classes are suspended each Tuesday mid morning for these devotions, and most students and faculty attend. We met in the university basket ball stadium that seats 19,000, and when things started I calculate there were at least 14,000 people present. A women’s choir sang a beautiful song and it turned out this was a significant occasion when the conclusion of the current University President’s term was announced and the new President was introduced.

On Wednesday we met with different faculty and faculty leaders and rich conversations ensued. In the afternoon we were taken to the BYU Museum of Art to see a wonderful display of Maynard Dixon’s (mostly Utah) landscape paintings. These are amazing. 

We also saw this stunning Nativity painting by local Utah artist Brian Kershisnik.

The crowd wasn’t as big at Sarah’s lecture on the Poetics of Faith as it was for the University devotions but they were appreciative. It turns out a former Poet Laureate of Utah was present. He came up and thanked her for the lecture afterwards. It was a wonderfully rich and inspiring lecture.

In the afternoon we gathered with members of the faculty of Religion and Literature to discuss Sarah’s book Experiencing God in a Time of Crisis, which they have all been reading and love. It was another rich conversation. This was the view of Provo and Lake Utah from the window of the room in which we met.

And this from the window on the other side.

And this is what we saw outside the window of our digs (the University Guest House) when we awoke next morning. 

Later that morning we headed into the Wasatch Mountains for the retreat which Sarah will lead with members of a research group.

We made it to our destination after a wild ride in heavy snow. We were both glad not to have been driving!! Here are two of the folks that transported and have hosted us BYU, Miranda and Jason.

And here’s Sarah posing with one of the locals at Zermatt, the ‘Swiss’ resort where the retreat is to be held.

Two more of the locals.

Snow, snow and more snow.

We’ll leave it there in order to post before the end of the week. We hope to post again in the coming days to share more of Utah and Salt Lake City. It’s lovely to have you following along and we are thinking of the Benedictus community gathering later this evening.

Buen camino

Sarah and Neil❄️❄️❄️