Posts Tagged ‘Prague’

History: Cyril and Methodius

January 27th, 2009

Before I moved to Prague I knew very little about this area of the world. Even though I majored in History in college, I still feel like I didn’t really know all that much about the area that I now live in. I’m guessing that many of you also aren’t all that familiar with the history of Prague or the Czech lands. So, I decided that I want to occasionally post a history blog so that you can better understand this place that I live and maybe a bit about why I choose to live here.

Let’s start with a brief account of Cyril and Methodius…

It is said that Christianity came to the region with the great missionaries Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century. They are often referred to as “Apostles to the Slavs” and their work did much to influence the development of the region. Though German missionaries had been in the area before Cyril and Methodius they had not seen much success in converting the area. Cyril and Methodius took a different approach from the German missionaries and the results were also quite different. They translated the Bible into what is now know as Old Church Slavonic, which allowed liturgies to be said in the common language of the people. In order to do this they created a Slavic alphabet which is in use in many places even to this day. There were of course those who opposed their use of the Slavic language and who argued that Latin alone should be the language of the church and church documents, but because of the success of Cyril and Methodius’ mission both Rome and Constantinople honored them.

I think the story of Cyril and Methodius is very interesting. It seems to me that they at least partly cared about meeting people where they were. At a time when most church services where performed in Latin and when many missionaries insisted on Latin being used, Cyril and Methodius reached people in their native tongue. They entered into the lives of the Slavic people. The brothers worked in Moravia for just less than five years but because they taught the people in their own language they have been forever remembered as the ones to really bring Christianity to the Slavic lands.

It seems that often today we do the same thing that the German missionaries did, we try to convert people by forcing them to do things our way. Maybe we don’t make them do their service in Latin, but we do make them conform to our cultural standards. Cyril and Methodius didn’t do that, they allowed the people to be Slavic instead of trying to make them something they weren’t.

Lord, may we each minister to those around us without trying to take them someplace they aren’t ready to go. Without trying to force anything to happen. Without trying to make them look and act like us. May we meet people where they are at and reach out to them in ways that allow them freedom to be who you made them to be.

Rejoicing in the journey –
Bethany Stedman

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Christmas Eve in the Czech Republic

December 24th, 2008

There are definitely similarities between Christmas in the Czech Republic and Christmas in the states, but there are also some rather unique differences in the ways that Czech’s celebrate the season and I thought I’d share some of them with you all today.

Like my family, Czech’s decorate Christmas trees, but unlike my family traditionally Czech families wait to decorate the tree till Christmas Eve. In the Czech Republic Christmas eve is when the real festivities happen.

This evening Czech families will gather for Christmas Eve dinner, which is traditionally made up of fried carp (and or carp soup) and potato salad (not what I would call a traditional Christmas dinner). I don’t know if you know anything about carp, but it’s a fish that most people (in the states at least) would consider basically in-edible because it is mostly bones. But, what makes the carp eating even stranger to me is that a few days before Christmas Eve large tubs of carp will appear on the sidewalks for people to buy it off the street. When you buy your carp you can choose to have it killed there, but many people will take their carp home and have it live in the bath tub for a few days. If they choose to take it home then the men of the family will kill the carp on Christmas Eve. I’ve never had carp, but this whole idea seems more than a bit strange to me.

After dinner the superstitions start showing up. It’s said that Christmas Eve is a magic time when people can see into the future and maybe even influence their futures. There are many things that a Czech family might do after dinner to try and predict the future. One such tradition begins with cutting an apple in half; if the core of the apple is in the shape of a five-pointed star then you will have health and happiness in the next year. If instead of a five-pointed star your apple core is in the shape of a cross then you can expect an unlucky year ahead.

Another such Czech tradition is the floating of walnut shells. Each person gets a half of a walnut shell and places a small candle in the shell and lights it. The shells are then placed in a large bowl of water. If your walnut shell makes it across the bowl reaching the other side then you will have a long and healthy life, if it sinks then that means bad luck.

The Czech’s also have a number of Christmas Eve traditions that are supposed to foretell marriage. One of these traditions is that an unmarried girl can cut a twig off of a cherry tree on December 4th (St. Barbora’s Day) and place the branch in water, if it blooms by Christmas Eve then that girl will marry within a year. The other marriage predicting tradition is that after dinner on Christmas Eve an unmarried girl is supposed to throw a shoe over her shoulder towards the door. If the shoe lands with the tow pointing the door then the girl will be leaving home to get married within a year.

After the dinner and fortune telling the children will be sent up to their rooms or somewhere away from the Christmas tree. This is the time when Ježíšek comes. Ježíšek is baby Jesus, and for the Czech children he brings their presents instead of Santa Claus. After the children have been away for a little while a bell will be rung and they will rush back to the tree where they will find the tree lights on for the first time and their presents now under the tree.

So, that’s a little bit of what a traditional Czech Christmas Eve might look like. Wherever you may find yourself today and whatever your own family and cultural traditions may be for this day, I pray that this day is filled with true hope and deep laughter for you.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Approved…

October 29th, 2008

I have some good news for you all…

You see, as a few of you know, I applied to join Christian Associates International’s church planting team here in Prague a little while back. And on Sunday I was officially approved and accepted onto the team.

This process of applying and being approved has, itself, been filled with a lot of back and forth in my heart. I have already had to work through a lot of fear and self doubt, but because I have faced those fears and doubts and uncertainties I can now say with full clarity that joining this team is exactly what God is calling me to at this stage in my life. I have no doubt now that He wants me here, at this time with this group of people. And that He has a purpose and place for me on this team that he has been preparing for me (even if that purpose and place still seems a little vague).

I will write more about Christian associates and this church and what my specific role on the team will be later, but for now it’s enough to just tell you that I have been approved and invite you to celebrate this new transition in my life with me. My heart is thankful.

Thank you, Lord Jesus. For showing me the next step in the road. For leading me to this new place, and this new opportunity. Thank you for bringing me to Prague and for guiding me to this particular church and community – I love these people so much and I pray that you would make me to be a good support for each of them. Lord, thank you for bringing some little clarity to all the uncertainty of my life lately. Thank you for providing a place for me. In Jesus name, Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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Yoga Teacher Certification Program

September 27th, 2008

So, I realized today that I haven’t shared something on the blog that will be a big part of my life over the next 5 months… On Friday I start a yoga teacher certification program through Prague Yoga. It meets all the requirements of the international Yoga Alliance and enables graduates to teach anywhere in the world. It’s a 5 month program and classes are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for about 9 hours each day, one weekend a month. I will also be required to take 30 other yoga classes on top of the weekend classes and read 7 books on yoga. The class will cover a variety of different yoga styles, aspects of anatomy and physiology that relate to yoga, as well such things as ethics, nutrition and yogic history.

I am so excited about this program. I feel like it is such a perfect fit for me. I really feel like it could potentially combine a bunch of different interests I’ve had throughout the last few years (teaching, yoga, dance, nutrition, health, etc). I don’t know where exactly it will take me and if I will end up teaching yoga after this, but this program will at least give me that option and the more I think about it the more appealing that option seems.

Of course, I am also really nervous about this program. I always get nervous about new things and situations and this will definitely be a very new situation for me. I have no idea what to expect from it at all. I think it’s been more than two years since I’ve taken a formal yoga class and even though I have been practicing on my own very regularly over the past year I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to keep up in a class setting like this. But, I feel like I am ready for the challenge and ready to step out of my comfort zone and stretch myself (literally and figuratively).

I feel like taking this class has really been a step of faith for me in many ways. Honestly, I feel like taking this class is actually sort of irresponsible of me right now. I mean it’s not cheap and we don’t exactly have extra funds right now – in fact I really am not sure exactly how I’m going to pay for it all. And I feel like I’m probably not really good enough or advanced enough to jump into a full teacher training like this. But, as I weighed the decision I heard a gentle voice saying, “Come, Bethany, trust me. I want to give you good things; I want to fulfill your wildest dreams and passions. I want you to do this.” And I felt my heart stir and long and get excited in a way that doesn’t often happen. And as I talked to a few other people about it I heard a resounding “Yes, you should do this, this would be good for you. Do it.” So, I took a deep breath and signed up, paid my reservation deposit and ordered my books. Now I start Friday and I still don’t know what I’m doing, I’m still scarred and nervous, and unsure how this is all going to work out, but I do believe that sometimes the paths God leads us down are uncertain and dark and require lots of trust and faith and hope and often a good bit of help to make it down them.

So, please pray for me and this program over the next 5 months. Pray that I have the stamina and ability to keep up with all the poses and physical exercise. Pray that I can soak up and learn as much as I can, sift through all the information and instruction I get and wisely keep and take hold of all that is worth keeping and taking hold of. Pray that I can build good friendships and relationships with the teachers and the other students and that I wouldn’t shut down and pull myself away from people, but would instead be open and available and really create lasting friendships during this time. And pray that God, through His infinite provision, would provide for the financial costs of this program as well as any other needs that may arise through it.

Thank you, friends! I look forward to letting you know how this goes and what God ends up doing in me and through me during it.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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Berlin vs. Prague

September 16th, 2008

Ever since my trip to Berlin this weekend I have been thinking and wondering about the difference between cities. It was amazing to me how different Berlin felt from Prague and as I started thinking about it how different Germany and German’s are from Czech’s and the Czech Republic. It really is amazing how very different two neighbors can be.

So, how are the two cities different? In what ways is Berlin different from Prague? Well, it’s hard to explain the difference in words. Really it’s more of a different feel to each city. Berlin (at least the parts of Berlin we were in – mostly Eastern Berlin) felt open, creative, social, and new. The sidewalks on the streets were wide and shops, as well as restaurants, often pulled their goods out onto the sidewalks. It was like each shop and each restaurant had a front porch where people could mingle and take a quick look without committing to go inside. It gave the whole place a very welcoming feel. There were also a lot of parks and trees that served as just one more social space for people to hang out in and be together. And people were out – it was a pretty cold weekend when we were there but we still saw tons of people sitting out at tables on the sidewalks, shopping in the shops, and chatting with one another at the parks. Prague isn’t really like that.

So, what makes two cities that have experienced similar things and are so close in proximity so vastly different from one another? That is the question that many of us women kept asking over the weekend and after it. In the end we realized that even though it feels like Prague and Berlin are close to each other and had similar experiences in actuality their experiences were very different and those differences shaped the differences that can now be seen in these cities.

For example, both cities were under Nazi rule during WWII, but Berlin was bombed numerous times until there was literally not much left while Prague was only bombed once on accident. Because of that Prague lives constantly surrounded and immersed in its varied and colorful history. Few major European cities are so well preserved and it is a blessing that the people of Prague can see so much of their history in their buildings. But, it is also a curse, because where Berlin was able to recreate itself after the war, Prague still seems to carry around a lot of luggage from the past.

Another thing that we noticed was that even though East Berlin was also under communism they probably had a very different experience of communism than Prague did. There are so many things about Prague and about the people of Prague that can still be directly linked back to communism. The chains of communism may have been removed, but in many ways the city still isn’t free of those shackles even though they are making progress. Berlin didn’t feel that way as much. Berlin felt free. Eastern Berlin was so close to the west that when communism fell the west just rushed right in. Prague may be the “gateway between east and west” but in many ways it was very removed from the west during communism and it seems like it’s going to take much longer for it to recover from that oppression.

Then there are just the differences in the people and how that affects the cities themselves. German’s are very different from Czech’s and they approach problems and issues very differently.

The more I travel the more I believe that each city has a personality all its own. It’s fascinating to me how different two cities can be and the personas that different cities take on over time. There are so many things that influence the feel and attitudes of a city and so many things that come together to make a city what it is. And it seems very difficult to change a city – not impossible – but difficult. It takes a long time for a city to shake off an old persona and create a new one. It’s really interesting to me.

So, those are just some of my random thoughts on Berlin vs. Prague.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

Photograph by Beth Stedman

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