Sabbatical Post Script #29 (6) Part 5 of Mugdock Castle

As I start my 5th post script about my tour of Mugdock Castle, I need to acknowledge that, in the words of a friend of mine, "I have a jet-lagged heart right now."  Or in the words of another friend, "It feel like I'm trying to get my engine to turn over and start, but the spark plug is broken."  As I share with joy some of my favorite photos of Mugdock this week, I am also carrying sorrow and rage.  All of those emotions are in community in my heart right now.  I am trying to hold them all equally, to give each of them space.  Yes.  Like the growing pains of adolescence, holding those emotions together, as a white woman, is painful and takes patience.  And, it's important.  I pray that all of my white sisters and brothers are able to join me in the growing pains of throwing off Systemic Racism in the United States.

I now invite my joy to step forward to share with you my experience of entering the next section of Mugdock Castle.

From the front entrance, to get to this section of the grounds, we turn to the right, and in front of us are the remains of the Victorian Mansion and the Archway Link that connected the 14th Century Tower to the 19th Century Mansion.

The engineering and creativity in this is just SO cool to me!  It reminds me of one of my other favorite things in the world - the Miniature Fairy Castle at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.  [Click here for a video]

I've never seen 14th and 19th century architecture put together in exactly the same way and the creative spark in me shimmered to see it.

Making a slight turn to the right (in the picture below, bottom right) you can just see the other side of the Archway Link that is attached to the Tower. Beyond, you can see a circular stone staircase - that time and nature have decided - leads to nowhere.

Now, if you turn all the way back to the left, you'll see the pathway to the North Keep.  At this moment, I'm going to invite you to scroll back to the top picture of the sign - and to find the drawing of the North Keep as it was then overlaid with how it looks now.

Go ahead - I'll wait. :)

You'll notice that the North Keep used to be as tall as the tower!  No more...

​Let's walk over for a closer look.

Here we are at the door to the North Keep, which is rightly locked, as I imagine there are exposed stairs inside, which also now lead to nowhere.

(Something about that brings to mind the story of the Tower of Babel...)

Here's where we'll pause this week, which to me feels apt with everything that is going on in the U.S. right now.  The reality of systemic racism and white privilege is FAR more complex than a locked gate in front of a locked door - AND - it also is a great starting metaphor.  For liberation and freedom to exist for ALL people, for black and brown bodies to truly begin to matter, both the door AND the gate need to be opened.  It's time we stop living in denial that they are both still shut and locked.

Will you join me in working to open wide the doors?

Blessings on your Journey,
Pastor Emilia