We then left for Staten Island by bus, subway and ferry. Apart from Natasha who was very nervous about riding on the ferry, everyone else was very excited. Pictures were taken of the Manhatten skyline, the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Bridge, linking Staten Island to Brooklyn. We were hosted at Castleton Hill Moravian Church by the four Moravian congregations on Staten Island uunder the leadership of Rev Lynette Delbridge, the co-pastor, with her husband, of Castleton Hill Moravian Church. Our visit started with lunch on the lawns of Snug Harbor, a former retirement centre for sailors. The centre has is now used as a museum and art gallery. We visited the art gallery and and a Chinese scholar garden. We also walked through a maze as preparation for a new experience in store for us at Castleton Hill.
Two more bus drives took us to Castleton Hill. There Rev Delbridge gave us a talk on labirynths, and explained the difference between a maze and a labrynth. A maze can be described as a test of skills, whereas there are no challenges in a labrynth. A labirynth is a more spiritual experience. She then afforded us an opportunity to walk through the labirynth which the church had built to afford members of the community an opportunity experience it, and explore their spirituality on their own terms. We then had dinner which was prepared by members of all four the Moravian Congregations on Staten Island.
After dinner we set off amid great excitement to watch our first baseball game between Staten Island Yankees and Hudson Valley Renegrades. Unfortunately, the game did not live up to our expectation. All we knew about the game, was what we had seen in the major league games on television. Since we knew that we were not going to see a major league game, we did not expect to see the same high standards, but with our limited knowledge of the game, it was easy for us to be disappointed. Rev Dr Michael Johnson himself came to watch the game in order to help us with transport back to Brooklyn in the John Hus church bus. Some hosts from Brooklyn also assited us with transport. Our ride home took us over the Verrazano Bridge, which is built on two levels.
