The Rev. Daniel Hilty, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church, and his family enjoyed walking the heart of downtown Dublin, Ireland, for four weeks as he exchanged pulpits with the Rev. Andrew Dougherty, pastor of the Methodist Centenary Church of Dublin.
Conversely, Dougherty and his family enjoyed walking the Hilty's dogs in their green, spacious, Jefferson City neighborhood.
Not only did the pastors exchange clerical duties for four Sundays, their families exchanged homes, as well.
Hilty and his wife, Kristen, and their children Elijah, 15, and Maggie, 11, left their lively dogs in the care of the Doughertys, who also were given their home, food and car for their stay. Kristen Hilty also left a care package of bug spray, sunscreen and directions to avoid poison ivy.
In Ireland, Dougherty and his wife, Joyce, and their children Patrick, 17, and Charlotte, 12, left their home open, complete with a more docile dog and chickens, for the Hiltys.
"It's an exercise in vulnerability," Kristen Hilty said. "You hand over your home to someone else.
"But it was neat getting to know a family through their home."
Both found their surrogate homes beautiful and surrounded by friendly neighbors. And both congregations made the visiting pastors welcome by inviting them to meals and showing them the sites.
"It's interesting to live in America, but not the tourist traps," Joyce Dougherty said. "You live with people and see how they live. You get to see the real America."
Maggie Hilty was captivated by the interlocking basalt columns at Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway. And the Doughertys enjoyed a trip to Nashville, Tennessee.
As for weather, the Doughertys found the hot Midwest temperature a change of pace. Whereas, the Hiltys didn't mind arriving in Ireland on its hottest day on record in 11 years at about 85 degrees.
"The weather was fantastic," Kristen Hilty said. "I'll take rain and drizzle over 100-degrees any day."
By staying for one month, rather than a quick-paced one-week vacation, both families agreed they were able to get a better feel for the opposite culture.
Kristen Hilty noted by the end of their time in Dublin, they were giving directions to the new American tourists.
However, they also made time for family traditions - attending Sunday morning church services, of course. For the Hiltys, that included mom's Saturday morning pancakes.
It was an interesting time to visit Ireland, as they are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, a failed rebellion but predecessor to eventual independence.
This was the fourth time the Doughertys had participated in the World Methodist Council's pastorate exchange. However, it was the Hilty's first.
"Our theology is the same; our way of doing things can be different," Dougherty said.
Within the church world, Hilty left his larger-sized church with five separate worship services for the Irish congregation of about 50.
"It didn't feel foreign," Hilty said - except his Irish parishioners did ask for him to preach slower.
The order of service was similar, as was the praise music, Kristen Hilty said. However, their spoken rhythm was different when reciting the Lord's Prayer, Elijah noted.
Maggie liked the more intimate Communion style of groups taking the bread and grape juice as opposed to the one-by-one manner they practice in Jefferson City.
While at the Jefferson City church, Dougherty said he was impressed with the involvement of lay people leading committees and carrying out church work.
"It was a big church," he said. "But not too big that it was impersonal."
And he liked how several ministers on staff were allowed to specialize in particular areas of ministry.
"We rely on volunteers with full-time jobs," he said as the sole minister of a congregation of about 80.
However, as Dougherty returned to his own congregation recently, he said he will take with him the Jefferson City church's idea of promoting mission work in every day life with practical application suggestions.
One of the things Hilty appreciated most about the Irish congregation was its diversity, spanning generations, national origins and even denominational backgrounds.
"Diversity is something we value as a church; we believe we are a more complete reflection of the Body of Christ," he said.