"Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on sleeping in." It was hard, after a very full weekend, to get up this morning. Rising on Mondays is always a little difficult for me. On Sunday, I usually rise quite early; I almost always take a nap at 3 on Sunday afternoon. If that nap goes longer than 45 minutes or so, I might have trouble getting to sleep . . . and then rising Monday becomes a chore.
Yesterday I learned in church that the Sk8boarding Exhibition at the church on Saturday had been the success we hoped it would be. Our Youth Group (and their advisors!) proposed last spring an exhibition by the Flint Skateboarding Team with ramps and an emcee from Captive Sports, the local skate shop. Kim, their manager, has been a great person iwth whom to work, and the excitement of our Youth Group grew as we finally chose a date and began to solicit volunteers in the congregation, and to promote the event at schools.
The volunteers certanly showed up, and from everyone I've only heard positive reports. I think the general feeling of excitement and good will is growing in our church around events like these, and I can only hope that we will continue to become involved with each other's lives in reaching out to the community. I think in my sermon yesterday I said something about learning, as a youth, that being part of our church actually meant something; that it provided a place of formation for me and my colleagues to know that our church ws about speaking publicly the truth that we are each other's keepers, that when a farmworker family hurts (as we learned when I was a kid), my family was hurting; when a farmworker was celebrating, I could be celebrating.
I'm told that families who came with their kids delighted in the playground behind our church; enjoyed strolling through our Memorial Garden; walked with their children our Labyrinth. This is only a start to introducing our congregation to the community, and it is only the most recent of many such starts; but it helped to embody our aspirations of being a welcoming community for children and families, a core statement of our vision for our church.
There was plenty of good energy at church on Sunday, and I'm discovering that we can create a rich and beautiful time together that welcomes the community in and sends the congregation out. I'm loving more and more our music. A participant in a "Theology Talks" discussion spoke of the magival moment when the children were ringing the welcome bell and an "Alleluia" sung by our Music Director Pia Broden-Williams joined the bells. That moment, its precious beauty, the wonder of happenstance, the sounds outside pouring in and inside singing out, all that symbolizes my hopes for our church, and for the ministry that I help co-create and lead.
Late yesterday afternoon, I arose from my slightly too-long nap soon enough to get up and get out of the house. I went to see "Ratatouille" (along with two other people in the theater, by my count) at the urging of a dear friend back East, Fran Early. The movie was wonderful, of course, and I loved the Parisian jazz throughout (reminded me of the appearance by Paris Combo, the first concert I heard when I come to Flint). But the "Oh-my-God" surprising moment for me was at the bite of the sour restaurant critic into the dish prepared specially for him. How a cartoon could telescpe back to the time of innocence and bring me with it to my own childhood, I can't understand or believe. And yet it happened, and I burst into tears. For a moment, I was with my Ma, and everything was going to be all right. (How Disney!) Wow.
Not a bad place to be.
Pale, gray skies. Crisp air. Some luminescence above the garage . . . perhaps the sun will indeed appear?
Good morning.
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