Takeaways from Slow Church

In my last post I talked about the book Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus by C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison.  The values of Slow Church are laid out as a meal, in three courses:  Ethics, Ecology and Economy.  Here’s a quick look at each of the values.

1.  Terroir: This is the idea of being grounded in a place.

            “God,

            Shrink our territory,

            And narrow our boundaries

            That we might truly be a blessing to all.”

                        --Paul Sparks

2.  Stability:  Fidelity to people and place.

            “The power of stability, though, is the chance to get below the surface, to recognize patterns, to become more sensitive to the work God is doing all around us.”

3.  Patience:  Entering into the suffering of others

            “Patience means to enter actively into the thick of life and to fully bear the suffering within and around us.”

4.  Wholeness:  Looking at people and things as a whole instead of fractured into parts.

            “Can I separate my own health from the rest of the world?  My own good nutrition from the poor nutrition of billions?  My longing for peace from the warring in the Middle East…or anywhere else at all?  In a universe where the lifting of the wings of a butterfly is felt across the galaxies, I cannot isolate myself, because my separation may add to the starvation and the anger and the violence.”

                        --Madeleine L’Engle

5.  Work:  Cooperating with God’s Reconciling Mission through our labor.

            “[The ideal work:] work that engages the whole person, often in collaboration with others, for the sake of the flourishing of the whole community.”  “Help people recognize and prefer good work over bad work.”

6.  Sabbath:  The Rhythm of Reconciliation

            “Sabbath observance requires a leap of faith, a firm confidence that the world will continue to operate benevolently for a day without human labor, that God is willing and able to provide enough for the good life.  Sabbath promises seven days of prosperity for six days fo work.”

                        --Richard H. Lowery

7.  Abundance:  The economy of creation

            “Scarcity impedes our imaginations, compelling us to conclude, ‘We could never do that.’”

“Scarcity often has the effect of blinding our churches to the abundant resources that God has provided for our life together.”

“The myth of scarcity is useful for subjugating peoples, and for helping the rich stay rich and the powerful stay powerful.”

            --Walter Brueggemann

8.  Gratitude:  Receiving the good gifts of God

            “Gratitude is how we practice recognizing the abundant gifts God has given us.   It’s how we praise God for those gifts.  And it is the energy that compels us to want to share those gifts.”

9.  Hospitality:  Generously Sharing God’s Abundance

            “For churches, one of the most transformative, and intimate, forms of generosity is hospitality: Sharing our homes, our tables and ourselves with others, particularly strangers.”

The final chapter of the book is called “Dinner Table Conversation as a Way of Being Church.” It focuses on the good work that can be done among members of a church through sharing a meal.  

“Christians spend too much time ‘deciding’ who can’t be included at the dinner party.  In contrast, we believe it’s our responsibility and privilege as followers of Jesus to add chairs to the table, not take them away.”

My biggest takeaway was just the idea that my little church here in my little town may be nailing this idea.  I am happy to be a part of a body of believers who practice lots of these values.

            

From Slow Food to Slow Church

Another book I read this summer was Slow Church by C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison.  It was interesting to be reading this one alongside the Barbara Kingsolver book I talked about here.  The authors make the case that our fast food culture that values efficiency, predictability, calculability (measurable results), and control (or illusion of control) has leaked into, not just our food, but into all areas of our life including the church.  They make the case that the values of the Slow Food movement are values to be embraced in our churches.  The authors want us to "reimagine what it means to be communities of believers gathered and rooted in particular places at a particular time." (p.15)

Here are some quotes that I thought were helpful in understanding some of the tenets the authors were trying to present as an introduction to the idea of Slow Church:

Slow Church is a call for intentionality, an awareness of our mutual interdependence with all people and all creation, and an attentiveness to the world around us and the work God is doing in our very own neighborhoods. (p.16)

Slow food wasn’t started by farmers.  It was started by eaters who stood up and declared that they were no longer content to be passive consumers of industrialized food.  Thus, we think it’s appropriate that a lot of the energy in the early staged of the Slow Church conversation comes from non-specialists who are motivated by a love of God, a love for the body of Christ in the world, and a desire to be more than passive consumers of religious goods and services. We want more risk, beauty and wonder than can be experienced at a spiritual filling station.  We want some skin in the game.  (p.20)

            “Eating is an agricultural act,” Wendell Berry famously said, and Slow food views consumers as active participants in the production process.  Eaters who know where their food comes from, know how it got to their table and support local farmers become nothing less than co-producers. P.20

            Similarly, Slow Church is more than a consumerist experience.  It goes beyond just offering people a safe haven on Sunday morning from the storms of fast life.  Slow Church is a way of being authentically connected as co-producers to a Story that is as big as the planet (bigger) and as intimate as our own backyards. (p.20)

The primary work of slow church is not attracting people to our church buildings, but rather cultivating together the resurrection life of Christ, by deeply and selflessly loving our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, and even our enemies. (p.33)

[Slow church]…sees people not as in or out but as closer or further away from the center [which in this case is Christ]… In one of Wendell Berry’s short stories, the character Burley Coulter says, “The way we are, we are members of each other.  All of us.  Everything.  The difference ain’t in who is a member and who is not, but in who knows it and who don’t.” (p.34)

****************************

There are lots of other good ideas about church in this book and I will share more about this in future posts.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Over the summer I read a book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  In this book Kingsolver chronicles the year her family of four undertook the monumental task of eating only what they could raise or buy locally, in their county in rural Virginia.  This book has had a direct effect on me since I’ve been home from Canada.  I have been to the local stand across from Walmart on many occasions (which I never did before) and brought home some fresh produce, including some really outstanding peaches.  I even put several bags of these peaches in the freezer for making some pies later on. (One may show up at the next Poetry, Prose and Pie.)  I know these seem like small steps, but they represent a real shift in my thinking and desire to change.  For all you out there who have been doing this for years, Bravo!

So let me tell you a little more about this book.

Ms. Kingsolver and her family began the agricultural and gastronomical journey in late March, just as the first fruits of spring began to appear at the farmer’s markets in her area. She vividly describes the work they all put into selecting the seed varieties they will plant in their garden and the breeds of chickens and turkeys they will raise. 

The rest of the book tells the stories of the food they grow on their small farm, and the connections they make with those who raise the food they eat and grow the staple crops they will depend upon.  They even learn to make their own cheeses.  Kingsolver is an excellent storyteller, and her writing is witty and entertaining, even for someone like me, who has never been a foodie, or remotely interested in gardening of any type.

One of my favorite incidents from the book is Kingsolver’s description of their Thanksgiving dinner. They had a true cornucopia of their own foods; everything needed for the feast except one thing they couldn’t do without—cranberries.  The family decides that they are not going to be a slave to their ideals and go to grocery store to buy a bag of organic cranberries. She describes this bag as some alien that has landed in their kitchen, lying there seductively in its cellophane wrapper.  She thought all the members of the family went by and fondled it at some point.

There’s also a chapter on turkey sex which is very amusing and entertaining.  Since most turkeys grown on industrial farms are artificially inseminated, very few people ever get to see this event happen. She said, “Of course I watched.”

All of this is connected to a growing movement called the Slow Food Movement.  This movement is a reaction against the fast food culture in which we live.  The fast food culture is characterized by its values, which are efficiency, predictability, measurable results and control.  In contrast, the Slow Food Movement values relationships, relationships with others but also with the earth itself.  Slow Food enthusiasts want to know who is growing their food, want to know who is preparing their food, and want to spend leisurely times enjoying their food.

All this seems very idyllic, and for sure, it’s beyond my capabilities on a regular basis, but I want to try to add more of these ideas to my life.  I think it’s a journey worth going on, even if it’s only once in a while.

My friend Jane just told me that she got to have dinner with
Barbara Kingsolver once.  I am very jealous.

Something on My Bucket List

I don't usually read this magazine that comes to my house every month, but this time the cover sucked me in.  I have become a big fan of Jeff Daniels over the past few years and wanted to see what he had to say.  Turns out, it was a lot.

My interest in Jeff Daniels has grown from recently watching the HBO series on Netflix called Newsroom.  It was written by Aaron Sorkin, another person I am a big fan of ever since watching his TV series West Wing and movie The American President.  Newsroom shows the behind-the-scenes working of a network news service.  It is riveting and smart.  Jeff Daniels won an Emmy for his portrayal of Will McAvoy, the network anchor man.  Phil and I just finished watching all three seasons, and it provided us with many topics to think about and discuss. 

But getting back to Daniels,  he's such a talented guy, and I admire him for his art, but the article let's you know that he's a very thoughtful guy as well.  He and his wife have been married for forty years and have three children.  During their parenting days, they moved back to their hometown, Chelsey, Michigan, to give their kids a more normal upbringing than they would have in Hollywood or New York.  This is all pretty remarkable for those in the acting profession.

Daniels is in the news because he is currently in the Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird.  After being able to see a production of Hamilton in San Francisco, seeing Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch, with the script written by Aaron Sorkin, is the next thing on my bucket list.  

In the article, Daniels makes a couple of statements that I found very remarkable.  I thought I might pass them along here.

Daniels spent a summer memorizing the script for Mockingbird.  Actors don't usually arrive at first rehearsals with the script memorized, but Daniels did, because "the profile of this thing was so big that I wanted to be prepared."  Whatever anxiety he felt about appearing in Peck's shadow, he overcame by doing what his upbringing had trained him to do.  "If you want to combat nerves, be more prepared," he said.  "It's the Midwestern work ethic."

"Here's the other thing about all of this," he said next.  "I'm working harder than in any decade of my life, which is not how they draw it up in star school.  Acting is craft, and when you get roles like I've had lately, you need everything you've ever learned to pull them off.  I find myself using things I learned years ago.  I tell drama kids, 'Find out what you want to do and spend the rest of your life getting better at it,' and that is still the case, I find, at 64."

Words of wisdom from a talented man.

I'll let you know if my bucket list dream comes true.

Yes, he is the Dumb and Dumber guy, too.

Fruits of Summer

There are many ways to describe the summer and give an accounting of the fruits that have come our way.  I've already informed you each week of the work with the children and staff.  The blessings and benefits of just this have filled me up over the past couple of months.  But there are other things that need to be recognized and added to the tally.

During the last few days that we spent at camp there were a lot of comings and goings.  Last Saturday the church groups who were attending Mission 3 Week began to arrive.  These included several dear friends who come every summer to help mop up after all the activity of the summer.  They also do a lot of work preparing the camp for winter by cutting and stacking wood for the wood stoves.  One project included tearing down one of the camper cabins so it can be replaced in the spring.

Staff who have been there for the summer begin to make their way home, so we had several goodbyes.  Goodbyes at camp tend to be quite long and drawn out.  They may occur at any hour of the day or night, depending on the planned departure time of the group or individual. They also include people chasing after the departing vehicle and waves from the ballfield.  Phil has begun to refer sarcastically to one ritual as "the circle of love" where everyone gathers and gives hugs to all in the circle.  It is not his favorite thing, nor is it mine, so we said our goodbyes on Sunday evening.  There was still a small gathering when we left, but it was much more manageable.  One picture I regret not snapping was Phil comically giving a bear hug to our friend Seth, who is 6'11".  To see Phil hug someone a whole head taller than him was quite a sight, and a strange experience for him.

One tally of the wealth of the summer is all the friendships that were cultivated or rekindled during our time at camp.  Another measure is the amount of reading we are able to do.  Without the benefit of TV, there's lots of time for good books.  We both read several, but I'll just give an accounting a few that I read.

I set aside time every morning for devotional reading, but I have added to this a short passage or poem from several books or magazines.  These include poems from The Sun and Her Flowers (an immigrant's story) by Rupi Kaur and Now I Lay Me Down to Fight (about her fight with breast cancer) by Katy Bowser Hutson.  I also read a portion from The American Bible by Stephen Prothero, this at the urging of Phil.  It is about the important documents of our American society and how they have been interpreted and referenced through the years.

I reread A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McClaren so I could discuss it with others reading it.  I also reread portions of Inspired by Rachel Held Evans just because I love her and miss her.  I loved Slow Church by Christopher Smith and John Pattison, which I may have to write a whole post about later.

My fiction selections included A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.  It's quite the quirky book, and I had some difficulty reading it because the chapters are fifty to sixty pages long.  But the longer I read the more hooked I got on the story because all along you know Owen is going to die but you don't know how it really happens until the last few pages of the book.  I read some short stories by Truman Capote which were somewhat interesting but more character studies than plots.  Willa Cather is one of my favorite authors, so I read her The Lost Lady.  It was good, but one of her early works, and not nearly as compelling as My Antonia and O Pioneers.  

I am currently reading a book by another favorite author, Barbara Kingsolver, called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  I'll reserve my comments on it until I finish it, but I'm finding it very enjoyable.

The last accounting of the summer comes from the treasures we collect.  Every summer we receive small gifts and kind notes from staff, campers and friends.  They mean so much to me.  I truly count them as treasure.  I've included the bowls that Phil made in this collection as well.

As you can see, the summer was bountiful, and I am content in the beauty of it all.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Update: Junior Week 3

Junior Week 3 is in the books and with that, the camp season comes to an end.  We had a full camp again with another large crop of brand new campers.  Along with these new campers are not only repeat campers, but also children and grandchildren of campers from long ago.  It is so great to see the relationships continue through several generations.

We had a very cold start to the week, but now it has turned hot, and that makes the lake very inviting. Most of the kids love swim time and this week we added an evening swim, which makes for some lovely pictures.

I was able to wrap up my storytelling duties for the week and all went well there.  I had a rather light week since I did not have to lead games.  I am thankful for younger staff who do this job well.

As we came to the end of the week, we were all very tired, but also very satisfied that we had had a terrific summer.  We had seen God's grace and mercy on display in how He used the likes of us, all the staff, to shine the light of the Gospel into the lives of children.  As I work there I think often of Jesus telling the disciples to "let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them."  Each one of these kids is precious to the Lord, and I think most leave knowing that they've have experienced His love from us.

Prayer requests:  I am praising God for the great summer that Phil and I were able to spend at Camp of the Woods.  Thanks to all who kept us in your prayers during this time.

My mom has radiation scheduled to begin on Thursday, August 15, in Chattanooga.  My dad will have surgery on his hip on Friday, August 16.  Keep them both in your prayers.

Update: Junior Week 2

We had our second group of junior campers last week, a full camp of 71 campers, almost half of them first time campers.  It's always exciting to have lots of new campers to introduce to the joy of camp and, for some of them, to the stories of Jesus for the first time.  Overall they were a very nice group of kids with very little homesickness or behavior problems.

There was a tragedy in the nearby city of Dryden last week.  The principal of the Catholic elementary school and his 17-year-old son were killed in a car accident.  It was quite a blow to the community, and several of our campers who attend St. Joseph's were camping with us last week. A couple of the parents let us know that it made things easier for them, knowing that their kids were being cared for by us during this hard time.  It is a blessing to us to be able to have these strong community ties, and we were glad to assist these families.

There was a round of sickness that struck several people including me.  I had a severe cold that laid me up for the entire day on Tuesday, and then I had to take it easy to get back to full strength by Friday.  It's a good thing to find out you're not irreplaceable.  Josh, one of the cabin leaders who had heard me tell the same story every Tuesday, stepped in to take the kids on their hike and tell the story of Peter following Jesus.  Other people stepped in to help with games, which was another of my responsibilities this past week.

Josh did a fine job with the story.

Since being a game leader was my job this week, let me share a couple of the games we play here with you.  Many games are regular camp fare that have been played at camp for years and years and might make you a little nostalgic.  One of those games is Steal the Bacon.  It is always a favorite of the campers here as they dash to collect items from the center and take them to their team for points.  They may even wrestle to steal things from other players which makes for quite a show.

On hot afternoons we try to stay cool by playing some water games.  A favorite is Sink the Canoe, which is just what you think:  splash enough water into the canoe to get it to sink.  This year we added another element, which was having the team captains sit in the canoe.  The kids loved splashing their captains, and it added to the fun. (Good idea, Isaac, Chester and Amy!)

Organized Mass Chaos (OMC) is another favorite game on a hot afternoon.  Each team has a bucket full of task cards, and the game is to see which team can complete the most tasks before the time is up.  The tasks involve things like shaving cream, silly string water, balloons and sponges.  A task might be something like, "Squirt shaving cream under your arms and say, 'I'm feeling foamy today.'" Lots of silliness produces lots of smiles in this game.

Finally, we play a game called Canadian Beaver each week.  It involves the people who are "it" (beavers) chasing down players, lifting them off the ground long enough to say "Canadian Beaver" and then, hopefully, putting them gently back on the ground.  It is a rough game, but most campers really love it.  We used to play it when I was a kid, and we called it American Eagle.

Prayer requests:  Pray for all of the staff to have enthusiasm and energy for this last group of kids.  It may be our fifth week of camp, but for the campers coming, it is their first week.

Pray for me that I can tell my stories for the fifth time with enthusiasm.  Also, that I can make good choices about which ones to include, as I have added different elements each week.

We are very thankful that my mom was able to get her radiation treatments moved to Chattanooga.  She begins on Tuesday, July 30.  My nephew Andy will be going with them on Tuesday, then we will see what her schedule will look like.

Update: Junior Week 1

We had to change gears this week as we welcomed our first group of junior campers, ages 8-12.  They require a lot more care and supervision than the teen campers.  Everything we do takes considerably longer.  But they make up for it by being very entertaining.

This week I hiked along with this group of boys and the subject of dreams came up.  I told them about a dream I had just that night.  In the dream (a typical teacher type dream) I was teaching a group of kids but they weren't the current campers or any kids I could identify.  One of the boys in the dream was pushing all my buttons.  I finally blew my top, and told him to "sit right here and don't move until I tell you to."  Then I woke up.  One of the boys on the hike said, "Tell me what he looked like.  I think I know him."  We have laughed and laughed about this.  Phil said, "Tell him to look in the mirror."

One of the fun things I get to do each day is lead one of our specialized activities.  The kids get to choose from things like paintball, archery, canoeing, ping-pong, frisbee golf, rock climbing and others.  My activity is space art.  Using spray paints we have created our own planets and galaxies.  The kids have been very delighted with the art they have created, and that has made it a joy for me.

Prayer requests:  Camp is full again for the coming week.  Please pray for the summer staffers as they recover from a pretty demanding week.  

Pray for those who heard the Gospel for the first time, and for several who responded to the Gospel this week.

My mom went to Emery in Atlanta.  They cannot do surgery and are sending her for radiation.  She will have to go five days a week for six to eight weeks.  Right now she is scheduled to do this in Murfreesboro.  We are trying to get it moved to Chattanooga.  Pray that we can get this arranged in the coming week.  She is scheduled to start on July 29.

Update: Teen 2

The second teen week has been completed, and it was another good week.  The weather, however, was not as good to us this past week as it had been for Teen 1.  Teen 1 was sunny and warm but cool in the evenings, almost perfect.  For Teen 2 we had two very wet days and thunderstorms one night that bothered some of the campers and kept them awake.  By Wednesday we had some campers that didn't have any dry clothes to put on or a dry towel to use.  Cold and wet makes for some unhappy campers but the end of the week improved so we finished strong.

This week I didn't have to lead the games, so I was able to spend some time helping out in the kitchen.  The kitchen is a great place to work as a team and have some fun conversations while you work.  Phil and I also jumped in to prepare the Sunday lunch meal, which gives the regular cooks a small break from kitchen duty.

We had 65 campers last week which made for a very full camp.  The staff is fantastic at making it all run smoothly, and I'm so thankful for their hard work.  Phil continues to do the same job he's done for the past several years, helping out with canoes and paddle boards during swim time.  He often has some of the staff or some of the campers come sit with him and talk.

At the beginning of the week the campers divide up into teams which compete the rest of the week.  All the team names this year are constellations.  Their first team task is to create a mascot out of craft materials we have.  I have been amazed by their creativity.  Here's what they've come up with so far.

I'm sure you can see Scorpion and Gemini is there
(a turtle with two heads, the twins).

There's a phoenix here and Orion on the right, the hunter.

Prayer requests:  The coming week we have around 70 junior campers coming.  The whole feel of camp changes when the younger kids come.  It's requires a lot more work for the staff so pray for them.

My mom goes to Emery in Atlanta for consultation about surgery on her nose.  Pray for good understanding of what needs to be done on her part and on the part of the medical team.  Also pray for their travel (Will is taking them) because the weather down there is looking bad because of the hurricane.

Update: Teen Week 1

Teen Week 1 is in the books and it was a great success.  The group of 40 we had this week was all returning campers except for four new ones.  Many of the campers this week have been coming every summer since they were eight years old.  It is good to see so many familiar faces and work with kids who just love camp.

I took the kids on hikes each day and told the Bible stories.  I focused on Peter.  I talked about what it was like for Peter to follow Jesus and how that looks for us today.  I was happy with how it all came out.  Now to look into what things I might add or change since we have several campers returning for a second week with us.

I was also the game leader this week and worked with Mallory and Kelly during each game time.  They were great help and made my job much easier.  Mallory took this lead on several games, and Kelly is one of those people who just quietly go about getting the job done behind the scenes. 

Keeping score with Mallory (sorry I didn't get Kelly in the pic)

My favorite game this week was one created by Isaac, one of the interns here this summer.  It was called Telescope.  After racing to retrieve pool noodles without being tagged, teams used them to build telescopes.  I was so impressed with their creations.

Lots of good relationships were strengthened with the returning campers.  Some of them are going through some tough stuff.  The teen age years are often hard, and the cabin leaders did a great job listening and empathizing with the campers.

One of my most enjoyable tasks of the week was performing skits in the chapel with Bekah, another intern.  We got a lot of laughs.

This is not the skit but it gives you a little glimpse of some of the chapel decorations.
They are really wonderful.

Prayer requests:  Please pray for the returning campers, that God can continue to work in their lives. Pray for me as I try to develop some different lessons to add to their learning.  We have several individuals and groups traveling in and out this weekend so we pray for their safety.

Also, pray for my mom.  The cancer in her nose is too extensive to treat in Chattanooga.  She will have to travel to Emery in Atlanta.  I don't know when yet, or what that might mean that I need to do.  Pray for her healing and for wisdom for all of us in the decisions we have to make in this situation.

COTW 2019 Week 1

I have decided to take a lesson from my good friend Bea and write an update every week of the summer for those of you back home.  To begin with, it was great to be back with Phil after such a long time apart.  It was also so good to spend the week with our son Will.  Will had spent a summer here back in 2011and has several friends here so it was good to keep up those connections.  Even though Will only lives about five minutes from us in Dunlap, we don't always get to spend the extended time together that leads to lots of good conversations.  When he left for home I felt tears come to my eyes and that surprised me.

Part of my week has been spent unpacking, deep cleaning the Loon's Nest (our cabin), and just generally getting settled back into the routine of camp.  I have helped out in the kitchen some, and been involved in some of the staff training that has been taking place this week for the young people who have come to be our summer staff.  It is a large group of nearly thirty young adults and teens, and I am excited to be able to work with them this summer.

Special dinner with staff topped off our week of training.

This special dinner was a true gift from the kitchen staff and leadership team.
I appreciated their thoughtfulness so much.

The thing that has struck me the most this week has been the relationships that have been begun or are being reestablished.  Let me just give you a snapshot of my Wednesday evening.

After chapel Will and I went to the Kanes' house (our friends who are here full time).  We spent about half an hour just talking about life.  I had noticed how content Billie seems to be here now, and she got to talk about how God was building patience into her life.  After that Will went and spent some time with their 19-year-old son, Alex, who is autistic.  I went to the lodge where I had a conversation about my mom's surgery with Seth, and then got to hear from a young man who is here as an intern about the difficulties of leaving his very tight-knit family.  Will ended up in a game of Aggravation so I went back to the cabin.  I ran into Shelby, who spent a couple of summers as our head life guard, and was just back for the evening to visit friends.  She brought Haley with her and these to girls visited with us for about thirty minutes, talking about what they are doing and what they hope to do in the future.

All these connections, all this time for talking and investing in each other is what makes my time at Camp of the Woods so special.  The connections here run deep and span a lot of time.  My life is so much richer because of all the relationships I have built during the past ten years of ministry at COTW.

Staff returning from outdoor chapel at Beartrack Lake.  Canoeing at
sunset is spectacular.

Prayer requests:

Please remember my mother who is having surgery on her nose on Monday to remove some skin cancer.  She has already had substantial work on her nose in the past and it has not been easy.

Pray for me as my biggest job this week will be to tell Bible stories on the morning hike.  Pray that I will have a clear message of how Jesus makes all difference in our lives and that following Him is the best path for your life.

Our key verse for the summer

Good in the World

Kids, grandkids and great-grandkids

Earlier this week our family gathered to celebrate Father's Day with my dad.  We had a good time together, and I enjoyed seeing all the faces at the table.  After the meal I said to Dad, "You have good kids, good grandkids, good great-grandkids. What a great thing!"

After coming home I thought some more about this comment.  Yes, my dad (and of course, my mom) has a lot of good people in his family-- four kids, eleven grandkids, and nine great-grandkids.  Dad's descendants are living or at work in far-flung places like Canada, Ukraine and Bulgaria, Georgia and Colorado, Florida and Indiana.  We also inhabit not so far-flung places like Dayton, Dunlap and Chattanooga. But all these good people are not just good people.  They are good people adding good to the world.

In some places they are preaching the Gospel and calling people to salvation.  In other places they are bettering the lives of people through education and health care. Others are ending the oppression of poverty and racial injustice in the lives of those they touch.  Many work in and through their churches to better their communities and share a portion of their income to support important work that they care about.

All this good has as its foundation the home my dad built with my mom.  They came together to make a home that honored Jesus Christ and nurtured us all to become the good people we are.  I'm so glad to be his daughter, and so pleased to be counted in the number of his descendants who are working every day to make this world a better place.

Life and Death Collide

Photo via Chattanooga Times Free Press

 My weekend took me to two very different events in the course of one day.  On Saturday afternoon I went to the funeral of Rachel Held Evans, and later on Saturday evening I attended the wedding of Autumn Cofield.

There’s no denying the fact that life and death walk alongside each other on the paths of our lives, but this weekend they collided and overlapped…

--In a father carrying his one-year-old daughter and holding the hand of his three-year-old son as they walked behind the casket of his wife and their mother; and in a father walking the bride down the aisle strewn with petals by the young flower girls.

--In a mother-of-the-bride who buried her mother on Monday and walked down her daughters’ wedding aisle on the arm of her widowed father on Saturday.

--In hearing a young woman give the eulogy at the funeral of her older sister; then hours later, hearing another young woman, who was the maid of honor, toast her just-wed sister at the reception.

Photo via Chattanooga Times Free Press

--In listening to my daughter sob for all the reasons she was sad at losing her friend; and later listening to the laughter of friends recounting good times with the bride and groom.

            --In grieving all that was lost in the death of Rachel, all that could have been, all that should have been; and in celebrating all the joy at the wedding of Autumn and Richard, and dreaming with them of all that has begun and is to come.

When we see this collision of life and death in the same space it is jarring.  Beautiful and terrible all at the same time.  I know that for Dan Evans, the reality jars him daily. Only days after Rachel’s passing, he hosted a birthday party for his sweet little girl, and that is but a single example of how death slaps you in the face, kicks you in the gut, over and over…and life goes on.  The words of poet Judah Halevi ring true in this space:

Tis a fearful thing

To love what death can touch.

A fearful thing

To love, to hope, to dream, 

To be, and O, to lose.

A thing for fools, this,

And a holy thing.

A holy thing… to love.

For your life has lived in me.

Your laugh once lifted me.

To remember this brings painful joy.

Tis a human thing, love,

A holy thing…

To love what death has touched.

Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and graduations will mark the time and witness to the truth that life indeed does go on.  Autumn’s wedding attested to that fact.  My gift to her was a poem I wrote.  It is a snapshot in words of a time held dear, and a wish for a bright future with Richard.

A beautiful sunset,

Yellow, orange, red,

Still waters on the lake,

A loon calling mournfully to its mate,

Good friends gathered in a cozy cabin,

Fresh blueberry pie on my plate.

These were the elements

Of a perfect evening.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,”

I remember saying.

And then you entered the scene,

Sitting behind us

In the darkness that was slowly enfolding the cabin.

You played your cello.

For the next half hour

You transported us from the beautiful

To the sublime,

The transcendent.

It is one of my favorite memories.

I wish for you and Richard

Moments like this,

Memories like this,

Love like this.

Days like this remind me of a verse in Psalm 90 that says, “Teach us to number our days,” and a better translation might be “Teach us that our days are numbered.”  Rachel’s sister Amanda brought this home to us at the funeral by playing a beautiful song she wrote for her sister and never played it for her. She had no reason why except that she thought she had time. 

Yes, there is no doubt that life and death walk side by side in our lives, one taking the lead at times while the other lags behind, later to change positions.  This is the ebb and flow of life.