My First Prom

 

What a great group of kids!

Saturday night the youth at our church hosted a “Senior Prom.”  Anyone over sixty was invited to come with or without a date to enjoy an evening of music, dancing and fun.  The kids spent Friday afternoon preparing food and decorating the gym.  Saturday evening came and the crowd slowly trickled in (when it’s seniors, that’s the pace for most things...a slow trickle).  Over the course of the evening between fifty and sixty people came.

This prom was a beautiful thing in so many ways.  The young people put a lot of time and effort into serving the older population of our church.  They were thoughtful in their plans to make it enjoyable for everyone, whatever their physical limitations might be.  The seniors supported the youth by coming out, and participating in this unusual event. This setting became a great place for the two generations to find some common ground, and have some fun together. It was amazing!

Slow dancing

Anna Kate and Ed

Ontario and Betty
(That Betty is a dancer!)

The dance floor was full.

Us girls dancing together

Libby and Howard

The band was fantastic and played a great mixture of music from the fifties and sixties.  There were songs for rocking out and songs for slow dancing, and people did a good bit of both.  It was surprising to see who the ones who loved dancing were; they were up for almost every song.  Some who had limited mobility were accommodated and were able to enjoy it as well.

Chris, Charlotte, Sonny, and our drummer

Keith, as Elvis, danced with just about everyone.
He was a lot of fun!

There was the election of a prom king and queen.

Dot and Howard Hatcher

 There was a then and now game, matching pictures of people from their younger days, which I won (a $25 gift card to the Cookie Jar… good for me!)

Collecting my prize from Cindy

 Now I have to confess that I didn’t want to go for several reasons. 

1. I never went to a prom.  I grew up in a “Footloose” kind of culture where we didn’t dance, and our church put on a banquet for us instead of a prom.  Let me add that not learning to dance is one of my regrets in life.  There is such an expression of joy in music and dance that I really feel like I missed out. Although I’ve danced a lot with kids, especially at camp, I felt pretty insecure about dancing with my peers.

2. I was a little disgruntled that I was old enough to attend (just keepin’ it real here).

3. I wasn’t sure about what to wear. 

4. I thought the idea of having a prom for us was just weird.

5. If Phil had been around I would have used him as an excuse not to go.

Fred putting me at ease

So in saying all this, it’s funny that this event dredged up a lot of the same feelings teenagers have when getting ready to go to the prom.  It was true for me and for other too.

But I’m so glad I went. And I am so thankful for the kids who put this all together and for their fearless leaders, Cindy and Hank, who went above and beyond to make this happen.  I love you all!

Conversations at the Kids' Table on Easter Sunday

This isn't the kids' table but this was on Easter Sunday.

Does this house have a chimney? Yes, there it is.  The thing that looks like a pistol?  A pistol? It's that pipe.  I love cheese.  Eat two more bites of ham.  I don’t want my egg.  Give it to her.

Are we going to hunt eggs?  After we eat. The chimney looks like a pistol.  What?  He means “pistil,” like in a flower.  Oh, wow! He’s right.  It does. What five-year-old knows “pistil”? More tea.  I’m done.  Me, too. No, you don’t.  Four more bites.  If you don’t eat your food,  you can’t have birthday cake.  I don’t want cake.  I’m done. Stop talking and eat.  Don’t say that to my brother.  You’re not our boss.  Don’t talk to Auntie like that.  Are you her mother?  Let’s go hunt eggs!

Whew!

Taking the Next Step

I’ve spent some time reading the twitter feed about Rachel Held Evans at #becauseofRHE.  Many women have expressed that because of Rachel and her words and books, they are now pastors or other kinds of ministers in their churches.  I have to add my story to the list now too.

Tomorrow I will take my first class to become a certified lay minister in the United Methodist Church.

I don’t know right now exactly what this means in my life.  According to UMC bylaws, “a certified lay minister is a certified lay servant, certified lay missioner, (or equivalent as defined by his or her central conference), who is called and equipped to conduct public worship, care for the congregation, assist in program leadership, develop new and existing faith communities, preach the Word, lead small groups, or establish community ministries as part of a ministry team with the supervision and support of a clergy person.”  So right now I just know that this step will create some opportunities that aren’t available to me now.

I have long felt the call of God in my life to serve Him in whatever ways He led.  I have been a children’s ministry leader, a Sunday School teacher, a missionary to Canada and a leader in many of the activities of the churches I have attended.  But a few years ago I began to feel that God was calling me to even more.  That’s why I am going down this path now… to see what’s next and to make myself available to it.

It’s not lost on me that I’m sixty-one years old, and that I’m coming late to the game.  But every step I take in this direction may make it easier for the next woman to consider this path for herself. 

Recently I wrote a poem about the changes I have undergone in the past few years.  

            A New Song

The record spins

And plays its tune,

Its melody etched in each groove,

The perfect performance every time.

There is some satisfaction in that perfection.

No need to change a thing...

Until a scratch

Impedes the progress

Of the needle,

And a word or note

Repeats

Repeats

Repeats

A New Song emerges

Alive

Varied

Improvised

No longer

Restrained or confined.

The beauty of the New Song

Steels my heart.

Rachel Held Evans was one of the causes of the scratch I talk about in this poem.  She made me think about what I believe and challenged me. But Rachel was also a voice that helped me find a new song, and to have the courage to sing it out loud.  I will always be grateful for that.

Rachel Held Evans

Another friend passed away today.  Rachel Held Evans was only 37 years old.  She leaves behind her husband Dan and two children ages 3 and 11 months.  She was still nursing her baby.  Rachel took some antibiotics for an infection and then started having seizures.  They placed her in a medically induced coma, but she never recovered.  We are grief-stricken for the family and friends she leaves behind.

I was first introduced to Rachel by my daughter Kathryn.  When Kathryn moved to Dayton, she and Brandon became a part of a church start that was being led by Rachel and others.  I started reading her blog and found what she had to say very challenging. Phil and I were talking about this the other day.  We grew up in traditions that taught us to knowthe Bible, but we weren’t taught tothinkabout the Bible.  Rachel was the first voice I heard that really made me think about the Bible and grapple with some of the hard things you find there.  I am forever grateful for the impact she has had on my life.

Thankfully, her voice lives on from her writings.  If you haven’t read any of her books, I think you would love her book, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again.  Other books she has written are Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church; Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions;A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband ‘Master’. 

Although Rachel struggled with doubts about her faith, she had come to a wonderful peace with those doubts, and this was evident in her last book.  We all struggle with how her death makes sense in any way.  And it is with great sadness that I think about all her critics who may seize this opportunity to call this the judgement of God upon her life for some of her more controversial positions.  

But Rachel and her family held fast to the most important tenet of our faith—the Resurrection.  It gives us all great hope that she lives on in great peace and comfort with her Savior.  It is those who are left behind who struggle with the hole that has been blown wide open in their lives. Please pray for Dan, the kids, and Rachel’s parents and in-laws as they deal with this great tragedy.  Pray especially for Dan, as his livelihood was wrapped up in Rachel and her books and appearances.  He will have to find a way forward.

My heart breaks for these dear ones.