Here at Ferry Beach Conference Center, there’s always singing after dinner, led by the musician of the week. Although I usually duck out before the singing starts because it gets way too loud, tonight the decibel level promised to be bearable so I stayed.
The song leaders had us sing “The Garden Song” by David Mallet. Now, this is Heidi’s favorite song, and Heidi, who has been coming to Religious Education Week for decades, was unable to come this year. So when we started singing, Joyce called Heidi, got her voice mail, and held up her cell phone so we could all sing into it. We all knew Heidi would actually appreciate this gesture.
I started thinking: Do we have a similar sense of attachment to our regular congregations? –would you ever call someone who couldn’t come on Sunday morning, and hold up your phone so that person could hear the congregation singing a favorite hymn? What if we sent notes to a person who couldn’t come some Sunday morning — would that person appreciate those notes?
Very good question. In our congregation at the coffee hour after the service there is a table at which you can write a note to a member who is sick or unable to attend, and it will be sent to that person. Perhaps we could expand it to include your suggestion.
dad
I wonder if any of my colleagues will take phone videos of faculty meetings while I’m on sabbatical.
Um.
I hope not.
At one of its meetings our covenant group sang to one of our group members when he was in the hospital and it meant a great deal to him.
A very interesting question.
It seems to me that many of us long for a sense of community, but have no idea how to create it. I include myself in that. This is surely one answer: to be sensitive to the likes and dislikes of other members of the community, and do something about it.