From The Workshop

From the Workshop
 
It is a joy to be here. There is energy pouring out in service and compassion in so many directions. 
 
We are moving into summer mode. Vacation Bible School this year is all about art. Mary Beth has paints and brushes lined up for children PK-6th grade to create and to be “part of God’s Masterpiece.”  And it’s not just for the children. Adults are also invited to submit their creations in the finale of VBS Sunday, June 18. (Submissions due Saturday, June 17.)  All our Sunday morning classes will share in this together. 
 
And while that’s going on, Jenna has a youth (6-12 grade) summer Bible study, “Serving from the Heart” on Sunday mornings. This and the “Masterpiece” event are strong themes for the whole congregation. Together and individually we are God’s masterpiece. And the heart of Jesus drives us both together and individually. It’s the heart that discerns the path ahead, and from the heart we also look back on the past. 
 
If you’ve been around the last two Sundays, you remember that Jesus came back to empower the disciples with His Spirit. The same Spirit driving Him was now in them. They just had to get “out there.” They had to put their hearts into it, their new hearts, their new Spirit. One problem–the past. 
 
The past is a collection of powerful memories. Many want to hold us back, to not be the “masterpiece” God intends. I shared on Sunday that I am going to my college reunion at the end of this month. There’ll be 200+ coming and a group of us will be marking our fiftieth year since graduation. And while the University is no longer operative, the campus is still there and the memories are thick. Included in the weekend is a “dance” and like a shot it’s 1969! I am at the freshman orientation “street dance” in the admin parking lot. I’m talking to Mary Lou (not her real name), hearing new music (Santana who had just been at Woodstock), and wishing I knew how to dance. I didn’t. And that’s probably why I never saw Mary Lou again! 
 
With that memory, I am going back to the reunion, back to the classmates, and back to the dance. I will have to introduce myself to some people (like my roommate) who look totally different. There will be some people whose careers took them to very different places and some of us went more or less where we planned. I am going to do my best to set aside some of the memories, the ones that held me back then. There’s a new me inside. In the last few years I have taken a few dance lessons, done some brushing up, and in three weeks I’m going back to the gathering, back to the dinners, back to the campus tours, and back to the Saturday night dance. This time my heart’s in it. This time I’m going to get out there. Mary Lou might be waiting. 
 
See you soon,
Tom