Trust

I had one of those "I can't believe how amazing our church is right now" moments after Clarence Gilge's funeral yesterday that I want to share with you.  It happened when I walked into the kitchen and saw several ladies of the church serving a meal to Clarence's family and friends.  That's nothing unusual in itself.  We've served funeral meals for years.  But as I saw this group of ladies working together and sharing stories and even smiling and laughing at certain moments, I realized how special this moment was.  They weren't smiling and sharing and sharing because they were related by blood, nor background, nor generation.  They were doing all this because:

A.  The tasks needed to be done.  And...

B.  Since they needed to be done, they might as well enjoy them and each other.

An unusual wave of feeling swept over me as I surveyed them working...a warmth of sorts. Then I realized that the feeling stemmed from the deep trust I had in them, individually and as a group.  I don't just mean trust that they would do a good job with the meal and the dishes.  Most people could do that.  I realized when I felt the spirit in that kitchen that I trusted them with anything...this more or less random group of Genesee Lutheran Parish ladies who had come together on that day.  If a person came in need of assistance, I would trust this group to help them.  If a person came wanting to know who God was and what faith was about, I would trust these ladies to show them.  If Derek or Ali got left behind at church somehow, I would trust these folks to take care of them as long as needed.  Anything that was required, spiritually or in service or whatever, I believe these ladies could and would do. And they'd do it in a way that would well represent God, our church, and our faith.  I'm glad I was present, but I didn't have to be present, watching out for everyone to make sure they got the right experience of God here.  Everyone was already in great hands.

That's a priceless feeling.  I probably could have felt it before with other groups, but there always seemed to be a sense that it was more important to get the task done "just so" or to make sure the forks were put away in exactly the right drawer.  With this group of people now right or wrong, left or right don't matter as much as being together and serving well.  In other words we don't care about jobs or things (in the kitchen or out) as much as we care about people and service and being together in God's name.  That's why I felt I could trust these ladies with anything, anytime, anywhere and with anyone who came to them.

Having enough faith and trust in each other and God to operate like this is a powerful statement.  Thank you to everyone who served yesterday for showing us that.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)