Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. –Hebrews 10
It was the smell of burgers and hotdogs grilling, the aroma infused smoke swirling past a picnic shelter and wafting through the forest. Then the coolers— all lined up like tanks ready for an invasion, some still partially open revealing ice and solo cups, while others had already been relieved of their precious cargo. You know, the important items like deviled eggs, coleslaw, my great-grandmother’s special baked bean recipe. The picnic tables were an assortment of salads, sides, and fresh cut fruit, a watermelon perched on a bench just waiting for its moment. Arriving on the scene I knew I was at the right place— the family reunion.
Distant cousins embraced and chatted under the shadows of towering sycamore trees. Many of these folks I see only every couple years or so for just this one occasion. We always have to play catch up, reminding each other of names, relation to parents or grandparents and where we are now. But even the catching up is delightful as connections are rekindled and family stories are unearthed. For just an afternoon of family connection it takes some effort. Space is secured, food is prepared and some people traveled from many hours away. It wasn’t an epic sporting or entertainment event, neither was it a work-related, school-required or extra-curricular commitment. A reunion was just setting aside the time and energy to prioritize gathering together, keeping the connection strong between relatives of growing geographic and even familial distance.
In the days leading up to the reunion my son got very excited and kept asking about our “family communion.” “It’s reunion” I would correct him. But as I thought about it, communion kind of works too. There is something sacred and holy about coming together—breaking bread, experiencing connection. My son experiences communion at least once a month at church and he knows that it is a special time when people gather together in ‘God’s house’ to do something that matters. He loves his church family and as he has learned his days of the week, the identifying factor for Sunday is that it is the day we go to church. For him, his church community is like family— his church family.
Family is a special social group in God’s creation that pushes us to be in relationship with one another in often challenging ways. Family can be unique because you spend SO much time together that you know every quirk, every vulnerability, every idiosyncrasy. When it comes to siblings growing up in the same household, you are in many ways forced to occupy the same space and relationships with other people whether or not your particularly care for them! A tight family unit teaches the importance of respect, forgiveness, differences, commitment to one another, time together, acceptance, and what it means to really love and support someone no matter what. There is the old adage that you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. So when you have a healthy family unit it can be all the more important to make it a priority.
Our church family will be gathering together for “Old Folks Day” on Sunday September 10th. I hope you will be there. If you’ve been gone a while, whether for vacation, family time, or just plain old fallen out of the habit of coming to church, I hope this day can be a time to come ‘home’ again and get back into the habit of gathering with your church family each week. It’s not only a good thing for the person who comes, but really the whole church is blessed through the fellowship of our entire body gathering together each week. It’s our time—our time to worship and get centered for the week, our time to grow in the faith we proclaim, our time to serve using the talents God has given us for God’s glory, and our time to be surrounded by a church family that is in this thing called life together.
The Christian walk is one we don’t do Lone Ranger style, but rather we go hand in hand—knowing that we have each other’s backs in good times and bad, that people know our quirks and love us anyway, and perhaps even because of those quirks! It’s a journey and a community like no other because it was created supernaturally by the Creator of all. So we hope to see everyone soon at Old Folks Day, a type of reunion that perhaps for a few of us is more than a once a year event and instead is a rejoining with a community for this coming year.
Blessings,
Pastor Nicole