An Inkling
Our senior adults group is
called “The Open Fellowship.” I like
that name. It’s meant to convey that
this is a group which welcomes all. But
there’s more to it than just that.
The Open Fellowship gathers
monthly for lunch and entertainment, and goes periodically on expeditions to
musicals, or trips to fun places. At
their monthly lunch last week they were entertained by a couple of guys singing
hits from the 50s and 60s. And these
guys were good – so good that Joe and Marge Stortz could not help themselves –
they had to get up and dance. So right
there in the entryway they added dance to what was already a joyful lineup –
good food, fellowship, and great music.
It’s what I mean by the Open
Fellowship being open in ways that go beyond simply welcoming newcomers. It’s open to whole new ways of living in joy
together, such as just getting up and dancing for no good reason, and leading
up to that, the decision of their leaders to invite a couple of guys to sing
hits.
That kind of openness takes
“welcoming” beyond simply giving permission to enter, to giving good reason to
want to enter! It makes this fellowship one
of St. Giles’ venues for how life together in Christ should work – continually
opening into new expressions of joy, whimsy, and creativity.
And in that way it offers a
reflection of the ultimate “open fellowship” – the life of love within the
Trinity, often described as a dance. It’s
that supreme openness which has welcomed us.
And so we as a church get to follow suit. It’s almost enough to make me want to learn
to dance…
Thanks for showing the way, Open
Fellowship. Thanks Joe and Marge.
Blessings,
Keith
