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| Gathering together (photo from OnTheCommon.com) |
We were seated at a nice table in the back. We had a good view of the newly renovated kitchen in the Congregational Church of Phillipston.
In a short while, Rev. Stephanie Flynn introduced the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts who would be serving our turkey supper and made a few announcements regarding the fund-raising activities of the church. She then offered grace.
A former pastor of ours used to say that any gathering has two purposes - the business of the gathering and the nurturing of those who gathered. This evening, 100 people were gathered to share a meal and to help the local church. The church had undergone a major renovation last year with a refurbished kitchen, accessible bathrooms, and updated plumbing within and without. It was a massive effort for this small church in this small town and the effort's brought forth the best of everyone. These weren't cosmetic changes, but important infrastructure renovations that would let the church continue in its role as a center of the community.
This was the harvest meal, delayed from the fall until the renovations were complete. With nervous eagerness, the girls brought us bowls of squash, potatoes, green beans, and onions, followed by platters of turkey and stuffing. The boys managed to offer and pour coffee without making eye contact. We ate well, unhurried.
Somewhere north of 80% of the people were either Haleys or Henshaws or related by marriage. My family was close to a family who'd come to Templeton from Finland; one of the women had married a Haley, so we were able to sit in the reflected glory.
During the meal, Rev. Flynn came to each table and offered "an arm's-length of raffle tickets" that let us hope to win from a selection of donated goods and services. We bought our share and spent a few minutes writing our long name on the tiny ticket stubs.
The servers cleared away the dinner dishes and brought a selection of pies for dessert.
And, then, it was time to go. I did get a chance to chat with George Barnes who'd recently written a column about his 30 years in the newspaper business. We traded a few quick stories about the lousy pay that reporters received and about the newspaper business before the Internet and cell phones. As we talked, the crew was getting the hall ready for the next seating. They wiped down the tables, put out clean plates and silverware, refilled what was empty.
We were back in the car and on our way home a few minutes after six.
This morning we received a call from Rev. Flynn. Our raffle tickets were selected and we won two tickets to the ham and bean supper on April 10. We're scheduled for the 5:00 seating, so I figure we ought to get there by 4:30.
"I wonder if this is God's way of getting us back to church," wondered Sandra.
"By gambling?" I replied.
Stranger things have happened in stranger ways.
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