Blended Families

I'm a Doctor Who fan. One of my favourite episodes (two-parter) is The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. My fave character in that story is Acting Captain Zachary Cross Flane.

He's the Captain of a deep-space base, staffed by people investigating a cosmic mystery. The Doctor lands. Chaos ensues.

As the story evolves, Zach finds himself strapped in, in the control centre of the base. Everybody else is running around fighting monsters, coming up with ideas, crawling through ventilation shafts. Zach would be there too, if he could, but he sits at his control panel, typing fast and manipulating the air field (like you do) to make it possible for the adventurers to get things done. 

His best line in the show is, "Well, you wanted me pushing buttons!" to which Rose radios back, "Yep. I asked for it."

So this week I was pushing buttons, and the adventurers were out there being brilliant.

I was approached by the director of a local org (the one that started with the events covered by this blog). She said that two orgs in town who exist to serve people on the margins both had plans for Thanksgiving dinners on Monday. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to combine and might my church be willing to host the event?

Short version: my wonderful Board said yes and it happened yesterday.

The two organisations did all of the work, provided most of the volunteers and all of the food. My church provided the space, dishes, tables, chairs, and a few volunteers.

My family was cooking our Thanksgiving dinner at home, so I dropped in and out of the church a couple of times. Partly to be available if needed, and partly to say hi to friends.

I wore my new t-shirt. It was made for me by a friend. On the front is printed a name that people have called me behind my back:

On the back is printed a name that people have called me to my face:

Moments to treasure:

• Showing up early with the custodian's keys (she was with her family) and making sure the paper supplies were well stocked. 

(I was at a Pastors' event recently where we played Pastor Bingo. The squares were things like "Forgot your sermon notes at home and had to preach off the cuff," "Performed a wedding in a strange location," "Preached with a translator." When I put mine together, it's going to include things like, "Bought cheap cigarettes on a Reservation," and "Changed the toilet paper rolls in the opposite gender washroom."  #thingstheydon'tteachinseminary)

• Seeing two of our church teens pitching in, pushing a trolley cart around the room collecting dirty dishes.
• Hearing one of my unsheltered friends say, "It's really nice to be eating a meal off a real plate!"
• Hugging a friend who is recently out after a short jail term. Good to see him. He brought me a copy of a book that he'd told me about a while back.
• Chatting with a friend from the old Motel days. We talked about blogs and memories. I said, "I sometimes go back and read some of what I wrote just to remind myself that it all actually happened." She nodded toward the folks arriving for Thanksgiving dinner and said, "It still is happening." 

Moment I wish I hadn't missed:

• Seeing LJ say grace. He's become a part of our church family over the past year. I met him when he was living at the Encampment. He was baptised at Easter. And he was volunteering at the dinner. He offered to say the blessing before the meal, in collaboration with another Pastor. When I first heard about this, I just thought, "Cool. That's nice." But it's proving to be a slow burn... Thinking about it now, I'm feeling a bit verklempt. 

I am so glad I had the opportunity to push a button that allowed these awesome teams of people to do this thing together. 

Charitable work (especially in a smaller community) can be a challenge. There can easily arise an air of territoriality or competition. "We were here first. Why do they even need to be here?" "How can we carve out and consolidate our donor and volunteer base?" "We don't do it that way, why must they?" It can become like bickering siblings in the back seat.

So to see these two orgs partnering on something that benefits the people they both care for and support... very cool. 'Cause we're all on the same team. Just playing different positions.

I'm sure it had its challenges, blending the two families. But from where I sit, it was worth it!

Signed,

Captain Zachary Cross Flane

PS Worth mentioning... a local business also put together 20 meals and delivered them to unsheltered friends at a local park. On top of the 30 people provided with meals at the local shelter, and the 150 meals served in our church basement. There are good people out there! Be one. :-)