Thursday, March 17
Once upon a time…
I give you a new
commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another.—John 13:34
As a child, I stayed with my grandparents on
weekends in their small town south of Burlington VT. We went to church on Sunday mornings. At that time, it was a small congregation, as
the village was small.
The church sanctuary was upstairs – a long
curved staircase that was difficult for the elderly to climb, but every Sunday
they made the effort. It was very plain,
as old country New England churches are – very high ceiling, huge plain glass
windows with shutters on the inside. I
don’t remember if the pews had cushions, but I don’t think so. The altar was one step up, and had a table
with candles and a cross. There was an
organ in one corner, which had to be pumped by feet in order to make a
sound!
We always sat part-way down on the right
side. My grandfather’s mother probably
sat there once. The seats were very
uncomfortable for a child, and I wiggled, which was frowned upon by my
grandparents. It was hard to sit still
– the smell of the warm air, the look of
the sunshine on the floorboards, the drone of flies, especially in summer still
fill me with a sense of holiness. I
remember being surrounded by people who had watched me grow from an infant, who
knew my mother when she was growing up.
I felt safe, secure and loved by that church community. One day I will go to rest in the cemetery
across the road from the door to that church.
Thank you Lord for the communities that have
surrounded me in my growing up and my adult life, who have cared for my soul,
my future, my life day-to-day. I would
not be who I am today without all the saints who surround me. I stand in awe of each of them. Amen.
Clare Whitney
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