(I hope this font is not too annoying. I like it)
Here I get to reference a piece I wrote a good while back, This is Not Our Table. You can read that, or just stick around here and I’ll basically re-tell it.
The title of this entry of course reminds me of What is the What by Dave Eggers, about the Lost Boys of Sudan. I bought it for Matt as a Christmas present … oh, maybe 8 years ago? because I thought, this is so totally perfect for him, he will love it. And that was correct - he loved it so much that he already had read it and had a copy that I was unaware of. Oh well. Anyway:
There is a church in Asheville NC that does a tremendous job of outreach to people who are homeless. I mean, that’s pretty much why they exist. Matt knows the pastor and has visited there, and this is actually the story he told me (it is really.not.exciting. But it has an excellent point):
So the church serves lunch to folks who need it, I’m not sure if it’s every day or what. On at least some days of the week they have social workers and other similar people there at the church to help link people with the services they need. There is limited space, and so the link-up ends up running over into the sanctuary. In the sanctuary there is a beautiful carved table on the altar, for serving communion and … whatever else altar tables do, like hold rose buds in honor of newborns, and golden crosses and candlesticks and flowers. Anyway, the hand carving that is relevant for this story is, “Do this in remembrance of me.” For those of you who are not followers/worshippers, this is from the Last Supper before Jesus was crucified. After each instance of breaking the bread and serving the wine, Jesus tells his disciples to do this, “as often as you do it, in remembrance of me.” Matt says on the day he visited (and likely frequently), the all the stuff on the table had been taken away. A social worker from DSS had plopped down their laptop on the table, run the power cord to the nearest outlet, and was stationed there to help people get signed up for Food Stamps. One of the homeless clients’ dogs was tied to the leg of the table by its leash.
Now, some people would allege, and I might see where they are coming from, that this is inappropriate and they should’ve found another folding table or whatever. But I think if is perfect. As Matt says, when Jesus says do “this” in remembrance of me, this is the “this.” This is what we are supposed to be doing - welcoming people in, assisting them in concrete ways in addition to spiritual development. We can have nice things in church, and treat them as special or even holy, but let’s not let them become idols (thanks Juliet) - let’s not let the fear of a scratch or smudge stand between us and what we’re supposed to do. I’m not someone who commonly asserts that she knows what God or Jesus would say, but I do think Jesus would say, “Amen. By all means, this table is not doing anything else at the moment. If you can use it to help someone get food, please go ahead.” This is the this.
Brief artwork explanation: awhile back I began these little sketches; I think it started with a bunch of the sanctuary and Matt's office at our previous church in the mountains:
Then after a family member received some residential substance abuse treatment a couple of years ago, my sister and I attended a multi-family group on their behalf and I dealt with the idea of participating in such a group, rather than running it, by drawing this:
Brief artwork explanation: awhile back I began these little sketches; I think it started with a bunch of the sanctuary and Matt's office at our previous church in the mountains:
Then after a family member received some residential substance abuse treatment a couple of years ago, my sister and I attended a multi-family group on their behalf and I dealt with the idea of participating in such a group, rather than running it, by drawing this:
This was simply an idea I had, as far as the Lego characters go (there are also a few Playmobil thrown in). The Hostess chocolate mini-donuts on the table were really what inspired me , though I could not tell you why. Everyone I've shown it to has gotten a big kick out of it. I ask my therapy clients to draw a lot for me, and I show this to them to say, hey, I'll make myself vulnerable and show you that I draw too and obviously you don't have to be very good at it, so go ahead. And the clients have been fantastic about it, though perhaps it's simply pity :) . And recently I ran into someone who works at the residential treatment place at a conference and I shared it with her; I think "blown away" is an accurate description of her reaction. Not that the drawing is that great, but I think she was totally surprised that such a thing would exist.
Matt and I have this really fun game, Who What Where, in which each person draws three cards (one who, one what, etc) and draws a picture including all the elements. Then the drawings get passed around and you get a point for each element that everyone else guesses. For example, Abraham Lincoln flying a kite in a bathtub. Or a soldier making pancakes at the mall. Probably the reason I love the game so much is, I rock at it. I'm still not claiming to be a great artist, but as Matt says, the reason I'm good at that game is that I'm good at conveying the important elements of each thing. And I guess that's true, because there's a time limit so you have to get your point across quickly. So some positive reinforcement from Matt helped me to continue to do it, and now it's sort of a habit. So stay tuned ...
