Merging is a New Journey - Hidden Places

The boiler room hid the brooms, dustpans, and mops.  Plus we had a variety of signs for things like yard sales.

There is a closet between the girls and boys bathroom that was the sexton's closet.  That was the best place to fill a bucket for mopping because it had a low sink.  It was also where spare toilet paper was and the nice-smelling cleaning stuff lived.

Strangely enough, my favorite hidden place was the closet that we built under the stairs in the education wing where we stored the Christmas Tree and other greens put up at Advent time.  The door was a pain to close sometimes, but that closet was so well hidden it was cool being able to tell people where it was and seeing their awe when they saw how far back it went.

And we can't forget the hidden hook in the lectern where originally two keys were kept, one for the little locked spot under the lectern where now the box that controls the projectors hides, and the other for a glass cabinet where the spare audio supplies were kept.

Those hidden places that, again over time, were learned about...much like the silverware.

Some of those places I learned about because I needed to know, like when I learned and started helping with the sound system.  Others I learned because someone else had shared their knowledge with me.  None of it right off the bat, but only after I had been at church for some time and was doing something that required knowledge of those hidden places.

I'm going to miss the hidden places.  Not because it was secret knowledge but because those places hold memories for one reason or another.  I am not advocating for learning the hidden places in my new church, because I am sure those will come over time.  But I just am going to miss the hidden places and the things that were in them.

Merging is New Journey - Silverware

If you haven't seen it by now...

My church, the United Methodist Church of Wappingers, is merging with Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church.  In just a few short weeks we will no longer be worshipping at the place some of us have known for a lifetime and others of us have known for a little bit less than a lifetime.

I wrote a blurb for our Annual Conference's newsletter that I entitled "Merging is a New Journey" because, in my opinion, it really is.  Some things may stay the same but other things will be new.  And it is a journey that all of us in the newly merged congregation will be traveling together on.

So I thought I would share some things randomly going on in my head as we prepare or pack for the journey.  Today's thought is about silverware.

When we first started attending Wappingers, my parents volunteered to help at the monthly Roast Beef Dinners.  For my sister and I, as young kids, that meant hanging around for a while, sneaking rolls and coleslaw, then drying silverware.  Whoever was doing the dishes would taunt us when a pile of silverware came through the sink.  And we would get a tray with a hand towel on it, the tray would be filled with wet, clean, silverware, that we would dry to be used for the next sitting or put away.

It didn't take long to learn which drawers the forks, spoons, and knives went in.  And soon that knowledge moved to plates, serving bowls, cups, pitchers, coffee urns, and so on.

There is something comforting about knowing which is the fork drawer and which is the knife drawer.  You don't feel silly opening 4 different drawers trying to find the right place for the clean, dry object in your hand.  It provides a sense of ownership and knowledge.

But soon I won't know where the knives go, or the forks, or the coffee urns or the plates.  It is an uneasy feeling...because even if I try to help dry something, I will have that "where does this go?" feeling that as a kid is easy to have because you're a kid and everyone tries to help you.  But as an adult, well, hopefully, there will be room to grow and learn.

 And I'll try to figure out where the forks go quickly.