On Sunday, Ezekiel calls us to sit with him in the middle of a valley. Now before your imagination takes you to the murmuring brook running between pussy willows and grassy banks, let me tell you about Ezekiel’s valley: it’s not a pleasant valley but one full of bones, very many of them and very dry.
In that valley, the Lord speaks to Ezekiel, and asks him a question, “Mortal, can these bones live?”
We're about to launch aging:360, and Ezekiel walks in to talk about old bones and remind us of our first name: Mortal. Strange and wonderful things happen when our stories cross paths with God’s story.
Aging and mortality are not the kind of topics anyone would want to face on a sunny spring Sunday, but when’s a good time to look at something we don’t really want to look at anyway? Aging is one of those conversations we’d rather postpone until…
So, frail children of dust, we’ll talk about our aging bodies, and memories, and harvest time, and retirement plans, and whatever else comes to mind when we think about people getting older.
After the 10:45 worship service, we will gather for lunch in the fellowship hall. We’ll have a blend of potluck and sandwiches – if you can bring something to share, please do. During lunch, we’ll tell each other toy stories – childhood memories of the bear that never left our side, the one toy we always wanted, or how we made do with whatever we found in the kitchen drawer – and discover how very similar and very different it was to be a child in the 30’s, 50’s, or 80’s.
After lunch, Kathy Zamata will talk about the baby boom generation who are just beginning to retire, and what this means for them and their children and the society at large. And since with this “360” in particular we want to address the questions you have, Kathy will also solicit our input for the remaining programs. Some of us may want to talk about housing options, others are very curious about transportation and independence, and again others may want to hear more about legal issues like wills.
And when we’re finished with the meal, sharing toy stories, and listening to Kathy’s presentation, we’ll go back to the sanctuary for a time of worship with Ezekiel, the Rev. KK, and other old and new friends. And that’s because April 10 also happens to be Second Sunday, but mostly because strange and wonderful things happen when our stories cross paths with God’s story. We hope you’ll join us.