So our last week of "vacation" has come to an end, and I must say that it was an exciting week. In fact, it's been a pretty exciting MONTH so far. We started with the choral workshop I mentioned in the last blog, which was a huge success. Steve Gray had everyone joining in and singing their hearts out, and we were pleased to see more than 30 men and women from several different churches every night during the week, despite the worst weather and flooding we've had in months.
This week has been relaxed, just a little time to gather our wits and materials about us before we start the final trimester of our year. This time around we're trying something very new- extra long private lessons that introduce theory simultaneously. We discussed the problems that had been plaguing us and came up with a few major problems that we felt were holding us back: not being able to get all of the students together at one time for class, students coming to class and not to their lessons, and students waiting too long before registering (causing them to miss several lessons and start behind.) So after some intense brainstorming we decided that the private lesson strategy was perfect for us... students are not held back by their class, they get their lessons in without having to make a separate trip to the school, and they can register at any time. Let's pray that this will see immediate results.
Beyond the brainstorming and lesson planning, I've been buried nose-deep in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Call her the Jane Austen of fantasy, but the books are good and have inspired me to dust off a few projects I had started before Christmas, including some short stories and vignettes about experiences I've had here. I even have a few more exciting things to write about, after Roman and I took a day trip to Cahuita National Park on Friday. Yes, the clouds parted and we walked the three or four mile trail through the park, amazed by the Howler monkeys and vipers we were able to see up close. The best part of the trip, however, were the Spider monkeys that were fearless in their pursuit of our Bo-Kita crackers. I am not likely to forget the little guy pulling on my shorts, begging for a cracker. Of course they don't settle for one cracker.... if it's attainable, they'll take them all. In one hand.
The week wrapped up with the celebration of Valentine's Day, or as they call it here (and my sister- or any fan of the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai- will appreciate this) "Friendships Day." Although the holiday was Saturday, everyone waited until Sunday to celebrate, and the party started at church. I offered my rapidly growing skills as an organist for the service, and the sunday school classes and children's choir put on a brief program and gave out candy. Then Pastor Herta gave an excellent and charming sermon about understanding love. But there was something else she said that struck me, and it had nothing to do with the day or the celebrations.
No, when Herta approached the pulpit to give the welcome and announcements, mentioning the obligatory invitation to attend our music classes, she stopped and said something stunning.
"I am 80 years old," she said... and we all knew that she was taking a few years off the number, as she likes to do. She was serious, though, so no one even giggled.
"I am 80 years old," she restated, "and I direct the choir, play the organ, and preach. Every Sunday. No one is preparing to take my place. Not one of you. We have the classes in our own neighborhood. Sign up and learn the organ. Use your gifts... I won't be here forever." She let the silence settle for a moment before quietly murmuring "thank you" and slowly settling back into her seat.
She raises a very good point, and one that seems to come up frequently in our discussions on the state of the church, especially in the case of the Moravian Church in Costa Rica. I raise it here because we see it everywhere in North America as well, and in particular in the Moravian Church... no one is waiting to take up the torch. We talk all day long about which worship styles will change the trends, or what hip new song we should add to worship in order to lure people in, but the reality is that we're losing people because the programs that keep them fed by our congregations die with the people who inspired them.
The perfect example is a certain youth fellowship program at a church here in Limon. Someone had a brilliant idea to get the youth together and do special activities. While this person was in charge of the program, it grew and grew. Eventually the person in question had children of her own and a full time job that prevented her from having the time to committ that she once had. Ideally, it wouldn't've mattered... someone in the group would certainly know the ropes well enough to keep the group going. Sadly, however, when she quit the group dissolved. Now there are no youth at all in the congregation, and when the people sit around and talk about how they need them, no one is willing to get the program rolling again.
Are we like that? Comfortable to sit back and let someone else do all that they can without even offering assistance? I hope not. What if we were the solution to our own problem? We all know that there are programs or services that keep our churchs alive, and we worry about how they will be sustained in the long run; I know this because I served on the boards, just like my parents do now.
That said, I plan to get my organ-playing rear end in gear. Who knows when a skill I have may be needed to sustain my church just a little longer? Miss Herta knows all about that.
Happy Friendships Day, everyone!
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