A hoppin' place

I was told when I arrived in this parish that this was indeed a happening place.  Many if not most parishioners are very involved and there is always something going on.  Even better, there are always one or two people who are willing to lend a hand if and when it is needed, so there is no reason for any one person to have to feel obligated to do everything.

This is a dream come true ... or maybe I'm still in the honeymoon stage of the experience.

I've been warned by some of the parishioners who have been through the mill a time or two that I should be very careful not to get too involved.  Rather, it's important to allow others to do their part.  It builds a sense of community and an understanding of the responsibility that each of us must take if we are (together) to build a vibrant community of faith.

Today was a prime example of the busy pace at which this parish seems to operate.  We've been in the midst of preparing a parish pictorial directory, so for the past week or so, the hall has been occupied by the folks with the cameras, but on Thursday evening, they had to move out and find other accommodations because the ladies moved in yesterday morning and before you knew it, the hall had been absolutely transformed from and empty canvas to the site of the Harvest Tea.  If that wasn't enough, I happened to drop in for an hour or so today and there was barely enough room to move between the rows of tables!  The number of people who were there was amazing: even to the point of some who had to wait their turn to sit at tables for lunch, sometimes necessitating their moving out into the hallway or into the church.

By tomorrow morning, there will be little if any evidence that this day ever existed, but then again that's the mark of a truly organized place.  There is life here, and there are a variety of activities, and they all coexist, creating a place for all those who enter the doors to find a place at the table.