It's an amazing thing to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
I realized that last Saturday night as I was at an alumni Reunion for School of Methods/NEBYC/CYC. There were people there of all ages -- the jr. staff stopped by and we had alumni from the 1940s present. That in itself was a joy.
At one point, we had a spontaneous Judson (men) -Hasseline (women) sing-off. A song leader from the 70s and a few current ones lead us. People who had never met -who attended Conference decades apart --were singing the same songs in the same way. Some were songs you would never find outside our community (Hasseltine, We Hail Thee), others we have put our own unique twist on. It was fun. It also gave a sense of continuity and tradition.
Our conference has taken a hit because of the economy lately. Numbers have been down, and people have been getting nervous about our viability. But I was reminded that this is hardly the first time. God has been faithful before, He will be faithful again.
One of the songs we sang last Saturday came form the 1970s (and is no longer sung). It included the lines:
"Oh the buildings fall down around us
But we still can wear a smile
For we all know that Ocean Park
Will be here for a while"
The buildings aren't falling down around us anymore, though they still need some work. (We don't actually own them anymore, we transferred them to another, related organization which lets us rent them.)
Things are actually looking up. We were bigger this year than last. We have made new contacts, opened new doors. We are excited.
And we still know that Ocean Park will be here for a while.
Have you been part of an ongoing community?
I realized that last Saturday night as I was at an alumni Reunion for School of Methods/NEBYC/CYC. There were people there of all ages -- the jr. staff stopped by and we had alumni from the 1940s present. That in itself was a joy.
At one point, we had a spontaneous Judson (men) -Hasseline (women) sing-off. A song leader from the 70s and a few current ones lead us. People who had never met -who attended Conference decades apart --were singing the same songs in the same way. Some were songs you would never find outside our community (Hasseltine, We Hail Thee), others we have put our own unique twist on. It was fun. It also gave a sense of continuity and tradition.
Our conference has taken a hit because of the economy lately. Numbers have been down, and people have been getting nervous about our viability. But I was reminded that this is hardly the first time. God has been faithful before, He will be faithful again.
One of the songs we sang last Saturday came form the 1970s (and is no longer sung). It included the lines:
"Oh the buildings fall down around us
But we still can wear a smile
For we all know that Ocean Park
Will be here for a while"
The buildings aren't falling down around us anymore, though they still need some work. (We don't actually own them anymore, we transferred them to another, related organization which lets us rent them.)
Things are actually looking up. We were bigger this year than last. We have made new contacts, opened new doors. We are excited.
And we still know that Ocean Park will be here for a while.
Have you been part of an ongoing community?
Well said Melinda.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Earl.
ReplyDelete