Reflections from the long Labor Day weekend…

God, Love, Marriage

I’ve been to enough weddings now that I don’t have to reach for the Kleenex at every one. But something the pastor said at a wedding we attended in Atlanta over the holiday weekend found a place in my heart.
 
Our son’s college buddy from Lancaster, S.C., was marrying a woman from mainland China. The tenderness of this rare union wasn’t lost on the pastor, who reflected that surely God had a hand in making this marriage. How else do you explain a young man and a young woman from different corners of the earth finding each other – and finding love – in a graduate school lab at Emory University.

How sweet is that?

It’s easy amid the pomp and circumstance (and partying) to lose site of the essence of a wedding, and the magic of marriage: In a world filled with far too much strife between nations and couples, God puts us in a position to find love. With God’s help, may James and Lichen – may all of us – make it last.

Can We All Say Yoo-Hoo?

Let me recommend for your attention a little movie that makes a large point.

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg is a documentary that tells the story of Gertrude Berg, a radio and TV pioneer credited with creating the sitcom well before the likes of Lucy and Andy Griffith mastered the art.

She invented the character of Mrs. Goldberg, and the lovely film about her life is rich in grainy footage and stories of her Jewish heritage. But the essence of who she was and what she reminds us even today goes beyond one faith: Her signature was leaning out the window of her New York apartment and chatting with neighbors who were hanging out of their window. “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg,” they’d sing in unison, and the conversation would commence.

It was, as a talking head said at the close of the movie, the urban equivalent of the backyard fence – a reminder of the neighborliness that marked our lives before our communities turned colder. Do you chat often with your neighbor?

Those who grew up listening or watching Mrs. Goldberg – especially those who grew up Jewish in New York – will find this documentary delicious. But all of us, no matter where we live and how we worship, can find a lesson to take home from it.

Crank Up The Music

An interesting experiment in faith is about to take place at our church: The Providence Sunday School class – folks in their 30s and 40s – are putting on a contemporary Christian concert October 9 to raise money for their community ministries. 33 Miles, John Waller and Pocket Full of Rocks will headline the show in Jubilee Hall. Tickets at $10 are on sale now.

Here’s what interesting: In some circles, where the radio dial is fixed on a contemporary Christian station, these are pretty big acts, and Christian pop/rock music is an integral part of the faith experience. But it isn’t in a mainstream church like Myers Park United Methodist, where many people couldn’t tell you the name of one big band or the call letters of one big Christian station.

More power, then, to the folks in the Providence class for pushing our spiritual envelope and inviting us to enjoy a taste of a different sort of Christian expression.

Some of us love Christian pop and rock. Some of us may never buy into it. On October 9, we can check it out together.