Street Celebration
My dad loves to
tell stories.
Now granted,
most of them require a LOT of creativity.
Like the one
about how he invented snowboarding…
In downtown
Peoria…
On Marquette Street…
In the 60’s…
Oh, when you
have time, ask him about his decade long reign as the checkers king of
Marquette Street.
Whether or not
he intends to be, my dad is a master storyteller.
As a boy I
always loved it when he told stories about the block parties his neighborhood
threw. While I can’t remember exactly what he said, I remember the pictures
that were painted in my head. Actually, what I am probably imagining is the 4th
of July scene from the 3rd greatest movie of all time, The Sandlot.
What I remember
picturing in my head was children playing in the streets—whiffle ball or that
game y’all refer to as kick-the-can (and I’m certain if you ask my dad if he
played those games, he’d tell you yes and how he was the champ of those as well…)—while
their parents sit in their aluminum lawn chairs catching up on the latest gossip
or exchanging their best casserole recipes.
Folks would
stand with Lucky Strikes hanging from their mouths and cool beverages clamped
in their sweaty hands. The heat from the setting summer sun causing
condensation to form on the cans. The streets would be filled with celebration
and laughter, community and love. You wouldn’t be able to hear the hum from the
streetlights because there was so much playing going on.
In my head, I
understand why people refer to them as “the good ole days…”
This past
Saturday, the stories I was told as a boy came to life as we at First
Presbyterian Church had a block party of sorts. Now, despite the unexpected
thunderstorms that rolled across Logan County late Saturday afternoon, the
party went on and a great time was had by all. Friends and strangers, children
and adults, Presbyterians and Lutherans, among so many others, gathered around tables,
including the picnic kind, and shared life.
What was the
reason? Why did we spend money to do something like this? What mission
organization will benefit from this?
Well, we had a
party because we wanted to.
And we had
hotdogs and games, art and music.
And it was a
great time!
What a joy it
was to see people gather together for the sake of gathering and breaking bread
on a day that wasn’t Sunday.
As a community,
we have something good happening among us.
Our space, it
is a warm and inviting one.
You know
something, though? What we did Saturday night wasn’t new. The church has been
doing this for quite some time. In chapters 14 & 15 of the Gospel of Luke we
see how many party scenarios there are:
- Lessons at a dinner party - 14:1-14
- Parable of the party - 14:15-24
- Party over finding one lost sheep -
15:1-7
- Party for finding one lost coin -
15:8-10
- Party for the return of a son -
15:11-32
Jesus went to
parties. Jesus talked about parties. Jesus loved to party!
Celebrating and
being neighbors for the sake of being neighborly is important for the
development of community. It is necessary for the love of God to manifest here
and now. By celebrating in parking lots and in the pews, in the streets and in
sanctuaries, we are reclaiming a lost art, the art of life together.
Not only as a
church but also as a neighborhood.
You never know,
we might invent a new game. Or at least be known on the block as having the
best neighborhood block parties!
And that’ll be
a story to tell!
Party on church!
But do so
responsibly!
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