AROUND THE FIRE

I have to thank Marilyn Messerschmidt for the photos she took of the summer campfire gathering at my home last Sunday evening.  You may not know it, but Marilyn is often the one who captures and the records many of the events that make up our life together as a community of faith.  We have hundreds of her images on posters and in articles dating back many years.  Thanks, Marilyn.

As far as pictures go, this one isn't extraordinary.  Honestly, a bunch of people sitting around a fire in someone's backyard.  Big deal.  Not that much going on, you might say - but, this is one instance where a picture is not worth a thousand words. 

There is 3/4 of a circle of friends not shown; there were hotdogs and marshmallows being roasted, watermelon  and salad being dished out; there were conversations and stories being shared; there were people at the shoreline watching the sun set; there were people swimming and wading in the bay; there was a round of campfire songs led by Gerry and Anne; and, there were all the invisible forms of community and fellowship being experienced as only they can be around an open fire.

I don't want to blow the campfire experience out of proportion...but, there's something very special about gathering with your friends around a fire.  People around the world from aeons past have been drawn to fire to cook, for warmth, to fend off danger and darkness, to entertain, to ponder and to gather in community - it's one thing that bridges ethnicity and culture. 

Much has changed in 10,000 years, but not these things.  As long as we've been walking this earth, we have been gathering around the fire, telling stories and singing songs.

Pat