A small crowd today in church as several of the homes were still gone on home trips, and many other students’ families took advantage of our nice fall weather and checked out their kids for the weekend.
Our high school students generally have religious education classes Sunday after church. The session is called “faith in action” and students find service projects around campus or in town to take part in. Today all the high school girls banded together to organize all the storage areas around the sacristy and chapel. Over the years, we’ve accumulated many bells, books and candles and assorted church supplies. It was a real service to empty cupboards, dust and clean and sort.
The most interesting find of the day was a wooden church clapper – a pivoting wooden hammer used only on Good Friday in place of bells that represents the nails being hammered into Jesus’ hands and feet. I had to explain what that was to the group. The girls laughed when they dug out the king’s crowns we use for the Nativity play, and wore them like royalty as they went about their work. They found a pile of old keys we’ll try to match up. They removed a lot of packaging and couldn’t resist popping lots of the bubble wrap. Thanks for the help!
I joined the Afra Home (1st – 3rd grade girls) for brunch. In some of the older homes the kids eat and run. The girls this age love to chat, and more than a few times had to be reminded to work on their food before it got cold. Afterwards Tashia taught me how to play the game Mancala, trying your wits at strategically placing colorful glass beads. With kids, it’s not about winning and losing, but about taking the time to “waste time together.”