Last Sunday, on October 31st, I witnessed the power of community. It began with Prudence Smith, a member of our church who must be close to 90 years old. On Sunday as we were munching on "witches fingers" and "eyeballs" (gross, just gross!) I asked her to join me in going through the haunted house put on by the Middle School Youth. We walked through it together, hand in hand, watching out for creepy characters popping out of nowhere and hands reaching out for our feet. When we finally made it through the darkness and landed in the light, she looked at me wild-eyed and said, "How in the world did they do that?"
She was clearly impressed by the the youth's haunted house, and I was impresseed by her willingness to walk through it. There is something powerful about having people of different generations enjoying each other's presence. There are few places in our lives where that happens any more - but Halloween Sunday at this church was definitely an expereince of that. It was marvelous and wonderful. It was all the best of what a church community can be about. Now I just wish I had some pictures to go with it!
University Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
