Friday, March 12, 2021

We Are the Church

Read: Hebrews 13:12-16

Many of you know that a fairly large group of GPUMC members head up to Sleeper State Park for a long weekend of camping together, generally on the first weekend after Labor Day – the first weekend kids are back in school.
It all started as sort of a “School is back in session but it’s still Summer and we want to go camping, so there” kind of thing, and it has become one of the annual anchors of most of our calendars, lo these twenty-plus years.

One beautiful Sunday morning at the campsite – you probably need to know that we take up a whole bunch of contiguous campsites, reserving a central one as our kitchen / dining / gathering area – we had the coffee maker going full-blast, the bacon was frying, the pancakes were caking, the omelets were letting, the sun was shining, and all was well with the world.
A van pulled up next to our site and asked if they could buy some coffee. Apparently we looked like a commercial operation with all that activity, and these folks were heading out and hoping for a quick cup of joe, as it were.
Well, I told them we weren’t a restaurant, just a bunch of friends camping together and they started down the road.
Making me look bad, James Van de Putte turned and said, in essence, “Charlie, we’re the church here. Why don’t we serve our brothers and sisters?”
Ouch. “You’re absolutely right, James. You go stop them and I’ll pour some coffee as soon as I find some to-go cups.” So off he went and stopped the van on its way out.
I poured the coffee and – even better – they came back around, sat down at our table and had breakfast with us. We were the church.

Sometimes it’s nothing more than a cup of coffee (or a drink of water), but sometimes that cup of coffee is much, much more. I try to be more aware of being the church now.

Prayer:
Father, help us to see our opportunities to serve in ways that are big or small, and help us to serve in the name of Jesus when we do. Amen.

Charlie van Becelaere