Saturday, 5/27 Safely in Roanoke

Salutations and welcome to the 2023 Youth Music Mission Blog! Thank you for checking us out/following along. I'm glad you're here.

I started blogging music missions years ago as a way to let parents know we were safe. This was along enough ago that a phone tree was still a viable alternative to the blog strategy, if perhaps falling out of favor. Turns out I'm old.

Today was our first day, and it was full...if mostly on the bus. We met at the church at 8:45. It's now after midnight, and I've checked everyone into their rooms. Days on the Music Mission are long, to be sure. But rewarding. I'll look forward to detailing today's exploits in the morning, so check back tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd share here what I wrote for our program about our mission. This is going to be a great week!

Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 

~Colossians 3:12-15

Sometimes people forget that much of the New Testament consists of letters. These letters were generally written from one person to a community of people with advice for the community. These communities struggle with some of the very issues we struggle with today. I’m not sure if that’s encouraging or discouraging, honestly. But at least we are in good company.

I said  “communities” rather than “churches” on purpose, because at some level even secular communities struggle with some of the same sorts of issues. Arguments over what is acceptable in the community and what isn’t. Jealousy and animosity. Jockeying for power in the community. Bless our hearts, we’re human. Being human carries with it a certain amount of selfish inclination that has to be overcome if we are to coexist peacefully. Paul’s advice to the Colossians could just as easily be Jim’s advice to the Meadow Trace HOA Board. Be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Clothe yourselves with love. Let peace rule in your heart. And be thankful.

And be thankful.

It’s almost an afterthought there, tacked on at the very end, but I’ve come to believe thankfulness is actually the cornerstone of a life built on love. It’s more than just saying, “Thank you,” when someone does something nice for you. It’s a way of being. It’s thinking about the people who challenge us, the ones who get under our skin and make us mad, the ones we struggle to look in the eye—and finding in those people a reason to be thankful. Thankful for them and for the role they play in our own lives. Deep thankfulness is life-giving, even life-changing.

It is our hope and our prayer that today we will inspire you to a spirit of thankfulness and praise—that you will join us in spirit and perhaps even in song.  And as we leave today, know that we are thankful for you.  For your listening, for your sharing, and for your smiling, we “raise our joyful hymn of praise.”