I haven’t posted anything profound in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday (although I’ve enjoyed reading numerous quotes of inspiration). I haven’t listened to his speeches or watched any videos or done anything to outwardly celebrate the day. But I’ve remembered my teaching years and all of the MLK books that I read to my students. I’ve remembered the songs we sang and my visit to The Civil Rights Museum last January. I’ve felt inward gratitude for a life well-lived and prayed that my life would one day make even a fraction of the difference of his. And I’ve cleaned. I’ve cleaned a house and a computer and I’ll clean out some files tonight.
As I was leaving my house-cleaning job today, Mrs. Flora, the awesome lady whose house I clean, looked at me and said, “I hope you know I really enjoy it when you come. Not just the job that you do cleaning the house. But I enjoy having you here.” I said, “I enjoy coming. I’m glad that I get to come.” And I meant every word.
In the midst of my heavy scrubbing and detailed vacuuming, I thought to myself, “This would go much more quickly if there were more than one of me. Like on church clean-up days when everyone comes together and splits up the work. Maybe churches should organize member clean-up days for persons whose mobility or place in life keeps them from cleaning their houses to their liking. Wait a minute. My youth sort of did that when I worked at Erwin. Maybe someone should do it again. Add that to the list of church ministries you want to start if you ever work on church staff again.”
And what is that list, you might ask?
1) Rocking Chair Ministry. This idea was inspired by two experiences: Sitting in the rocking chairs at Cracker Barrel and having a wonderful time with a group of friends in town for a wedding and spending time talking in rocking chairs each night at Mars Hill College during a retreat on contemplative prayer. I think it would be neat to have an outdoor porch/area at the church where persons could come each day or week simply to sit, talk, and rock. This would be a wonderful way to build community. It would be “office hours” in rocking chairs!
2) New Shoe Ministry. This idea was inspired by Kyle Matthews’ song, “Been Through The Water” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5wEpAKEmZs). The specific lyric that inspired this idea is: “He said I've been through the water and I've come out clean ~ Got new clothes to cover me ~ And you don't wear your old shoes on your brand new feet ~ When you've been through the water.” Fitting with the symbolism of baptism—the old dying and the new coming to life—I think it would be neat to give each baptismal candidate a new pair of shoes after his/her baptism. The baptism committee could take care of these details.
3) Car Cleaning Ministry. This idea was inspired by car duty during my teaching years. It never ceased to amaze me how filthy cars could be as they drove through the car line. I’m not talking about the outside of the cars; I’m talking about the inside. Sometimes kids had to climb over trash to get out of the car. Sometimes trash fell out of the car as the kids got out. I think it would be neat to have a free car vacuuming ministry once a month. This ministry could include a coffee shop with baked goods so that persons could have a place to sit while their cars were being worked on…or it could just be a straightforward vacuuming service.
4) House Cleaning Ministry. This idea was inspired by Mrs. Flora…as mentioned above.
I don’t know if these ministries will ever become reality. But I can hope, eh? And I can dream.
Isn’t that what this day is all about?
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