From the Community Lay Director
LEFT BEHIND
Left Behind, a multi-book series about the Rapture and the Tribulation events that follow. Left behind is also what happens when a bunch of people get together in unfamiliar surroundings. Things get left behind.
If you are missing -- a pillow with a striped pillowcase, what looks to be a king-size bed sheet, a "Nightmare Before Christmas" hoodie, a UK hoodie, a green "Project Launch" carry bag, or a blue "Jesus Loves You" drawstring carry bag -- they will be at the March Gathering for you to claim. Also, some odds and ends Agape items.
I cannot say I have completed another project, because it was definitely a "we" effort. Chrysalis Flight 41 was completed a couple of weeks ago. By all accounts that I have heard, the Flight experience had a significant impact on the teenagers involved. In addition to all of the efforts that go into making the conference room a successful experience for the caterpillars, a major logistics effort was needed to support the Flight experience. Everything that the caterpillars touched, or were touched by, had to be moved from somewhere else. Some of that movement was relatively easy and involved a short distance. The long tables normally in the rooms used as the Flight conference rooms had to be moved out and replaced by round tables stored in another part of the building. After the Flight, the round tables had to be moved back to their storage location and the long tables put back in place. Everything else, and I mean everything else, had to be transported to Richmond from another city and then moved back again. Cots used by caterpillars and team came from Trinity Hill Church in Lexington. Agape supplies and equipment, kitchen supplies and equipment, and nearly all of the AgapeLand decorations came from their storage locations in Wilmore. A fleet of dedicated Community members was involved in making the logistics happen. Some of that transportation was provided by Flight team members. Some of the transportation was provided by people whose only role in the Flight was the transportation. A special Thank You goes out to all of them.
We learned some important things from the Flight. We thought we were going to have three girl caterpillars but ended up with only one. That seems like it could have been weird for her. But personalities meshed and the Holy Spirit moved. It seems like she had an experience that was very much like the experience she would have had with a couple of tables of girls her age. I thought Community turnout for Candlelight on Sunday night was disappointedly on the light side. Turns out the impact of the Candlelight service was not dependent upon the number of candles present in the room. The impact of Candlelight comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room. From what I have heard, the Holy Spirit was definitely there and touched every single person in the room after the Community left.
We get to breathe for a short while, then comes Men's Walk 156, April 23-26. Walk 156 will be held at Asbury Seminary. Team training will be starting soon. If you want to be part of something amazing, please let a Board of Directors member, or Wally Briggs Walk 156 Lay Director, know. Women's Walk 157 is not on the calendar yet. We are projecting sometime in October. A Women's Walk Lay Director has not been identified yet. We are getting together with Asbury on March 5 to discuss arrangements for Walk 157.
Looking forward to seeing you at Gathering, March 6, at Richmond First United Methodist Church.
DeColores!!
Michael Watts
Community Lay Director
Lexington Emmaus Community
Mission Statement
Renewing Christian Disciples
Strengthening Local Churches
Rejoice, Rejoice, and again I say Rejoice!