A note from
Rev. Rob Warren
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of travelling to Louisville KY to officiate the wedding of a person who will always be "my brother's little sister." Jerry is one of those people that I've considered a brother since we met my first Easter morning in the pulpit (2004?). I was setting up chairs for the Easter morning "sunrise over the sanctuary" worship service. We did that specifically because "sunrise" was 6:30ish, and the sun came over the sanctuary two hours later. That meant we had worship in the garden outside, breakfast in the fellowship hall and then worship in the sanctuary - it eventually became one long worship service that included a meal/fellowship in the middle and an easter-egg hunt. But that morning, I was moving chairs out when I was joined by a man about my age and about my size.
"I guess you're new here," he said. I smiled and gave him one of my customary yups.
"Have you heard the new pastor?"
I couldn't help myself. This was Jerry's first day since I came in August the year before. "I have, he's a little long-winded and may meander a bit, but I think he tries."
"My parents like him, I'm Jerry."
I shook his hand, "I'm Rob."
We got the chairs set in place, moved the keyboard and sound-system out, set up the mics and then I told him I had to go get dressed.
He shook his head, "Oh, we're pretty casual around here, I think jeans and a t-shirt are fine."
I looked back and grinned, "Maybe for the people, but not for the pastor."
"Oh, he's one of THOSE guys?"
I laughed, "Not at all - I'm fine with you coming as you are, I just like to wear a tie and robe for Easter."
And - to paraphrase Humphrey Bogart, that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I had the honor of conducting his wedding and when I left Louisville, I had the honor of selling him my house. He has always looked after D, and with his wife, Dorie, have become family, watching after our grandson and helping care for our family in Louisville in our absence. We're still friends on social media, and if you've ever wondered who Dorothy Smith is that keeps liking our worship services, that is them. So, it was an honor for "little Becky" (who is now in her thirties?) to ask me to officiate her wedding, even on Labor Day weekend, even with the rehearsal on Friday and the Wedding on Sunday.
So, that meant leaving on Friday and coming back on Monday. I made plans to pull D out of school that day, and we got on the road about 7am to make the 4pm rehearsal in Oldham county.
Somewhere in Tennessee I took about fifty pictures to get this one. I literally held my phone up and started pushing the button, then settled on this one to keep later that night in the hotel. I thought about using it as an example of how much better these kids have it than I did back when the world was perfect in the late 70s/early 1980s (feel free to laugh). Then I realized, thanks to Covid and virtual classrooms - crammed into the passenger seat of the Subaru with his laptop, headphones, notebook... he was actually doing his homework, in real time because the modern school believes strongly that "just because you aren't here doesn't mean you can't work."
In quarantine? Flip out your chromebook and log on to your classroom, where you can learn from a teacher who may also be in quarantine at home. In fact, in one class. The teacher was leading from their home, and there was no other teacher in the classroom. To "my generation" that would have meant "technical difficulties" and forty minutes of freedom. But not to the modern student--that means paying closer attention because little computer mics are lousy at picking up sound. Last May, when we went to the beach, D was a "virtual student," which means he attended online. Every single week-day he'd go up to the loft on top of the house, flip open his chromebook, and be in class from 9am until around 2. He could hear the rest of us playing at the pool, see us walking to the beach, and there he was - in class.
We pat ourselves on the back for our Zoom classes and online worship, but seeing D knotted up in the car, I can't help but remember an article I read a few months ago. It was called, "Log Off and Know that I am God" by Tish Harrison Warren (no relation). The point that she was making was that, with everything shifting online and able to be watched at our leisure, we were in danger of losing sight of the Lord. Her idea was that when we spend more time online, even in fellowship, we risk the deeper things of God. We get focused on whatever issue happens to be at hand and then move on to the next one without resolving anything.
She also proposed that with us moving online, we forgot about the need for silence and reverence, which is an odd thing to write about, for her and for me. After all, you're reading this online. You may be attending our Wednesday night worship online or our bible study online... but I hope you're also taking time to avoid online time.
What brought this to mind was that two days after this picture was taken, I made an announcement before Becky's wedding at her request. "The Bride and Groom have asked me to let you know that they invite you to be fully present today as we share in this moment with them. So, we're asking that you let the professional photographers and videographers capture this for the couple, and we unplug and stay unconnected in order to truly join in the service as they join together." Then, just because I know people, I added, "So put your phones down and turn them off, or at least make them silent - thank you."
Sometimes we forget that we're actually living a life, not documenting our brand on social media. I'm a culprit, and I think this picture provides evidence against myself. So, after that I didn't take many for the rest of the weekend. I have ones of the boys, of TJ's dad, D and me at church, and of course, one with D and the bride and groom. But not many otherwise. Not because of the pandemic, not because I wasn't with old friends but because I was fully present in the moments.
May God be present with you, until we meet again,
Rob
