Yesterday we went to St. John Episcopal Church for a service done by the Lutheran pastor of the retreat. This is a very small church that was going to be closed due to the low attendance When the Lutheran pastor agreed to do the services, it was allowed to remain open. Both the church and the meeting room are wood stove heated. Neither have air conditioning, not that we needed it and both do have electricity in them.
In attendance this day were four members of the church. What made this service so nice, were the members that were in attendance, each had conversations with us and were very friendly, not that I expected anything else. All the regular members in attendance were elderly and I had the occasion to speak to an 88 year old man. He had some great stories about growing up, service in the military and his take on going to church services.
I was able to get some great pictures while at this service and in the area. Oh, forgot to 
mention, bring your own toilet paper and be prepared to use outhouses if you need to make a pit stop. There is no running water at the church, so make sure you bring your own water as well.
Later in the evening, we also did a service at at nursing home. It was also really nice. We kept taking song requests for the service. It was great to see everyone coming together in song and praise.
What seems really prevalent here is that each event will contain food. This was the case for the wake, the two services last night and the service the previous night. It is in the time of food consumption that we get to be with others and speak over a meal. There is something very bonding in sharing a meal and conversation.
Let me speak to the stuff. It never fails that when you bring many people together, there are clashes of personalities. Especially if you bring many type A and Justice oriented people together. I have been involved in a single project of working on the house that I mentioned in a previous post. However, today I was asked to look at another project, of laying tile. There have been some concerns as to the logistics of getting this large project done, while keeping the area open for the children that come in, people that are living in the area and all the other pieces of a tile project. I have yet to see a wall that was “square” and therefore you always lay tile staring in the center of the area, determined by means of things like a chalk line. I was asked by a couple of people to give some input for the project. I quickly determined there was some leadership conflict styles and that I was being triangulated. I made it clear that I did not want to intrude on their project. If they would like some advice, such as dealing with a clear ledge type hump running down the middle of the room, I would assist. I could see the “self” designated leader getting upset with an outsider coming into their space. With that I reversed direction and just gave some information and suggested if they wanted to try that it was fine or not. Please let me know if I can help. I refuse to allow myself to be dragged into the messy triangulation.
And now the day is over, let me share some pictures with you.
