Wednesday evening, the Hope Class hosted the www.go group for dinner and fellowship. This is the second year in a row that these young adults have hosted our seniors and I, for one, found it a most enjoyable evening. At the same table, I was involved in conversations about empty nest strategies, the energy necessary to keep up with grandchildren, and the "bestest-ever" roller coaster ride at Disney World. There were infants and octogenarians, five-year olds and fifty-five year olds, eating, laughing, and playing together. It was a wonderful picture of family too rarely seen in our often age-segregated world. Certainly we have different interests and energy levels, freedom and constraints of time, and life perspectives informed by our different levels of maturity and experience. But I would argue that there is more to connect us than separate us...more to unite than divide.
From time to time we plan activities at Westwood that remind us that our church family is a varied and vital community. The uniqueness of each individual and each different age does not have to create obstacles that keep us apart. Just as the apostle Paul reminded the Roman church that the human body is made up of many parts, all working and dependent on each other, so too is the body of Christ, the church, made up of many members, united in purpose and calling.
Yes, we have age-graded classes for our children and youth, and many of our adult classes are formed around people who share a variety of similarities, including age, but how remarkable it is when we come together across all of those and other lines that threaten to divide us, to honor the Lord as we worship, minister, and fellowship together. Thanks to all who remind us we are truly one in the bond of love!
Jim Abernathy
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