Hallelujah by and by…

Travel with me if you will…

To the year 1965.

We are going to visit my great grandmother.  Prepare yourself, I am five years old, and visiting my great grandmother is one of my favorite things.  Although we have not communicated by email, text, or cell phone (none of these have been invented yet), she will be aware that we will be arriving.  No need to stop on her doorstep and ring the bell (it is an actual bell attached to the doorframe), my great grandmother never locks her door.

We will simply proceed into her living room and call out as we enter to announce our arrival.  We will be met not only with heartfelt hugs, but also the aroma of comfort food. Perhaps, chicken and dumplings, or baked ham, or sometimes simply fresh vegetables picked that day from the garden.  But always, homemade bread.  As we pass through the living room, you will notice that the centerpiece of the room is a well worn piano where my Aunt Esther often plays hymns for a sing along.   If my Uncle Lambert is present, he will always request ‘I’ll Fly Away’.

If you are five years old like me…

You are also likely to notice an open candy dish filled today with red and green and yellow sugar coated gum drops.  On my last visit, it was filled with ‘Circus Peanuts’, those light orange, foamy treats that my great grandmother loves.

Not too long ago, my family took a short road trip.  On the return leg of the trip, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I was amazed at the marketing genius at the Cracker Barrel. Their comfort food menu takes you back to a simpler time, fresh baked bread, pot roast, chicken and dumplings.  And as you await your opportunity to be seated, you are surrounded by candy options from days gone by…

SLO Pokes
Milk Duds
Gum Drops
and even Circus Peanuts.

Wonderful reminders of sweet memories.

After dinner, I found myself killing a few minutes while my wife scoured the gift shop for paralyzed bargains.   A display rack near the exit caught my eye.  It was filled with ‘greatest hit’ CD’s from musicians from my childhood.  I picked one up and smiled at the familiar tunes included on the CD.   Gospel favorites including “I’ll Fly Away“. I knew the words to most every song by heart.

As I picked up the third CD,  I laughed out loud. It had finally dawned on me that the deaf guy, was ‘shopping’ at the CD rack. It’s funny how having been a part of the hearing world for most of my life and a part of the deaf world only recently, I was still drawn to the CD rack.  All those familiar tunes…all those comforting reminders.

I was reminded of those comforting feelings a few weeks later at University Christian Church, I was attending the 9:00 service.  I had arrived early, and was reading the sermon notes that Dr. Peterman had emailed me.  I was sitting in My Silent Pew, head down when I felt a vibration.  The procession had begun, and the choir filled the main aisle.  

I put my iPad aside and watched the choir process.   As the last of the choir members passed, I noticed Dr. Peterman and Rev. Cyndy Twedell following side by side and the thought that went through my mind was:  

This feels right…

And then the reality followed…’but only for two more weeks.’  Rev. Twedell was about to retire.

And that feeling of dread, a somewhat empty feeling rushed over me… but it only lasted for a moment.  I watched as Cyndy took her place in the lectern area.  The liturgist was there with no hymnal.    As the music began, Cyndy stepped over near the liturgist and turned to the processional hymn.  The two of them sang together, sharing her hymnal.  And that empty feeling receded…

This feels right…

The service went on and as the liturgist began his reading,  I noticed Cyndy looking at the congregants.  When her eyes met mine, I received a warm smile that has warmed my heart for the last 28 years.  After the sermon, Cyndy took her place at the Lord’s Table.  I moved down a few spots and read her lips as she led us all through the words of institution.  I couldn’t hear them, but I know every word.  

“On the night He was betrayed…”

These words have been repeated through the ages.  The comforting words recited at the Lord’s Table as we prepare to share the ultimate comfort food.   

This too feels right…

Well it is not 1965 any longer, it is the year 2021. I miss seeing my friend the Rev. Cyndy Twedell since her retirement. A pandemic has limited the opportunity to visit My Silent Pew in the UCC sanctuary for nearly a year.   But each week we meet virtually and share the bread and the cup.  It has been so different, but so reassuringly the same.  If my Uncle Lambert were here, he would smile a knowing smile and remind us that,

Some glad morning when this life is o’er
I’ll fly away,
To a home on God’s celestial shore
I’ll fly away!

And this too feels right…

Thanks for listening!

Your friend,

KBM
Kevin Medlin
kevin@mysilentpew.com