June Weather Report
Fully vaccinated, I decided it was time to venture back to the YMCA. My exercise regimen for the past forty years has included some form of lifting weights. I am no longer interested in how much weight I can push, but focus rather on maintaining the strength of endurance life requires.
In March of last year, the YMCA closed for obvious reasons. I was lost at first. I scrambled to add pushups and other calisthenics to my daily routine of walking. At first, I did not miss the habit of going to the gym. Some sore muscles needed rest, and being outdoors was a lovely change of venue.
In time, I began to miss my routine. Kathleen Norris observes, “The human need for routine is such that even homeless people establish it the best they can, walking the same streets, sleeping in the same spots, in an attempt to maintain basic relationships with people and places” (Acedia & Me, 187). Soon I detected my strength diminishing. I missed the adrenaline rush that often accompanied the end of my workouts.
The mental gymnastics required to return to the gym caught me off guard. I sat out my gym bag and remembered the combination for my lock only to manufacture a reason for delay. This happened more than once. I came to realize the habit had been broken. The realization rendered me nonplused. I had to launch myself anew with a decided initiative.
At the time of this issue of The Weather Report, I have been to the gym three times. Muscle memory, like flying on autopilot, took over. The workouts flowed. I remembered the various muscle groups, the specific exercise, and the number of repetitions for each set. The nearly fifteen-month hiatus did not prevent resumption of the routine. The habit of going to the gym was natural and instinctual.
The experience of returning to the YMCA set me to thinking. For some, the pandemic suspended in-person worship. “Going to church” grinded to a stop for all. Months later, our late friend David George remarked in a conversation, “For those for whom church was a habit, the habit has been broken.” Mindful of the effort required for me to enter the gym again, I wondered if something similar would be the experience of people deciding to return to church.
Reengaging as a faith community is our priority. Connections were maintained over the past year through live streaming of worship, zoom meetings and gatherings, and many, many phone calls, and handwritten correspondence. Now that restrictions on gathering in groups have been relaxed, we turn our attention on being in the presence of our church family again. What will it take to launch this habit again.
To this end, we will gather on Wednesday evening June 9 around the pavilion for a time of fellowship. The evening will consist of a meal catered by Tennessee Tatercakes, a sing along with a Bluegrass flavor, reports on summer programing and the resumption of Sunday School for all ages, and a large measure of togetherness. I would underscore the latter.
“Summer’s here, I’m for that,” so begins a James Taylor song by that title. “Summer’s here” and our life together resumes. The means of repeating the ebb and flow of being a church family will enhance the relationships that nourished and sustained us through a year of pandemic living. May we take advantage of every occasion to practice our habit.
– Pastor Steven
