Shared Thoughts about Servant Hearts
We recently had our first annual Holiday Banquet at our congregation. This was an event planned by those in our congregation who are 64 years old and younger to honor those of us who are 65 and older. It was very well attended and there were lots of members who did a lot of work to execute the plan for this event. There were young children, teens, young adults, young families, middle-aged people, and those on the very doorstep of 65 years of age who worked together to make this evening a success.
We had a wonderful dinner and some great entertainment – all done by our members. Those of us who are over 65 weren’t allowed to know much about this event except when to be there. We didn’t know the theme and weren’t really allowed to see any of the decorations or help in any way with the meal. I offered to help with the clean-up and was told that I couldn’t do it. I’ll have to admit that this was a little tough for some of us who are used to working on events!
I want to share with you some thoughts I had about that evening. I hope you will take time to read them and think about them as you work and serve in your own congregation.
- When we first arrived, one of our little people came to me, took my hand, and asked if he could escort me to my seat. What a wonderful feeling it was to have a young child take my hand. I felt so special and cared for. I watched as all of the guests were seated in this way.
- After we were seated, they asked if they could get us a drink and went through the list of what they had to offer to drink with our dinner. They were so polite and it seemed as if they had had some coaching on how to be a waiter! Young people with smiles on their faces serving older people was such a wonderful change from what we normally see in our society.
- They then asked what meat we would like on our plate (we had signed up earlier for this). After they were told they went and got our food, brought it to the table and carefully placed it in front of us. That meal had been planned and the food had been prepared by some of our young women…and it was delicious! How often do you hear of the younger generation preparing a wonderful meal for so many people?
- When we were finished with our meal our “waiters” picked up the dishes and then offered a great selection of desserts. When we had chosen, they brought the dessert and asked if they could get us some more to drink. Cakes and pies were the great
ending to this great meal!
- Then the entertainment began. I was amazed at how every age worked together to make it an enjoyable evening for all of us. There were singers and jokesters and skits all presented by all ages from young to 64 years of age. There was a great set-up of decorations for the performance and there were men who were working on the sound and technical aspects of the performance. We laughed together and I couldn’t help but notice the joy that was in that room.
- But I want to close with one more thing I read about the young son of one of the mothers who worked on the meal. He was one of our waiters (and did an excellent job). She said that he told her he really enjoyed what he did that night and wanted to do it again next year. He said he would like to maybe be in the show next year. His words went straight to my heart. He had served others and he had enjoyed it and wanted to do it again. I feel certain that some of our other young people felt that same way, but he just happened to be the one to express it.
We provide a lot of fun activities for our young people, but when the activity is over – it’s over. You don’t often hear them talking about it and expressing joy about having done it. But that one young man served others and he felt the joy of doing something for someone else. That made it all worth it, in my opinion.
Thank you to all who worked hard to make that evening a success.
But most of all, thank you for
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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
