I was freezing in the Meeting House this morning
I was freezing in the Meeting House this morning. The computer said it was 4 degrees. We had two windows open and a door which caused me to continually hear my ma’s voice asking, “Where you born in a barn?”
She would ask this if you left a door open. Well, this morning it felt like meeting in a barn or a Bus stop.
Usually, I am absorbing the silence of the Meeting or it is absorbing me this morning I could feel the cold and it was dominating each part of me. I tried to work with it thinking could I feel the silence to the same degree I was feeling the cold. What do you do with silence? Do you hear it or is it more of an act within oneself? For often there is never complete silence.
I kept my hat on as I was so cold and then that got me thinking about women wearing hats in a Corinthian letter. How a culture created in a specific time could be misunderstood as essential in a future time. I played with the thought thinking in future times people may well ask, “When did we start wearing masks in Meeting and why?”
It reminded me of the story of the person who led prayers in his community. Each day he would go into the centre of the wood and pray. He would go from his workshop and not wanting to waste time he kept his work coat on. As the years went on his cat would follow him into the wood and towards the end, he had a walking stick. When he died the next person led the prayers but the people did not feel they were as effective they asked the next person to wear a work coat, get a cat and a walking stick.
While I was watching the clock as if waiting for a bus and wanting to get out of this cold a friend came to minister. Now due to us having what is called a blended meeting (which is having a physical meeting but also people joining by zoom) when a person ministers (speaks) they have to come to a seat near the computer in order for the Zoomers to hear. Today this Friend decided to stand to speak which meant as I was on ‘Computer duty’ I had to raise the computer with one hand level with their mouth and also hold the camera in the other. It at least distracted me from feeling cold.
g
