Five of us returned last night from a tiring but enjoyable day helping the men of the Farrenburg church put a new metal roof over the existing shingle roof. We got the roof on just as we began to run out of gas.  I'm guessing that a few of us took naps today.  There were ample opportunities to visit with the men from Farrenburg while working, waiting out two rainstorms, and enjoying a delicious fish dinner that they cooked.  The Channel catfish was great and the yellow cat was not bad either.  (yellow catfish, not the neighbor's cat)  The best part of the trip was getting to know the brothers from Farrenburg.  It is refreshing to visit a church that came close to closing and see that they had 19 in attendance last Sunday.  I look forward to future visits with the folks from Farrenburg and exploring the commonality of our faith in Jesus.

What is required to create intentional opportuinities of interaction between brothers and sisters of the faith?   One might argue that the opportunity already exists in the form of district events such as district conference and womens' retreat.  I suggest that those venues never have the intimacy that working side by side on home soil does.  Perhaps the first requirement to create time together is that of putting our priorities below that of our brother.  It is the ability to look at mid-calf grass in the front yard and say that can wait a few more days.  It also helps to have a flexible job schedule and a debt load that can tolerate a missed day of pay here and there.  Are we instilling the above values in the next generation?  The average age of the men on the roof was probably 48.  The younger generation was conspicously absent, especially when we started to run out of steam about mid afternoon.  Involving multiple generations in a project is a great way to instill a sense of positive tradition that will go a long way towards staving off apathy.  It also gives those of us elgible for AARP membership a chance to hand the baton off to the next generation and... it gives our backs some relief.