It Happened Last Sunday

This is not a sermon, but something interesting that happened at our service last Sunday that encouraged me.

It is my habit to greet everyone personally before each service, using the names of the residents I know and introducing myself to the ones I haven’t met before. Sunday there was new woman on the front row. She had a blank look on her face and was unresponsive to my greeting. The name “Anna” was written on her sweater, so I said, “Hello Anna, we’re glad you came. I’m Jim.” She still didn’t respond.
We began the service, and she began to show expression. After my message, as we were singing more hymns, I looked at her, and she was looking straight at me with an incredibly sweet, happy expression on her face. She was just beaming as she sang. In her expression I could see the happy little girl she had been 90 years ago. Her happiness lingered after the service.

We never know when something we do or say at our service will reach down deep into someone’s heart and bring to the surface memories and feelings from long ago. That is why we sing the old hymns and always repeat together the Lord’s Prayer and the Twenty-third Psalm and sing the Doxology and the Gloria Patri.

And that is why we are always happy to have residents from "Memory Care” share our worship.

Jim