I’m posting today on Fatal Foodies about how I start my day.
Meanwhile, here, Imma tell you why, if you belong to a church and you aren’t a Deacon or an Elder because you’re afraid you’ll mess up, you shouldn’t worry.
I was Bread Elder this past week, which means I’m the one who carries the small loaf the preacher breaks during the Communion service (or, if we’re out of small loaves, the holy hot-dog bun), and I say a prayer over the bread before the distribution of the elements to the congregation. So I got to church, saw I was the Bread Elder, wrote my prayer, carried the bread up… and forgot what to do next. Didn’t just go, “Oh, no! I can’t remember what to do next!” No, I was standing there all happy like lalalalalaaa it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…. Everybody up by the altar was looking at me, so I was like, “Dur-de-dur, guess I’m supposed to give the Deacons the elements to pass out now.” Connie goes, in a hard, forceful whisper like she’s trying to wake one person up without waking everybody, “Marian! Your prayer!” I woke up and said, “Oh, yeah! My prayer!” So the congregation had a good chuckle, I said my prayer, and all went smooth as silk after that.
Several people gave me big hugs after the service to console me and assured me that “it’s okay”, and I appreciated their kindness, but I was already okay. I was temporarily embarrassed to have broken the flow but, after all, the whole ritual is about brokenness and grace, isn’t it? And, as I said to Len, it didn’t really matter that much, because it isn’t about me–it wasn’t The Marian Allen Show and I blew it and now Tom Cruise will never want me in his movie.
So the point is: Go on and accept the honor of being Deacon or Elder or whatever job in whatever organization. If you goof up, somebody will help you and everybody will forgive you. If you’re in an organization in which nobody would help you and people wouldn’t forgive a goof-up–don’t just refuse the job, get out of that organization!
WRITING PROMPT: Have a character goof up in public. How does he/she feel? What are the consequences?
MA
Leslie R. Lee
October 19, 2010 at 1:20pmLOL! This is a great post. Funny, comforting and wise on many levels. I especially like the holy hot dog bun!!! If only Faith were more joyful and humorous…
Marian Allen
October 19, 2010 at 1:30pmI guess it depends on where you go. 🙂 We had a guest preacher this past week, and he did the Worship Leader’s part up until the First Reading. She just stood there, ready to jump in any time he realized he was doing his part and her part, too. It wasn’t a problem. We know a worship service isn’t a Let’s Be Perfect For Jesus Show, and nobody is going to ask for their offerings back if we don’t get it right. Good luck to them wrestling it out of us, if they do! 😉
Enid Wilson
October 20, 2010 at 6:08amIf my heroine goofs up, she’ll feel very embarrassed. Better to have the hero to goof up.
Really Angelic
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
February 20, 2022 at 12:22pmWhat a lovely post. I’m glad I ran into it, Marian.
Marian Allen
February 21, 2022 at 9:32amThank you, Alicia. I think people liked it when I was one of the Elders, because they never knew what goof-up they had in store for them. 😀
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
February 21, 2022 at 11:56amContribute what you can, where you can.
These days when I hardly leave the apartment – I can’t get omicron, or any of these – I find that when I meet people in the halls IF I ride Maggie out for a short ride, my job is to entertain them, and make them see (my fellow old people and their children) that we can be fun. I demonstrate – leave people with smiles. I used to have the same effect on people when we were allowed to go to church. Such an opening of possibilities.