We should Dance

I took the scenic route into Manchester today. Meaning: I missed a turn and walked about 2-3 miles extra. It was not something the bottoms of my feet wanted. Today was tough on them as much of the walking didn't lend itself to slipping off the pavement and walking on unpaved ground. I was stuck instead mostly with pavement and sidewalks, and my feet could truly tell the difference.

The legs are fine, but the bottom of my feet are screaming at me. And, as a result, tonight I kinda hobble.

I went to a local Irish pub, figuring that if I didn't know much about any particular restaurant's food, at least I knew I could get a Guinness there. And I also figured that the "sports bar" would be no place for easy conversation on this night of the Celtics.

The Irish pub was a pretty quiet place tonight. But Chris was there. And we easily started up a conversation, neither one of us anxious to sit and eat totally alone.

We talked environment. Care of the earth. Our use of resources. I found out he has a Smart Car! (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Smart Car. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Smart Car.) I kept repeating that to myself, but it really didn't do much good. I was coveting. I tried not to drool on the bar. That's just bad form, even for very very cool things like this. But I was impressed - here was someone willing to try to live what he believed . . . and had found a fun way to do it! Does it get any better than that?

I asked about how it was on the highway - - and found out that he had driven it on a road trip to Maine and then immediately down to Massachusetts, and found it to be a great car for the trip.

But in that 'car talk' I picked up that there was something else important in Chris' life. He's a contra dancer. And caller.

And he converted me tonight.

He talked about the contra dance community in ways that made my heart ache - I do so want to hear people talk about church community like that. With such deep affection. Joy. About it being a place where all are welcome, and newcomers who really don't know what they're doing are surrounded with help and care and - - dare I wish it for church? - - - fun!

I know that there are times and places when we do talk about our faith communities that way, because we have experienced it that way. But I'm also so sad that we don't experience that fullness often enough.

Chris talked about the community as not being perfect. As struggling to figure out how best to deal with problems that arise. How best to balance the needs of the various people who come. It sounded awfully familiar!

And he talked about being a caller -- about being gifted with the position of calling people into the dance . . . about what it means to him as his gifts and abilities create a place where others can dance into community and joy. He knows something about what I do, at its best.

The Greek Orthodox talk about the Trinity using the word perichoresis (um . . . someone want to look that up and see if I've got the "English" spelling right?) It's a greek work that means to dance together. It's an amazingly incredible way of seeing God. God as a community dancing together.

I wonder what might happen if we got rid of the pews, and made room for ourselves to be called into dance as well. It may not need to become physical reality in that way . . . but it does need to be the reality of our lives. Lives of dance that welcome and surround and create community. Lives of dance, with God calling the best out of our hearts, and dancing us deeper into joy.

I may be hobbling tonight . . . but I really just want to dance.