Have you ever been part of something, or done something wondering “Does it even matter?” I certainly do. From insisting my kids do certain things that they in general don’t want to do - such as try a bite of new food or make their beds, to the many ways people engaged with prospective voters in the last election, there’s always the mystery of “is this REALLY going to make a difference?” Grab a tasty beverage and a snack if you’re so inclined, and follow me below the story break and message from our sponsor, and hear my tale of two events that happened Sunday...
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[This is a story that happened in church, but don’t flee if you’re not religiously inclined… it’s NOT about the church; rather, it’s about the interactions. :) ]
Act I:
I’m one of the people in our congregation who acts as a “Worship Associate” during services — basically, I deliver the “welcome to our church, we’re glad you’re here, basic information like here’s the exits, etc etc” message at the beginning, and also readings and other aspects of the service. (hrmm… basically it sounds like I do parts of the service just like the formatty parts here at TC, LOL! But I digress...) The welcome is a fairly boilerplate set of things which must be included, and each worship associate can tailor it to their own personality. Me being me, I try to keep it short, light, and add a bit of personality or humor so that people don’t die of boredom five minutes into the service! I always wonder if anyone actually listens to it, or if that’s when they read the announcements handout or catch a few Pokemon before the sermon starts. But I do it anyway because, it’s what you DO, and hopefully it matters to someone.
This past Sunday was a special service with a lot of moving parts… candles for Advent, Hanukkah and our usual silent candles, AND a child dedication for two Dads who had to navigate 3.5 years of bureaucracy to adopt their two boys. So I tailored my welcome to be as short as humanly possible while stressing our inclusivity and everyone belonging while still covering all the boilerplate.
The time in the service comes where people can share a personal joy or concern aloud. A woman stands up and says it’s her first time there. She picked the church because of our rainbow flag and ‘hate has no home’ sign outside, but she didn’t know what we’d be like. And then she said (I paraphrase) this:
I didn’t know what to expect, but everyone was so glad about the boys being dedicated and you [she points in my general direction] made so clear how glad you were that we’re all here and that everybody belongs, and now I know I’m in the right place.
Act II:
Several local towns, including the one my church is in, have had incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti in recent months. As we lit the menorah to mark the first day of Hanukkah, our minister told the story of a Montana town whose non-Jewish residents responded to anti-Semitic violence that left Jewish resident scared to display menorahs by taping paper copies in their own windows in support. We handed out paper menorahs so that local residents would see them. Again, I wondered “does a gesture like that matter?”
At that same joys or concerns time that I spoke of earlier, a longtime member of the congregation stood up. She said she had been going to speak her sorrow that because she was afraid of being targeted as Jewish, for the first time in her three decades in the town, she was not placing her menorah in the window. But that as a result of seeing so many people nodding and taking paper menorahs to bring home, she’d changed her mind. That she felt supported and would proudly display her family menorah knowing members of her community supported her.
Yeah, it was really dusty in the sanctuary Sunday. All the feels. BUT as I sat surreptitiously trying to wipe a tear from my eye while sitting up under the lights in front of the entire congregation, what I was thinking was this:
Those hours and hours of phone banking? All the text banking in those final weeks? The miles and miles and miles walking knocking on doors? They may not have impacted everyone you interacted with, but I am without a doubt SURE they impacted *someone*.
The diaries we sometimes write that have a frustratingly low comment rate? It’s not how MANY comments, it’s that ONE that says “Beautiful.” or “This really spoke to me”.
The bits of litter we pick up that seem never to make a dent in the total? The kind words we share with someone but never know if they made a difference?
They do. So keep doing them.
Have you ever had an experience like this, finding out something you’ve done had an impact on someone? Have you been the person who was impacted? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.
It may sound like a small thing- “Here, let me do the formatting for TC while you write, and we can switch when I write.” It’s not, it’s a truly appreciated help. For more years that I can remember, BeninSC and I have collaborated here at Top Comments, and I can honestly say I can’t imagine doing this regularly without his friendship and assistance. Thank you, Ben.
And with that, let’s get to the three Tops that bring you here nightly- Comments, Mojo and Pictures!
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Note: Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
Highlighted by cablecargal:
Is a comment by 4CasandChio, in a thread begun by rugbymom, about the future of the Mueller investigation(s). 4CasandChio focuses on 45’s bully/cowardice. From Mark Sumner’s diary about this pivotal week!
Highlighted by morninmist:
Is this rant comment by ConcernedCitizen68, about the Wisconsin power grab by LOSING Republicans. In CygnusX1’s fine diary about a prominent WI Republican’s emphatic pushback against the cheating and deceit.
Highlighted by Roberto de Beers:
Is this comment by Matthew D Jones about the importance of at least eventually prosecuting him for this crimes as president.
Highlighted by mohistory2:
Is a demurring comment by rugbymom, in reply to a comment by exlrrp about the endgame of the Mueller investigation. Here is the rugbymomcomment. (I wanted to keep them in proper sequence.)
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, December 3rd, 2018, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for December 4, 2018. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!