Meeting reflections July 5, 2014

This morning I pried myself away from ESPN and the graceful, dignified and powerful Roger Federer and the Wimbledon finals to head to Meeting for Worship.  I don't say that proudly, mind you, but just to state the truth about how I did have to consider my options.  I was glad that I made the right choice.    The topic of the morning, from Bill Hamilton (new interim pastor at New Garden for the next year) on his first official First Day was this:  Wisdom of the Elders.  It was with powerful humility and respect that Bill delivered words about the 1000 or so "elders" in the cemetery across the Meetinghouse parking lot, of the folks who walk through the woods each Sunday to worship from Friends Homes, and about those in the Guilford College and New Garden community who not only farmed and fed their families but who also assisted with the Underground Railroad, stood for the rights of prisoners, and who fought for civil rights.  And more.  Much more.  

Bill Hamilton's words today ignited that ember in me that has waxed and waned over the years I've been employed at Guilford in the role of alumni staff.  The ember is about stewardship, and more.  It has had to do with a conviction that those who have gone before us, and those who are the more senior members of our Guilford College community, have the ability to assist the rest of us in deciphering right thinking, what matters, long term decisions, sustainable practice....yes, what is civil and useful in this moment.  How can we become our better self as a community dedicated to higher education if we are not paying close attention to who and what has come before us?  If history repeats itself, we need to attend to it.  What actions have moved us forward?  Who has stood up and given voice to difficult truths?  Who and what has challenged us to look at ourselves?  Where have the quiet but powerful moments of true caring relationships mattered...and how have they stood  the test of time?  How many conversations have we all had with alumni who talk about a moment, a gesture, a reaching out and going the extra mile by someone who has sustained them and shaped their existence over so many years?  

I wonder if we can do a better job at telling the stories of the elders?  I wonder how we can challenge each other to think of ourselves to be now and future elders of Guilford College and of the New Garden community?  That's what we mean when we talk about alumni relations, is it not?  Don't we really mean that we want each individual who has been shaped here to grow into their role as an elder of the community?  

What does it mean to be an elder?