“Turning Wine Into Water?”

There’s an African folktale of a Chief who was getting married, and he invited everyone in the village to the wedding celebration.  He was providing a great feast, and all he asked was for each family to bring a jug of palm wine to share.  One family didn’t have any palm wine, and even though they had enough money to buy some, they hit upon a different plan.  The husband reasoned, “Rather than wine I will carry water in my jug.  Several hundred people will attend the festival, and when they get there they will all pour their palm wine into the community pot.  What will it hurt if I pour in water instead of wine?”  The day of the wedding arrived, and as each guest poured a jug into a great earthen pot.  When everyone had arrived, each guest was given a glass to drink, and as they lifted their cups to their lips there was a collective gasp.  The pot was full of water!  Each guest had thought that their one jug of water wouldn’t be noticed and no one had actually brought the needed palm wine.[1]

If there’s something important that needs to happen, and everyone assumes that someone else will do it, it will never get done.  Everyone’s presence and participation is important in the end.  Your presence and participation are important. 

With summer vacations fading away, and kids back in school, I’d like to ask two things of everyone.

First, come to church as regularly as you can.  Our average attendance figures are not horrible, but they can be much better.  If a hundred people attend church every week, average attendance is 100.  If these same people attend every other week, average attendance drops to 50.  And if they attend once a month average attendance is only 23.  It’s easy to drift away during the summer months, so I’m asking everyone to make an effort to drift back now that summer’s coming to an end.  When you’re not here, you’re missed.  I don’t say this because we only care about numbers.  I say it because we care about you and you enrich our fellowship with your presence.

Second, invite and bring friends.  One of the blessings I received from the two musicals we did this summer was getting to know quite a few folk who aren’t actually from our congregation.  What I’ve heard is this:  They love our church because we are so actively involved in making the community a better place.  I always like to hear this from people in the community, and this is one of the reasons I’m so proud of Maple Avenue United Church.  I hope you’re proud as well.  We’ve got something great to share.  Please help us share it.

I can’t believe that summer’s almost over, and Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are just around the corner.  I look forward to experiencing these blessed things with you.  Join us, and bring your friends!

In God’s Peace;

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[1] Adapted from William R. White, Stories for Telling: A Treasury for Christian Storytellers (Augsburg Publishing House; Minneapolis 1986) pg. 66.