What I love about being part of what still feels like a small
community are all those things I didn’t have when I lived in the
big city.
What I love about being part of what still feels like a small community are all those things I didn’t have when I lived in the big city. When I go to the grocery store in Gilroy, I have to allow extra time because I know that I will invariably run into someone I know, and usually more than one person I know. Sometimes we end up blocking a section of the store, our carts circled around each other like covered wagons as we catch up on what’s been going on.
This past week I was particularly reminded of the rewards and blessings of living in what I refer to as a “Vicar of Dibley” community. If you are not familiar with the “Vicar of Dibley,” it is one of the most clever and popular comedy series ever produced by British TV, and is available on DVD and Netflix.
Like many in Gilroy, the lives of the characters in the village of Dibley revolve around church and family. The quirky cast of characters have many disagreements and misunderstandings, but at heart, they all love each other and come together in the end to support the endeavors of the village.
This Easter I felt like I experienced that Dibley warmth where everyone knows everyone and we all pitch in together to make things happen.
Our Pastor Eric suggested some creative ideas for Holy Week. He planned a meditative, interactive and spiritual exercise called “Stations of the Cross.” Some of us are familiar with the Catholic version of this, but this was a modified Methodist version of just six stations, instead of the usual 12. It was a better fit the space in our sanctuary. A small crew of guys came down to the church to help me with setting up the furniture – Bill Bartunek, Howard Hall, Don Londgren and Pastor Eric.
As they came down ahead of time to map out where the stations would be, we tried to use all the available space, including a little cubbyhole beneath the stairway, which made a great area for setting up station three. Retired Gilroy Foods manager Don Londgren fashioned an 8-foot cross made out of redwood.
At station three, we decided the congregation would write down their sins or whatever burdens or problems they wanted to get rid of. At station four, we planned to actually nail the written correspondence to the cross. The idea was that the sound of pounding nails would reverberate through the church building, poignantly reminding us of the crucifixion of Jesus 2,000 years ago. But somewhere along the way, we realized how dark the area would be by candlelight.
“Just how big will the nails be?” Pastor Eric asked.
“If we have small nails, they are more likely to hit their fingers,” retired IBM manager Hall objected. “We’ll have real blood on the cross!”
“What about tape?” Londgren suggested. “We could have tape dispensers at the station, and they could just tape them to the wood.”
“We could use pins instead,” physical trainer Bartunek said, lugging the cross in as he took on the role Jesus, wearing one of Pastor Eric’s black robes.
“Oh yeah, they could pin their sins to the cross; we could call them ‘sin pins,’ Hall said quick as lightning.
As we all broke into laughter many times that afternoon, I thought to myself what a pleasure it was to work with these men. Sometimes in our society, you can get the impression from popular culture and the media that the majority of men are insensitive, impolite and that many tend towards violence. But these guys are so quick to lend a hand, always volunteering to help others; they convey support for my efforts and value my opinions. They unfailingly treat every person with respect. These are the men who restore my faith that men are truly wonderful and underappreciated in our society today.
Everywhere I go in Gilroy, I meet these truly outstanding men: David Cox, Father Dan Derry, Bud Burchell, Doug Franklin, Bill Valiquette, Dale Connell, Bill Faus, Bob Dillon, Vic Lase and Jim Marlowe, just to name a very few of the hundreds of good men in Gilroy. Sometime I’d love to see a photo spread of “Gilroy’s Most Wanted” in the newspaper featuring the good guys.
Let’s give less attention to the ones who are not.
They are far outnumbered.
