Every summer since we have been together, my
husband and I have retreated to northern Michigan where my in-laws have
owned a cabin for over 50 years. As long as I have been going with him we
have joined into long (sometimes into the wee hours of the morning)
discussions of the family history. I began to feel a real part of the family
when I could recite the story of great grandma Rutenbar falling into the
lake or the day the family dog broke free and ran into the woods around the
circle. Several years ago, with the encouragement of my sister-in-law, we
began to keep a journal and before each family left the cabin we caught up
on the news of the year and the goings on around the place. For us, now the
oldest of those who gather, the years of marriages and divorces, births and
deaths, personal defeats and victories are symbols of a strong family that
has come through it all. For the youngest of those gathered the oral history
and the journal stand as a testament to past and future. More than just
events the recital is about a family that has stood together, people who
have weathered storms and individuals who have known when to say quit. This
younger generation, also, will have their stories to add and their sorrows
and joys to share.
This summer All Saints’ is engaging in a history project that will help us
get ready to welcome a new rector. I am asking everyone to walk through the
parish hall and look at the time line laid out on the table. Write what you
remember of the history, write down the year in which you joined All
Saints’, tell us funny stories, tell us the pain of losses and the joy of
the gains. It is all part of who we are and who we are becoming as a people
of God at All Saints’. I am asking you to let us borrow your pictures of the
past and let us scan them into the computer for posterity and history. If
you are homebound or would rather not take the pictures from your house we
have individuals who will come to you and scan the pictures at your house.
All of this will culminate in a ‘movie night’ where we will gather to watch
the history of All Saints’.
To know the history of any family is to glimpse the vision of who God has
created us to be. By sharing the moments, history, stories and pictures we
can get an overview that shows the handprint of God in our life together. I
hope that you will help us participate in this by gathering data from
friends, family, members who have left and community members. Then, let us
gather and recite the family history. Maybe we’ll even cook some popcorn!
Mother LaRae +
