Day 254: Podsgiving

DAY 254

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

A series of daily reflections for people of faith, by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland – pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Thirty-seven    Monday 23 November 2020

Podsgiving

Call it Podsgiving and Forge New Traditions

“When Linda Coats realized she would not be able to host her children and grandchildren for Thanksgiving this year because of the pandemic, she and her husband considered volunteering at a soup kitchen and skipping the turkey dinner entirely. Instead they decided to spend the holiday with their second family: Their neighbors in Lexington Park, Md.  ‘We’re going to miss seeing the kids and grandkids so much that we decided we had to be with other people,’ said Mrs. Coats. So she and her husband will smoke two turkeys, their neighbors will make various side dishes (and maybe a smoked ham) and the group of about 25 will turn up masked and with their own plates and utensils to a buffet set up on picnic tables on their cul-de-sac. They will be able to chat briefly, then return to their own homes to enjoy the meal separately.” - From an article by the same name in the current issue of a national newspaper.

Until now my definition of a pod would be a group of whales sticking together for mutual  protection and provision. Now it is being extended to human beings with the same definition during this time of a pandemic. I found the above article refreshing to read about people doing something they would not have done had there not been a pandemic: reaching out to neighbors who obviously also felt the need for human, albeit safe connection.

When God said at the beginning of it all, “It is not good for the man to be alone,” He wasn’t just referencing Eve, but also the larger human need for connection, for interaction with other human beings. It’s what sent the earliest Christians into each other’s homes, not just to worship, but also for communal meals, and it’s what sent Linda Coats into her Lexington Park, Md. neighborhood to create something communal, something shared, to experience human connection.  

Perhaps the God who wastes nothing wants to do something different this Thanksgiving, a quiet witness to your Christian faith. I am writing this today to give you time to plan. 

Reflective question:

Are you open to reconfiguring your Thanksgiving to include others in your neighborhood pod? Who on your block will be spending the day alone?

Reflective Scripture: Acts 2:42 – “They devoted themselves…to the breaking of bread…”

Reflective hymn:

“For the Beauty of the Earth” – Folliott Pierpoint (1835-1917)

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild.

Lord of all to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.