Hey folks – I had the pleasure of an IRL conversation with someone from The Table today, (all safe and masked and distanced, but still) and it reminded me in a fresh way how deeply I miss being able to touch base with people while we’re just hanging around before or after gathering. It’s a feeling that is only made stronger when I think about the Zoom conversation we had on Sunday. It was delightful to see faces, hear voices, have conversations. So good!

So I want to offer us more opportunities to do that sort of thing. Here’s where I would like to begin – starting this Sunday, I would like to make the “And Lunch Afterward?” Zoom gathering a regular feature. Every Sunday at 12:30 (long enough after our gathering to get your lunch sorted, if you wish), we’ll have a chance to hang out in a Zoom meeting. I’ll set it up. If you want to drop by to chat, do it. If you can come and stay a while, that’s great. If you need to just pop in to say hello and then dash, do that. I’m not sure how long these hang-outs will be; I think we’ll just play that by ear. Littles are more than welcome (gotta say, as much as I like the adults in our community, I miss your kids every bit as much as I miss you).

Also, because one time is not likely to suit everyone, I’ll set up the same thing on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. I’ll include the Zoom invitation info at the end of this email. Again, we’ll just make it up as we go when it comes to how long we hang out. I’m sure we can figure that out on the fly. It’s all an experiment, like the whole rest our culture is at this moment. If there’s uptake, we’ll keep it going. If there isn’t, we’ll think of something else to try.

This Sunday morning we’ll meet online at our Facebook group as usual for some music and Community Time at 10:45 a.m., then on to the Talky Bit. I’ll be exploring the overlap between the contemporary study of building resiliency and an ancient prophecy given to some Israelites that had been exiled to Babylon. I think it’s super intriguing how very old wisdom and modern research sometimes end up in the same space if we’ll let them, and can even play nice together in ways that teach us how to live wiser, more whole lives, even under difficult circumstances.

Here are the Zoom invites – first the Sunday one, then the Wednesday one. They are recurring meetings, so you can use the same meeting info any week you want to drop by.

Topic: And Lunch After? The Table Zoom Sunday Hang Out

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83770920251?pwd=a0dZbU1CaXgrYTNNcEkydE1hdTNRQT09

Meeting ID: 837 7092 0251

Topic: The Wednesday Evening Table Hang Out

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85777988652?pwd=UGR2ZkxtWklEaFZ5bXE1b3RkdUJXdz09

Meeting ID: 857 7798 8652

I’ll sorta see you on Sunday…