Victoria Day, Muffins, & Tradition

 

This afternoon two of our grandchildren will arrive for a sleepover and fun will ensue -- it always does. In preparation for the visit their mom passed on a request from the nine-year-old which she assured Ruth doesn't require compliance on her part. A couple of years ago their family had home-made muffins on Victoria Day, so he now considers it a tradition. Happily, he's coming to the right place because Granny loves baking the treats they like just to see the satisfaction on their wonderful faces. There will be muffins tomorrow morning in our household even though Queen Victoria probably won't be acknowledged. 

We chuckled for a while over this delightful request and it got me pondering the traditions we develop and how that happens. In the morning the first one up puts the pot on the stove because we prefer perked coffee. Until I realized that the quiz show Jeopardy could be streamed any old time 7:30 was sacrosanct. If you have a companion dog you know all about the daily expectations and probably have a bunch more in your lives. 

You might suggest these rather mundane patterns are habits rather than traditions but you get the gist. While they can be comforting they can also be restricting if we're not careful, and even tedious.

During the pandemic our patterns and traditions were rattled, including when and how we worship. For 37 years my life was shaped around Sunday mornings and the liturgical year and other aspects of congregational life. Since I retired nearly five years ago I haven't missed the responsibility at all yet I was somewhat bewildered at the beginning. 

We're aware of a significant shifting and reshaping going on in the institutional church, one which was well underway prior to the pandemic and now accelerated. So many of the habits and traditions which brought us comfort, or were just part of the rhythms of everday life  whether we actually like them or not -- are falling away.

 I hope we hold on to the good stuff -- for me Jesus would be the prime example!-- and let go of what has actually been weighing us down and keeping us from the exciting possibilities in our life together. 

One of the reasons I don't miss ministry is the weariness I felt after decades of trying to imagine who we could be as Christ's people for the moment we found ourselves in, rather than attempting to perpetuate habits which were no longer helpful or life-giving. There was  steady resistance because people often recognized that change was necessary and inevitable, as long as no actual change was involved. I can't express the depth of my joy over the fact that I will never be involved in another earnest conversation over choir gowns, yea or nay. The irony is that in many congregations choirs are drying up and blowing away. 

As I write this I can smell a rhubarb pie, fresh out of the oven, which Ruth has created because it is another favourite of a certain grandchild. There are many reasons I love their visits!