THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, September 16, 2010


METHODIST CHURCH, WEIRS-1889


by Rev. Victoria Wood Parrish Contributing Writer


They met today for the


first time, and I was a witness to their first en- counter. Leo and Tony were from


different cultures. Both were guys, so they were operating from the same cultural mindset. Leo was in a committed re- lationship with Camilla, and Tony was single, so the way they approached relationships was a bit different. From their names, you


might guess their races, but you would probably be wrong. Leo was from a mixed


racial background, but looked black like his fa- ther. He had lived here most of his life, immigrat- ing from a southern coun- try as a teenager. Tony – well, Tony was


a wonderful represen- tative of his race; light with curly gray hair. He had just moved here and wasn’t sure of the recep- tion he would get. What were the inhabitants of this area like? Would they welcome him? Would he have to fight his way in? The two were introduced


by mutual friends. Be- cause they were from dif- ferent cultures, it was tense for the friends. If they were on their own, the two guys, because of their backgrounds, would probably stand their dis- tance. There might be harsh words, even fight- ing words. They would not automatically under- stand each other – the differences were just too great. Since they were with


the women, there was some security, but still… should they be friends or enemies? Both were a bit quiet as they eyed each other. There was


COMMUNITY CHURCH MEDITATIONS LEO AND TONY


an initial greeting and then some observation as their friends talked. They brought up several topics of conversation, the usual surface stuff that we all talk about when we meet people. At one point there was a sharp disagree- ment, but their friends stopped them with dirty looks. Leo flirted with Tony’s friend, but everyone real- ized that it was because she was a good cook and that he wasn’t serious, and so no one had hard feelings. The social time ended


and the guys left after saying their farewells. Are they friends? No,


but at least they are more at ease with each other. Would they go out of their way to get together again? Probably not, but when the women get together, they will be probably be willing to go along. Why should they get to- gether? The women think that both of them could do with some socialization beyond their usual circle of friends. They need to learn how to deal with dif- ferences, and to at least be polite. Of course, Leo and Tony


are dogs – real ones. Their owners got them together in the play yard by the church. In the course of a half hour, the dogs, nei- ther of whom have been socialized, learned to be polite. Tony is still scared of Leo, who is much big- ger, but Leo wants to play – he just has to learn how to play nicely. Last week was Multi-


cultural Day in Laconia. People from many cul- tures got together to learn about each other in a safe place. This is important, because we are a multi- cultural society. We are not all English or German. Some of us have been here since before time and some have come in the last few months. We need to learn how “to play nicely” even when we are nervous about meeting others. This week we talked about that in a couple of meetings at church. Ten years ago, our congrega- tion was pretty homo- geneous. We all looked alike and sounded alike (except for regional ac- cents.) Our greatest di- versity came from where we have moved here from – Pennsylvania, Massa-


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chusetts, native born New Hampshireites. This week we looked at


the congregation and saw people from Korea, Bhu- tan, Kenya and Europe, as well as people who identify themselves as Na- tive Americans and native born Americans. There were people who spoke with German accents as well as American. We have become a multicul- tural congregation. It is important for us to


remember that God cre- ated all people and that God will be in control of the outcome. Our job is to be in relationship with God and to share the love of Jesus. We need to find common ground with oth- ers so that together we can be the people of God. Remember the prayer


in the Garden of Geth- semane. Jesus prayed “Lord, let them be one just


as we are one….” We will never be in to-


tal agreement with oth- ers, but we don’t have to let that stop us from being in relationship with them through the love of Christ.


Rev. Victoria Wood Par-


rish is the pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Gilford, NH, located on Route 11-A. It is a congregation of open hearts, open minds, and open doors. We invite you to worship with us on Sundays at 10:30 AM Children’s activities and nursery are available dur- ing the 10:30 morning wor- ship. We also invite you to the United Methodist Church in the Weirs, 35 Tower St., which worships at 9:30 AM. There are also many other local congrega- tions who would welcome you to worship.


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