Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church
One Last Thing Before You Go
by Charlotte Johnstone
When
Geneva Rademacher, director of religious education, sent invitations
for Forbearance's annual brunch for graduating high school and
college seniors, she included a separate note for their parents
and grandparents.
"Your young people are about to
start a new adventure that will challenge them in new ways. You
have guided, cajoled, reprimanded, praised and loved them through
their years at home. Now comes the 'letting go,' when your prayers
and Forbearance's prayers go with them. If there were one last
thing you could tell them---one piece of advice, serious or not-so-serious---what
would it be? Think about it, write it down and send it to me.
Your thoughts will be cobbled into a homegrown 'commencement
speech'---Forbearance style."
Apparently, Geneva's request struck
a chord, because it wasn't long before she began to receive scribbled
notes---a motley collection of messages from families ranging
from those who were dreading an empty nest to those who could
hardly wait to turn their graduate's bedroom into a home office.
And so it came to pass that after the
meal that day, after the picture-taking and the sometimes raucous
conversation of young people eager to move on, Geneva rose to
deliver some "last words" from a church family with
mixed emotions.
Charlotte Johnstone is a member of Immanuel
Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She (and the cast
of Forbearance Presbyterian Church) welcome comments. Write to
her at Horizons, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396
or email wjohns4949@aol.com.
Read the "last words of advice" from Forbearance
Presbyterian Church in the May/June
issue of Horizons.
Call 800/ 524-2612 to subscribe or Order
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