Give the "Vision Thing" a Rest. Stop and Reflect

When I sat down to put hand to keyboard this month, I was planning to write about where we stand in the "Year of Decision", what we have accomplished and what comes next. I was going to talk about how we are making progress developing our vision for our church's future. As I began to type, however, it struck me that it might be a good idea to take a break from all that and reflect on a time of year when we have the opportunity to renew bonds of fellowship, friendship, and love that are really what we all value about our Channing community.

I've been blessed every holiday season. As a child, I was part of a loving family. As an adult, I have been blessed to enjoy many holidays with Linda (and our cats). Among my most memorable holiday seasons, however, have been those spent far from home. At sea and in foreign lands, I have been reminded of how fortunate I am to have the love of my wife, my family and my friends even as I forged closer bonds of friendship with shipmates and comrades with whom I was serving so far from home.

In 1986 I was a single junior naval officer and took Christmas Day duty on the ship I was serving in. As the Command Duty Officer, I presided over the Christmas meal in the wardroom. Our chaplain, who did not stand duty, brought his large family aboard that day to spend Christmas with the Sailors keeping the watch (in those days that was about 1/3 of the crew). Dinner in the wardroom that afternoon was a boisterous affair with lots of prayer and singing as well as turkey, ham, roast beef and all the trimmings. The chaplain's wife, who clearly wore the pants in the family, was a wonderful woman who brooked no nonsense at the dinner table, even from the Command Duty Officer. What struck me about this exceptional Christmas was that the chaplain and his family didn't need to spend the day with us. They did so because they wanted to share some of their familial joy with lonely Sailors standing guard over our country. Their dedication to the spirit of fellowship sustained us in that ship that Christmas.

I remember another holiday season spent at sea. The ship's chaplain organized a candlelight service to be held on the flight deck at midnight Christmas morning. Despite the fact that Christmas Eve and Day was an opportunity for the crew to get some much-needed rest, over 100 Sailors (out of crew of about 400) showed up for the service. It was a beautiful moonlit night in the Caribbean, and we all sang, prayed and reflected on the true meaning of Christmas. After the service, the Captain and I walked around the ship, wishing the night-watch standers a Merry Christmas. In one compartment, the Sailors had done a lot of decorating and made some eggnog (non-alcoholic of course). We joined these Sailors that early morning, drinking eggnog, listening to recorded Christmas carols and talking of family at home.

Last year I spent Christmas at Guantanamo with over 600 Sailors, who were doing a really tough job far from home. Early Christmas morning, shortly after midnight, I walked around the detention camps to wish the Sailor guards on duty a happy holiday. I was truly inspired by the dedication of these young men and women. I remember speaking to one young man that morning, who was only 19 years old and was really missing his family during the holiday. He asked me how I coped with being away from mine at Christmas. I told him it was never easy and that the best thing he could do was seek out friends with whom to share the day. At that point his petty officer supervisor spoke up saying, "Don't worry, sir, we're all going to have a barbecue on the beach tomorrow." Like Sailors away from home all over the world, these young men and women were coming together on Christmas to find strength in fellowship and friendship. When I came back to my quarters early that morning, I found not only a loving e-mail from Linda but also a note from Amy and notes from many of you, reminding me that I was not alone that early Christmas morning and reminding me that I had a family and a community of friends waiting for me at home. Those messages of good cheer and support meant so much to me and I shall always be grateful to you for them.

As I write this, Christmas is less than two weeks away. I am blessed to be able to spend the holidays with Linda, our cat Noor, and with all of you. The fellowship we as a community will share this holiday season serves as a reminder of what we cherish and value most about Channing. As you read this, the New Year will be upon us and we will continue the process of developing our vision of what we want our church to be like in the next 10 years. As this discussion goes on, we will have our disagreements. What we can all agree on is what I was reminded of last year when I was far from home. We come to Channing because it is a community where we find fellowship, spirituality, inspiration, caring, and love. These will be a part of our vision, no matter what else we decide.

-- Tom Beall, President