Synod Assembly - Day (Almost One)
By Rev. Keith Spencer
It was a moment of pure clarity: What Johnny Rockets can teach us about dealing with pre-assembly stress.
I note this because walking into the preps prior to the start of Synod Assembly one is immediately taken with the stress of it all. Tables are being set up and people are talking on radios and cell phones. The miracle workers are working miracles “Yes we can do that!” “They want what? Where? OK!” People checking in (smoothly except for the humongous traffic back up along A1A up trying to enter the drive way). Cause of the backup? Lots of “arriving during the prelude” Lutherans or perhaps just folks gawking at the thousands of ROTC students gathering at the same hotel for some event. I’m not certain. Oh, the stress! People who forget to make reservations. Elevators that refuse to go above the 3rd floor (note to late arrivers – you need to insert your key or else you will spent the night in the assembly hall, which is also on the third floor and has a few couches that haven’t been claimed yet.) Trying to find the location of the Youth Voting Member Orientation.
The answer to the pre-assembly stress is, of course, Johnny Rockets.
It was stressful there, too. Thousands of ROTC kids pouring in, hungry, hot, looking for lunch and a handful of Lutherans looking earnest. A manager grabbing a kid out on a smoke break, demanding that he put on a uniform. Tables full, the counter filling rapidly. Yet, all of a sudden the lights went out. This would seem a crisis during the middle of a busy lunch hour (or a worship service or an Assembly), but not at Johnny Rockets, no. A disco ball began to spin, throwing stars upon the ceiling in the darkened room and Donna Summer began singing about dancing our last dance…and…the servers stopped serving and began dancing. All together. In amazingly coordinated movements. For the entire length of the song. And people were not annoyed that their food was piling up on the counter waiting to be brought to their tables, no. People laughed. Some danced along.
They clapped. We clapped. Oh, the joy of it all!
So, memo to Val (our illustrious, hard working event coordinator):
When things get tough at the assembly, turn out the lights, turn on that disco ball, and crank up Donna. We’ll dance. We’ll laugh. And we’ll all smile. Like good Lutherans.
Even if things pile up. We’ll wait. It’s good for us!