Friends,

James Reily keeps dropping these amazing one-liners during sessions of the infamous St. Luke’s Climbing Club. Since I googled them while writing this article, I am just now realizing that none of them are original to him, but they are still amazing.

They include: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”, which I thought was a James Reily original. If you are shocked that I didn’t know that was Mark Twain, you can rest assured we were both wrong. While it is often attributed to Mark Twain, he never wrote those words. You and everyone else are just convinced he did, for the same reason everyone is convinced the Evil Queen said, “Mirror, mirror on the wall…”

The other two are very old military concepts in the modern American vernacular. The first one, “slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” is especially good for rock climbing. Ancient versions such as speûde bradéōs would be translated to “make haste…slowly”.

The second military-inspired quote I got from our junior warden is, “Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.”, which has the same heart as Napoleon’s famous quote, “An army marches on its stomach.” James just dropped this one on me on Monday, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Its military application is interesting. Strategy is pointless if you cannot get people, materials, food, and everything to where the battle is being fought. Even the best strategist will fail if logistics aren't in place. Did you hear the story about how a German officer knew they lost when they found cake on an American soldier? They knew that if we had the logistical might to send soldiers to battle with cake, it was only a matter of time before we wore them down.

I can’t get this out of my mind, because I feel there is a profound Church application to this concept that I am almost, but not quite able to articulate. I do know this advice is meant for a person like me. I excel at coming up with ideas, brainstorming with a group, drumming up energy, and my “follow-through” skills are in the “needs improvement” category. I need people in my life who thrive on working out logistical problems. Typically, my strategy for massive projects like burger nights or block parties is to recruit as many people as possible to show up, then throw as much energy into the events as I can. These events have worked for a season and continue to run and grow only because people like Lou DeMarco and Kara Ray step in to provide the logistical expertise I lack.

While I wish I could give you a well-thought-out idea right now, I am confident that I will be able to piece something together for you on November 1st, which is, of course, All Saints’ Day, and when the pumpkin patch is officially closed.

The pumpkin patch is something to behold. When other churches see the small army of people unloading thousands of pumpkins from the semi-truck this coming Saturday morning, I am shocked they just don’t decide to give up and join us. If we can do that, what can’t we do? I am always unreasonably stressed at this time of year because I find organizing all those volunteers, setting everything up, and ensuring we can take payments impossibly daunting. Thank God for Kim Witzman, Melissa Brunton, and everyone else who makes the patch a success, because I simply couldn't do this if I were in charge.

Yes, logistics, being organized, and all of that are important, but what war are we fighting? The pumpkin befits the Navajo Nation, but that is not the only reason we do this. Yes, our proceeds support our youth and outreach ministries, but that is not the only reason we do this. I suspect we do this because it feels like Church, and by some metrics, we may be better at Church in the patch than we are in the nave.

Passively, we create an environment where people can interact with things that make meaning without expectation or judgment. The task of the patch is clear. We are there to sell pumpkins, but hay bales, growth charts, and hilarious scarecrows do something else. They invite our community to come, mark time, and make memories amid their busy days. In the middle of the worst year of my life, Theo’s godmother came to watch the boys while we focused on survival. I still cherish the pictures of her in the pumpkin patch with Andy and Theo. Then Theo was barely walking, and Andy was the same age Theo is now. When I see the pictures now, I forget about the fear and pain of the season, and I remember holding them when they were that little, the sounds they made before they could talk and how good people were there for us.

The patch has people whose job it is to help with these moments. Yes, someone is at the cash register, but the other volunteer greets our community when they show up for the first time and helps them create memories they don't yet know they’ll cherish.

Do you remember resenting being guilted into going to Church with someone you love? Like me, you may have realized too late that you’d give up anything to be sitting next to them again. Like the patch, memories and meaning are made within our sanctuary, and it is our job to invite them to engage and slow down.

Blessings,

Nick