Members of the First SF church are just
the nicest people I've ever met. They are SO NICE. I don't think
I've ever met a more concentrated group of nice, welcoming, helpful,
interesting, NICE people. Every time I've been around them, I walk
away thinking “Wow, what a great bunch of people!”
The annual First Mennonite Church
retreat was this past weekend, Friday afternoon through Sunday
afternoon. Tobi and Ling, a couple from Oakland, gave me a ride to
Redwood Glen, where the whole thing was held. They are really cool,
and super easy to talk to, which is great, because I'd only met Tobi
once for like 10 minutes. We took Highway 1 down to the camp, which
is pretty much the most scenic road in the world. It runs right by
the beach for miles and miles. We stopped by one of the beaches and
it was totally gorgeous. I love beaches, and people who take me to
beaches.
The first thing I noticed about the
camp was how QUIET it was. At the house, it is never quiet. If
someone's not walking around on the creaky wooden floors upstairs,
then the car wash is blasting music, the fire trucks are shrieking,
the street is busy, some moron is whipping kitties in the street, the
lady next door is exercising by walking back and forth and back and
forth in heels in the walkway, or a multitude of other things. I
haven't heard silence in weeks. It wasn't necessarily oppressive
silence, but definitely something to make you sit up and take notice.
And the trees are so tall here! They're redwoods, just babies, but
they dwarf Kansas cottonwoods by a good 50 feet! It was a very
beautiful and serene setting for a weekend away from the city.
The first evening we were there,
Friday, we just sat around and talked and ate food and got to know
each other better. Saturday morning was a church meeting where we
talked a lot about the discernment process that is currently going on
in the church regarding our newfound size. I guess the church used
to be like 60 people, but within the last five years it's gone up to
about 120 or something, so there are some obvious issues associated
with that growth. It was kind of cool to be in on the inner workings
of the church. That's something I've never really been a part of,
either because I was too young to really care, or because most of
that stuff is usually confined to board meetings and the like. But
the discernment committee did a great job of being like “Ok, here's
some stuff that we're thinking about doing. We know, it's change,
and that can be a little scary... what are some responses right now?”
And the church did a great job of being like “Yeah, we're a little
apprehensive, but we're definitely open to suggestions and stuff.”
That was refreshing for sure, since one of the churches I attend at
home practically split over the idea of pew cushions, and let's not
even mention the idea of putting in an A/C!
The afternoon was spent learning to
quilt! My goal this year is to learn how to quilt, and then piece
and quilt my Sunbonnet Sue applique project. After stabbing my
fingers several times, I got it figured out! And the more
experienced quilters said I was going a good job, and that my
stitches were nice and even and small, so that was really nice to
hear. Other people from the church played kickball, Ultimate!, went
on a hike/walk, played games, or just sat around and talked. There
was a hymn sing at 430, while we quilted, which I think is just about
as Mennonite as it gets! The people here are great singers, too. A
lot of people (mostly Mennonites) say that we are very humble people.
I think that is pretty correct, except for when we sing. We are
good and we know it. Heaven forbid we clap for ourselves or others
when they sing, but we all know that it was a damn fine job.
Sunday morning, Ben and I took a little
walk through the redwoods, which was super cool. They are just so
tall! I can't get over how huge they are! Then we had a church
service, where we acted out our representations of the Kingdom of
God. I was kind of like “umm” about that whole thing, but
everyone else seemed to really like it. After dinner, Ben and I took
a longer walk, and I stopped about every 5 steps to take pictures of
something or another. Poor guy. Sometimes I wonder if he feels like
he plays second fiddle to my camera!
Tobi and Ling took me home, too. On
the way, we stopped by Tobi's friend's house. She works for Google,
and helped develop Google Maps. Checkmark in the “meet a Google
employee” box. She's also from Wyoming, so we had a nice little
“Oh yeah, California is totally different from Kansas or Wyoming”
country-girl chat.
Most of this summer was spent being
angsty about moving to California. I was unsure of how I would be
able to relate to the church, find friends, and stay sane while I was
out here. I didn't want to leave my comfortable, happy little
existence in Newton, where all my friends were, and everything was
familiar and easy. I like Kansas, and I still miss it. I miss
Bethel, and I miss all of my friends that are still there. But I am
glad that I have met these people at First. I am glad that I came
out here and met people who were different, from outside my sphere of
experience. I am glad that I met a church who seems to be able to
function well and healthily in the midst of increasing growth and
change. At this point, I still definitely prefer the Midwest, but
for now, the Bay Area is ok, too. 
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