INSPIRASUNS

We’re working on a project at the office, well I should say there are several parishioners who are working on the project, I’m just making sure they have what they need. In the summer months, things are quieter in SW Florida, (insert sigh of relief here), so it’s a great time to work on projects that we otherwise might not have time for. So this summer we’ve asked a group of parishioners to organize all of the historical documents we have for our church. Trust me, there are many. We have them in boxes, file cabinets, folders, binders, you name it we have them.

So we’ve set up a space with tables where they can just unpack, sort, tag, label, you get the idea. On Friday they came in to work a little bit and set a schedule for bringing in other parishioners to help provide context to certain documents. It truly is a group effort on this, because, of course, we have parishioners who have been here much longer than others. It has been fun to watch as documents are reviewed, pictures sorted, and memories shared.

At one point on Friday afternoon, I remembered that I had a drawer in a file cabinet that was labeled, “historical documents”. I grabbed the largest hanging folder from the drawer and the three of us started looking at the papers, some of which were onion skin. Many of you will probably not even know what that paper is, let’s just say it goes back a ways 🙂 . We found the original documents in handwritten form, back when the church had a different name, and notes from vestry meetings, again in handwritten form. I can’t really explain the feeling when we flipped through that folder and read the history.

I think it is so important that our history be preserved for future generations. There is so much to learn from where we have been, what we have been through, and how we got to where we are. There is an old saying, that if you do not remember history, you will be bound to repeat it. Um, this means good and bad.

We are not a perfect people. We are not a perfect nation. However, we do have the opportunity to learn from mistakes, to improve on the good, if we but remember where we have been. The most important historical document we have is the Bible. What would happen if we decided to not take care to preserve it?

Yes my friends, in my humble opinion, we need to do what we can to remember where we started, where we’ve been, and what we’ve done. We owe it to our children, grandchildren, and descendants long after them to remember and respect those who have gone before. Have a great day my friends, if you get a chance to learn more about your family’s history, take it, you might just be surprised by what you learn.

Isaiah 46:9
Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.