Seeds of Peace Camp - day one! Asheville, NC

43 energetic children – arrived this morning – all full of the range of human emotions that make us human. There were those who were so excited to be there; you could see the glow on their faces, while others were clinging to the shadow of their mothers. Music class started things off. It is hard to be bluegrassy at 9:15 am, but I pulled it off. The violin rang out, bouncing off the concrete floors of the fellowship hall. The children sang out with great, robust voices. One mother told me how excited her 5 and 7 year olds were that a violin was there. They both started lessons this year. Great joy filled the room – and I was able to hit all the notes in perfect voice. What fun. About mid-morning, or first boo-boo happened – a 5 year old boy who was on the shy side had just begun to get warmed up to his group. In one of our transition moments, going from story time to arts and crafts, he fell on the sidewalk, putting scratches on both knees. Blood was shed, but not a tear. I was the one who rushed to get the first aid kit and patched up his knees and spirit. As I wiped off the blood, and carefully placed on the band aids, I thought, this is the task of the church in today’s world, offering comfort, healing to folk in times when we are bruised and scratched by life. Because of the knees, he missed most of the craft time, so I asked him if he wanted me to do his craft project – he said yes. I can tell you one thing, he may go home today with scratched knees, but he also goes home with the camp’s best, glitter and sequenced filled tree. None could compare. By the end of the day, he was back to running and playing as if nothing had happened. It is remarkable how the human spirit rebounds with a community that loves, mends and supports each other. Tonight I am headed to “Moral Monday” in Asheville. Thousands are expected to be there to protest North Carolina’s political march to the right. I go to that rally, with tomorrow’s Seeds of Peace Camp songs spinning in my head, one being “We are marching in the light of God, we are marching in the Light of God….”