January in July

I regret I wasn’t a more dedicated student in my English classes. I completed the necessary assignments and did well enough. I could have done better. Maybe I’m making up for missed opportunities, but one of my favorite things to do now is to look up the meaning and the origin of words. 

I recently downloaded a phone app that lets me see how the words we use every day came to us.  An example: “Origin” comes from the Latin, “origo”, meaning “beginning, or source”, dating back to Sanskrit, “to rise”.  Maybe it’s our recent string of hot humid days in July, but I found myself thinking of January this morning. January is named for the Roman god Janus: the deity with two faces, one facing forward, one facing backward, and the one who stands in the doorway of the new year.

July often has that same feeling of looking back and looking ahead at the midpoint of the year. As a member of the GPPC Fellowship Committee, I am grateful for the many opportunities we had to come together the first half of this year, to enjoy good food, and to welcome the company of many of you. We had a potluck meal in January, a taco dinner by Rubén and Sara in February, the Lenten supper church sessions, Janet’s Easter dinners, a barbecue gathering at Extra Billy’s , a great potluck in Jonathan and Norma’s beautiful home, and a warm but welcoming picnic at Byrd Park. Thank you to all who came out, who showed up to cook and clean, to eat and enjoy . 

So what would Janus being looking ahead to for the remainder of the year?  While we don’t have any formal plans for gatherings the remainder of Summer, we’d like to invite you to find your own ways to get together with one another.

Is there someone who you’ve not seen in a while ? A couple you’ve been meaning to call?  Or maybe a new member you’d like to get to know? Invite them to lunch after church, ask them out to a movie at the Ashland Theater, meet up at one of RVA’s farmers markets. Bring a sack lunch and enjoy a walk around Union Seminary or Lewis Ginter Gardens after church. Pick a Friday night for a GPPC meet-up at VMFA. You get the idea. Find ways to enjoy the company of this family of ours at Ginter Park. 

“Family”, derived from the Latin “familia”, originally referred to one’s servants or domestic staff, later expanded to include all members of a household. I like both meanings there. We do find ways to serve one another, and we are all members of the family of believers.  I am grateful to have been welcomed into this family. 

Craig DeBussey, GPPC Fellowship Committee