Emerald City

We had five seniors from the parish church down the hill arrive for our "How to Stay Catholic" workshop. The whole thing was an experiment. We usually call something like this a "pilot project" because it sounds more professional, but we've been testing a lot of new ideas in recent years.

We fed them blueberry pancakes which we made right before their very eyes on an electric griddle set up at the table where we ate. Then we herded them into the Meeting Room for the content.

Now I'd like to point out that in the meeting room, directly behind Nancy and me, were two life-size cardboard cutouts: Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West. They were decorations from our volunteer party and are waiting to go back into the attic. The funny thing about life here is that surreal little moments like that tend to go unquestioned. People who call Trinita home just take stuff like this in stride. In fact, some of our local friends use the expression "Trinita Moment" to describe an experience that would fit in with our general ambiance and style of operating.

So as our teens wrote letters to themselves during the final reflection activity, I and Glinda and the Wicked Witch all gazed fondly at them and wondered what the future holds for them. Trinita right now is in the full flush of an intense spring green. Welcome to the Emerald City! But alas, no one stays here forever. We have known these teens for years, and now they are leaving home and entering adulthood. Wherever the Yellow Brick Road takes them, I pray they always hold onto the Catholic Church as their home.