I ran into Daniel Meeter, the pastor of Old First Reformed Church this morning. He had a copy of J.D. Salinger’s "Franny and Zooey" in his pocket.
"What a great book," he said. "I finally read it."
Pastor Meeter jokes that he reads OTBKB first thing in the morning. "After God " he says. "I turn to God then to Laurie." For some reason, he thinks my name is Laurie. It’s LOUISE, Dan. Louise.
Today he didn’t read OTBKB so it was nice to run into each other. I asked him how things are going with the Wisconsiners at the church.
"Have you been there yet? Have you seen the chandelier lowered to the floor?" he said with characteristic enthusiasm. Pastor Meeter loves the energy and generosity of the folks from Gibbsville, Wisconsin, who call themselves the Transformers. They have thrown themselves into the restoration of the chandelier: polishing it, replacing light bulbs, doing whatever needs to be done.
Meeter says that they can’t seem to drag themselves away from it: they stand, sit, talk, work around it all day.
"They are embracing the beauty of the chandelier," he says.
The Transformer’s one-week adventure in Brooklyn has been an eye-opening experience for many of them. Park Slope, Brooklyn couldn’t be more different than their hometown, but the Transformers are taking it in — hearts open wide.
Read the Transformers blog for a narrative of their days Brooklyn.
Oh Geez Louise. I’m sorry. Don’t take it too too personally. As Mrs. Kravitz will tell you, I called Mr. Kravitz by the wrong name for a year, and I still have to correct myself before I speak. No excuses. It’s a besetting sin. A form of disregard, a lack of paying attention, I don’t know what, but I hate it.
Mostly because I’m terrified of people, I think.
You’re right. Sorry about that.
Out of courtesy, could you please refer to the Transformers as “young adults” Transformers is a post high group, all of us are over 18, and a majority of us are in our mid-20’s. Many people respect the opinion of adults more than the opinion of kids, and when we dedicate our lives to a week of service in the name of Jesus Christ, we want to make a real impact in the community when doing it! Thank You!