I was sitting at a friend's garden party last Sunday and I started getting ideas about the amazing gift that Brighton First can be to the community of Brighton.
The weather was sunny and just cool enough to make the late afternoon pleasant. My friend Stan is a musician and once a year he hosts a garden party. He invites all his friends, including many jazz and blues musicians. There's a pot luck table laden with food and through the day musicians alternate between jam sessions and performances. Below find a brief recording from the "stage" in Stan's back yard.
The music is wonderful at Stan's party, but more than that, there is a delightful atmosphere of community and acceptance. For an afternoon, people from all walks of life come together to enjoy a shared passion, music. Those who attend meet new friends and are given the chance to rekindle old friendships. (I met and talked with a teaching colleague at the party that I have not seen in over 20 years!)
I sat listening to the music and started to think about Brighton Firsts ability to create community and to foster friendship. It happens within the walls of the church. How might that ability be shared in the community, especially with those who find themselves on the margins of acceptance.
I thought about this and quietly made a promise to myself. From this point on, I'm going to share my notions of what Brighton First can be for the community. I'll share them not only with the leaders of the church, but in many conversations that I have with church members.
We, at Brighton First, have a great gift to offer community members. It may not involved the gift of music, but it can in some form be a gift of relationship and connection, giving people a place to belong.
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