I'm trying to read more poetry. I find it slows me down enough to pay attention in ways I don't normally do when reading. I'm starting with Wendell Berry.
In his poem "The Record" he is talking about people of a certain age giving directions by using landmarks that don't exist ("where the peach orchard was...."). The line that caught my attention was this one: "You'd have to know this country mighty well before I could tell you where."
Last night, the City of Plainview held their annual mass registration for summer recreation activities. The flyer that I got from my kid's backpacks announced that the registration was at the "new public works building." There was no address. No map. I checked the city webpage....same announcement - "at the new public works building."
Now, I know where this building is...but it's a big assumption. In fact, my dear wife, the librarian, fielded a few reference questions along the lines of: "Can you tell me where the...heck... is the new public works building?"
And it makes me wonder, if there are assumptions that we have in our church that leave people confused or unclear.
