In the Gathering Place

In the Buckeye Nation, the rallying cry heard round the state is “O-H,” with the automatic response, “I-O.”  Diehard Ohio State fans take special pride if their infant’s first recognizable utterance is “I-O” rather than “ma-ma.”  A call and response can often be heard in church settings, political rallies and the sports arena, but I was surprised to hear a similar pattern at the recent reception for the first Kroc Center Elder in Resident.

 “If in doubt,” the speaker called, and the voices replied, “rip it out.”  The honoree of the evening was June Metcalf, an Ashland octogenarian whose gift for knitting and crocheting will be featured over the next few weeks.  She’s been a mainstay at the Kroc Center since the doors opened, present in the lobby on Tuesdays and Wednesday to share her love for all things knitted and crocheted.  In the early days, she often sat alone, sometimes joined by a staff member or two who was attempting to find the “knit one, purl two” rhythm of the needles. 

Now, three years later, you’ve got to come early to get one of the comfy seats, as the lobby area fills with people initially drawn together by an interest in yarn, but now held together by a sense of belonging.  While their rallying cry may be “if in doubt, rip it out,” another word of wisdom from June is her oft-repeated phrase, “you can do it.”  That spirit of encouragement and affirmation is contagious, and made June the obvious choice for the first Elder in Residence.      

It’s been three months since Larry and I handed over the reins of leadership at the Salvation Army, and I’ve had time to ponder on the hopes we’d brought to the center, both from our own hearts and experiences and from Joan Kroc’s legacy and vision.  Many of those dreams were expressed in the naming of the spaces in the new facility.

It made sense to call the gym area the Fun Zone, and lots of fun has been experienced in its space and in the companion Field House (soccer field).  Between the roller skaters, the bounce house bouncers, the budding soccer stars and the graceful dancers at the KC Big Band events, there’ve been plenty of smiles and lots of laughter in the building, especially within the walls of the Fun Zone.  Good choice of names.

A space for worship at the Salvation Army was also essential, and the chapel with its glorious stained-glass wall invites many to express their faith through prayer and praise.  Yet we chose to name a smaller room the “Sacred Space,” and that’s become a home for all kinds of sacred activities, as people have come together to study the Bible, to support families through the Salvation Army’s LINCS program and the Family and Children’s First Council care team meetings, and to simply have a quiet setting for personal counsel under the watchful eyes of the stained-glass Jesus and the children.  Another fitting choice. 

A third name assigned in those early days of planning was the Gathering Place, a title that didn’t seem to stick, as most of the time we simply called it the Lobby.  Boring.  Yes, it is a vestibule, an entrance hall to the facility that serves as a reception area for the Center.  But as I thought about June and the knitting circle, I realized that whether it’s called the Gathering Place or not, this entrance area has become the center’s front porch, a place for all people in our community to gather together.   It’s rivaled in the summer by the Adirondack chairs of the backyard spraypark, but year round, the Gathering Place brings people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests together.  While a sense of inclusion may have started with Joan’s dream, it has been richly nurtured by June’s faithfulness.

I can’t wait to see who the next Elder in Residence will be – and what his or her gifts are bringing to our community.  But in the meantime, whether in the Gathering Place at the Kroc or the yarn aisle at the store, I’m ready.  If I hear “when in doubt,” I’m answering, “rip it out!”  Yeah, June!