Recently, I wrote about our fun experiences with our young at heart, but older in years Sunday School class.
Before we were asked to assist with their class, we were members of The Friendship Class.
We were fairly new to the church, so we read over the descriptions of the various classes and decided Friendship was what we desired most.
So we decided to visit the Friendship Class. We had no idea we were getting ready to go on the wildest and wackiest rides we would ever experience in a Sunday School class.
When we met the group, they were warm and welcoming. They seemed to have a genuine affection for each other. It was clear they were living up to their name. They were friends and they were friendly. We felt at home instantly.
Then came the first class meeting at one of the member’s home. We ate together and shared pleasantries.
Then Peggy took us aside. In absolute seriousness, she told us, “We are getting ready to get down to business now. So you need to understand we have a few rules.”
We perked up. I wondered if I should take notes. Peggy leaned in and lowered her voice. “Anything you hear in here does not leave this room. It is highly confidential.”
We agreed. That was very understandable, especially if everyone was going to share from their hearts.
Absolutely stone faced, Peggy said, “If we hear that even one word of this gets out, we will have to kill you.”
Before Jay and I could react, she got up and moved back into the group. We looked at the group in a new light. Was the Sunday School class a front for the mafia?
David then called the group to order. However, we quickly learned that “order” was defined differently in this group.
He called for the reading of the minutes of the last meeting. Wanda, the secretary, straightened her notes and began reading.
It became immediately apparent that we were in the presence of a gifted comedy writer. Her recounting of what had supposedly been the last meeting was hilarious.
I would love to share her words with you, but if I did, I am afraid Peggy would have us killed. (And she now has extra means to do it, since she is in Heaven!)
David spoke up in the middle of the reading of the minutes and said, “I object!”
Blain said, “You can’t object. You were not even at the last meeting!”
David said, “Sure I can object. The class rules allow me to object to anything I want to!”
What ensued was a lively discussion of parliamentarian rules for the class followed by a debate over whether Wanda’s hilarious recounting of the last meeting was really how it was.
Each participant threw in their own versions of how they supposedly remembered it.
Wanda was busily taking notes, no doubt gathering ammo for her next minutes. When the group exhausted themselves and all had laughed so hard the house shook, Wanda signed off.
And someone voted to accept the minutes. Amazingly there was a second and it was a done deal.
The group then got down to what was the real serious business at hand. They prayed for each other and others they knew who needed prayers. They prayed for us and one even added in his prayers that they hoped we would continue to be a part of their group.
And we were! Not only did we learn so much from them on Sundays, but we also could hardly wait until we had the next class meeting and could hear Wanda’s minutes!
We did not think anything could top the ongoing fellowship, but we discovered the group was only building to the grand finale of the year, which was the annual Christmas party.
We were told to each bring an inexpensive gift for gift exchange. We did our best to think of something appropriate. However, the one telling us about the gift exchange left off one important descriptor. They were to be gag gifts!
We had a very enjoyable sharing of a potlucked meal before the magic gift sharing time. Of course, there were rules. By now we expected it.🙄
Everyone drew their number, so there would be some order. When it was our turn, each of us got to select a gift from under the tree. If you liked it, you could keep it. If you didn’t want it, you could trade with someone who had already acquired their gift.
And so it began. Right away, we sensed something was not quite right. The first gift was a full set of dentures. The group doubled over in laughter, as someone said, “I wondered who got Lee’s dentures last year!”
And there were other surprises that were not really surprises to the group who had been circulating these time honored gifts for years. There was a red string bikini nighty, snake repellant, billy bass the fish who sang, and a whole host of other gifts.
I can’t remember what we contributed, but it was way too serious. However, we are fast learners. So we spent the following year searching for something completely off the rails crazy so we would be prepared for the next Christmas party.
The group shared many joys and sorrows in all the years that preceded and followed our time with them. The group on earth is smaller now, but still meeting and still laughing. We like to think they were our training group to be missionaries to our next Sunday School assignments.
Most importantly, we are still friends. When I published my first book, I asked Wanda to write an endorsement. Her words and mine have gone around the world. But as to her words in the class minutes … well … I’ll never tell!
A friend loves at all times!
Proverbs 17:17
