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Parables, stories told to illustrate religious ideas, have been around since Biblical times, so their use by is in keeping with the custom many faiths use in teaching and reaching out to the community. That is the reason “Parables in the Park” is being held every Wednesday night through August 9 at Lansing’s Meyers Point Park by Trinity Lutheran Church of Ithaca. This is the first year Trinity has held evening services at Meyers, though a well-attended Easter service at Stewart Park in Ithaca is an annual event. It, too, is a reaching out and a successful one at that: about half the attendance is customarily from the community at large.
Pastor Foote said, “Churches can be described as being Mighty Fortresses” in that it takes a lot of courage for a person to walk, cold, into a church filled with people they didn’t know” and have a meaningful worship experience.
Pastor Foote then described the contrast of the park service. It is “Contemporary and engaging, in a relaxed format with audience participation invited, welcomed and appreciated. While there is value in liturgical worship, the use of parables provides worshipers with the opportunity of training the ears to hear, really hear, the message.” Further, “Parables convey a soft subject message with concrete truths”.
The July 19 service presented three parables to nearly 60 worshipers who were first treated to ice cream, generously dipped out by Trinity members Sandy and Skip Hintz, before the 6:30 am start up, and then with the songs and acoustic guitar of David Peck, Youth Leader at Covenant Love.
In addition to Trinity members, the service was attended by members of Lansing churches, guests of Trinity members, two very well behaved leashed dogs and at least two picnickers who happened to be in the Park at the time. It was an informal, casual group, with Hug Therapists in good form. The playground was not utilized, but the customary games of “Pass the Baby” (two infants were seen being handed about) and “Pet the Dogs” were played.
The Parables, “Mourning for the Missing Groom, Unshrunk Cloth and New Wineskins,” were ably portrayed by half-dozen or so members of the Trinity Congregation. Of particular note was the Pastors 16 year old daughter, Stephanie, in the role of the bride. She was radiant in the perfectly fitting wedding dress her mother had been married in. The other actors had to “make do” with towels, burlap and bathrobes for their Biblical era costumes.
After Pastor Foote delivered a message calling for “Forgiveness, Faith and Fellowship”, David Peck invited his four-year-old son to the microphone to sing a song the youngster had composed at pre-school. It was, naturally, the hit of the evening!
Compared to many historic churches in Tompkins County, Trinity Lutheran is a relatively young church, having set the cornerstone of its building at 149 Honness Lane, Ithaca, in 1964. Prior to my attending the July 19 service, Pastor Foote had advised me that the attendance would probably be “a very interesting, eclectic mix, with members bringing friends and family. There will be children of all ages”. He expressed hope that members of the entire Lansing community would join Trinity for these Wednesday nights. The service, the attendance and the “Parables in the Park” were just as he described. Now I am anxious to see how the remaining three parables will be presented!
On July 26, “The Rich Man and Bigger Barns”, August 2 “Friend at Midnight” and August 9 “The Talents”. A combination Chicken BBQ and potluck picnic is also scheduled, rain or shine, for August 9. (Reservations must be made to the church office, 273-9017, by August 1)
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