Blog 7/24
By Bronwyn Wunder | July 24, 2022
Today was just as hot, if not hotter than yesterday. We started the day in the hotel dining room, conversing about some of the topics we covered in devotion last night with the framework of Margaret Wheatley’s ‘Turning to One Another’. We were all asked to choose a line to focus the day around and remember throughout our day in Louisville. I chose the line; “Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.”
Our first stop of the day was at the Louisville Sluggers Museum, somewhere I wouldn’t necessarily expect to find myself turning to those around me with curiosity and amazement. But minutes before our tour of the baseball bat factory, I found myself in a room where the walls were covered with the projection of a forest. How could it have not occurred to me that wooden baseball bats are, of course, made from trees!? I’d already found something about this museum (which I thought I’d have little to no interest in) that intrigued me. I learned that the Hillerich and Bradsby company plants more trees each year than they cut down, and watched manufacturing workers hand dip baseball bats in epoxy. After we walked out of the museum Sarah described to us this dynamic I hadn’t ever thought of before, that not only our relatively small Good Shepherd group, but humanity as a whole, is a group project. We all come together with skills, assets, and passions that are unique to each of us and empowering to a group. There are projects happening all over, especially where we least expect to find them.
Next, we took a brisk walk through downtown Louisville and ended up on the banks of the Ohio River. We boarded the Mary M. Miller, a day-cruise boat with three tiers and lots of good company. Even before we boarded, some of our travelers met Kentucky locals and connected over stories of living and aging. Hearing about this later, Alex and Nathan described ‘Sleepy Joe’ as a kind and thoughtful man, maybe having different views on global issues, but thoroughly enjoyable company nonetheless. I thought back to a few months ago when I had the opportunity to meet, listen to, and ask questions of Betsy Gaines-Quammen, author of American Zion. She essentially said that people are people, no matter the background, foreground, or anything in between. Politics and disagreeing opinions mean nothing when human connection is present and you are willing to listen whole and open heartedly. I saw this today when nine teenagers gathered around Sleepy Joe, an elderly man who got on his soapbox and shared with young people what his experience in this world looked like.
After our time on the Mary M. Miller, we headed over to Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum. I’ve watched the race before, but being on the track was a completely different experience than what it feels like through a screen. It’s easy, in this case and any, to make an assumption based off of a single story that spreads across society, but entering a space that holds it’s own truth is much more powerful. We learned the history of the derby and experienced it throughout the excursion. Mint juleps, big hats, bourbon and betting- there’s history there and entering a new space helped us to realize that there’s history behind our own truths and experiences too.
Finally, after a fun filled dinner (which I shared with our own lovely Robin, whom I had not yet had the pleasure of conversing with), we headed to a park and did what we Christian’s do best on Sundays. We worshipped. We sang, we communed, and reflected on the day. Sarah noticed a common theme within the group, a lot of us had the same goals after reading ‘Turning to One Another’. Today’s group project focused us around talking to people we don’t know or don’t talk to, and treasuring curiosity more than certainty. Not only did we set these goals as a group, but we also accomplished them. All day, we connected with each other and everyone around us which leaves us to reflect on a long day of questions that have perhaps been answered, or are just beginning to unravel.
