I haven't met many people who don't enjoy going to a BBQ. Oddly enough, even though it is called a BBQ, it is code for something else. Yes the food matters, more to some than to others, but a BBQ is an event.
When someone invites you to a backyard BBQ what images come to your mind?
For me I think about sitting by the pool, games in the grass, warm weather and cold Dr. Pepper. Kids running around squealing and some of the better conversations I have had in my life. Oh yeah and a great burger or steak or ribs or chicken or bratwursts or....well you get the idea.
There is something unusual about a BBQ. It is a meal, it is a social event, it is a gathering, it is it's own thing.
I read about a Rodney Scott in South Carolina, famous for the BBQs he puts on. Listen to what he said:
Everybody around these parts knows that anyone and everyone is invited to this party. Barbecue is a place, a space for people to commune. It is a gathering, it’s just a laid-back type of thing.
I never gave it much thought, but this is BBQ as a healthy culture. Rodney sees the world through grill covered glasses! He said every BBQ is "a reunion, a party for everybody to come and join in and enjoy each other’s company. It has food, music, family. Who doesn't need that?"
This is open-source barbecue, barbecue as social leveler. (That sounds deep, I didn't come up with it, I stole it from the author of the article, Rien Fertel)
Why all this about BBQs? Because you need to attend one! There are at least three reasons why this is the perfect time for a back yard BBQ:
It can help put some life back in your life
You have missed so many things. You found many of things you missed you took for granted and now you see why they are important. That is a long way of saying you don't know what you got till its gone. We have lost something by not gathering together for simple things like BBQs. You need it back!
Even the most introverted among us need some human connection. BBQ is the great social leveler and even better it comes with no expectations.
You are missing people you don't know
Truth be told you are probably missing some people you already know because you haven't had as many opportunities to connect. It is fun to have you family, friends, neighbors and even coworkers all in the same place. But you know who else you are missing...people you missed out on meeting in the first place.
A BBQ is the perfect place to casually meet and get to know some folks you keep seeing but don't really talk to. You can get acquainted or reacquainted with people in a fun and easy environment.
Together we are lonely
People are starting to deal with the isolation we have experienced and it isn't pretty. Mental health is on the decline even as things "get back to normal". Yes there is a sense of relief, a feeling of finally this is over. Yet for many, there is also unresolved grief, stress and a sense of losing connection with people.
We were not meant to be alone. God created us to live in relationship and in community. We are starting to see how dangerous it is when that is compromised. Isolation is one of the worst punishments prisoners receive. It strains our well being.
Your family, your friends, your neighbors and your co-workers need to be in relaxed environments where they feel welcome and have an opportunity to connect and belong. Maybe a simple thing like a back yard BBQ is the beginning of an answer.
If you think I am saying all this because I want you to come to the Backyard BBQ at Mountain Ridge...You are right! I know it is going to be a good time. If you come and bring someone with you it will be a great time.
I very much want you to be there.
I would love to connect with you, meet your friends, play some games, watch the kids run around howling and playing. Since we are at it, we may as well enjoy a burger and some Kona Ice too!
I need this, and I think you do too.
Need info? check out Summer at Ridge for all the details.
Or make it easy on yourself, get friend or neighbor and come hungry to the church at 6:00PM on Sunday, May 23rd. It is going to be the perfect start to summer.
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