Combines, Outhouses, and Community (or lack of)

“I was a new pastor in Geddes, SD. A “farm” town. And I was more than a little green behind my ears. And even though I grew up in South Dakota, I was a “town” kid. The only “farm” memories I had were of going to Grandma Zantow’s place (mom’s side) when I was little. I have to say I didn’t really care for it. For one thing, it smelled funny. There were cow pies everywhere. Every time I went outside I felt like I was playing “Don’t step on the crack or you’ll break your mother’s back” only I wasn’t avoiding the cracks, I was avoiding the giant “cow chips” all over the yard! And for another, grandma didn’t have a bathroom! I didn’t realize this until it was 2 in the morning, and I had to go really really bad! So, I ran to the hallway and opened the bathroom door and realized I wasn’t in the bathroom. I was in the closet. So, I woke up mom and she said “Honey, Grandma doesn’t have a bathroom. You have to go out back to the outhouse.” And I said, “But Mom, It’s cold out there!”  And she said, “Then put on a coat.” And I said, pleadingly, “But what if there are coyotes out there!’  And she laughed and said, “Honey, you’re on a farm now. Those eyes are not going to work out here. You are just going to have to toughen up and go it alone. Mommy is not getting up at 2 in the morning to help you pee!”  

And so, poor little town kid put on his coat and headed out into the dark prairie night to go to the bathroom! And everything was fine until I got in the outhouse (and let me just say here...the grossest experience of my young life) and as I was reading the Sears Catalogue (what was that doing out here) I heard a noise. “Was that a gobble?” I whispered. And then I peered out of a window and noticed that the entire outhouse was surrounded by turkeys! Big giant turkeys who seemed to be ready to carry out their Thanksgiving revenge on me!

And so, I waited and waited and waited for what Mom had said I needed, to show up. But no matter how hard I prayed. No matter how hard I wanted it. That farm “toughness” never came. Eventually, fear propelled me out of the outhouse, and I closed my eyes and ran for the house! And just when I thought I had made it I felt a sharp little peck on my backside! I had vowed then, to stay clear of the “farm” experience from then on.

But now, here I was, sent by God to serve in a church in Geddes, SD. I mean every person I met was a farmer! And so, when Maynard Bridges called me up one late Autumn Day and said, “Pastor Brook, how would you like to help me with the harvest?”  What was I supposed to say?

As I drove up to Maynard’s place that same “smell” permeated my space. I thought for sure that Maynard was probably going to have me picking up cow chips by the end of the day! And if they had an outhouse I was turning around!

Well, actually their house was beautiful! And they did indeed have an outhouse, but that was just for show. The real one was inside now.

After sharing some coffee with Maynard and Eleanor, we headed out to the barn and there in the barn was the most beautiful piece of machinery I had ever seen...a John Deere Combine. Let me tell you folks, this thing had every bell and whistle I had ever seen. Why it was even air conditioned!  It even had a GPS tracking system that showed you on a map just what this particular section was producing compared to last year’s production!

Maynard invited me up into the cab and I just couldn’t believe it!

As we were harvesting, I noticed that during this whole time Maynard was smiling from ear to ear! I finally told him to stop and asked, “Maynard, I just happened to realize that you are smiling from ear to ear. Why? What are you thinking about?”  And Maynard looked at me and said, “Pastor Brook, when I was growing up on the farm, we harvested the old way...by hand. We walked through these fields and picked corn by hand! Today I can harvest this field in 2 hours. Back in those days it took my whole family and the neighbors’ kids to harvest this field, and we weren’t finished harvesting until Thanksgiving if we were lucky! This combine is a miracle!”

And it was! It truly was! But, about 15 minutes after that revelation, Maynard stopped again and this time he had a tear in his eye, “But, you know Pastor Brook, those days weren’t all bad. I mean harvest back then was hard, but it was also community. We had to do it together. Harvest was a time when neighbors worked with neighbors. Why, on harvest days we’d have 30 or 40 people out in the field working together and 30 and 40 folks in the kitchen preparing the meal. And when we finished and gathered for a meal, we laughed and told stories all night. Nowadays, I’m not going to lie. It gets kind of lonely out here up in this combine.”

That, my friends, is the story of the world these days. We all marvel at technology for the miracle it is, but in the end the price we often pay for it is community. It’s no secret that the number one issue in our world today...the issue that is underneath so much of what is wrong with us these days...is loneliness. People are disconnected. People are isolated. People are lonely. And when we feel this way, all sorts of “dis-eases” beset us.

Last night, our men’s group met at Doug Shirley’s place for a gathering. 15 men showed up and laughed and cried and told stories. We weren’t meeting in a “zoom” chat room, but in real, 3D time. And when I left, I felt human again. I felt real. I felt like I had regained a little bit of my 3-dimensional self. I felt like I had a soul again.

I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy. But I think what the church might just have to offer the world right now might be this...a chance to bump into real people. Maybe that’s why “during the passing of the peace” our church erupts into sounds of laughter and life. Sometimes I just want to record it and put it out on the internet because that sound is just so infectious!

This Sunday, our church is gathering for a Thanksgiving soup dinner. We aren’t going to be coming in from the fields, but my hope is that it will be a time where we celebrate a God and a community that I believe in so many ways, might just be the same thing.

Your friend and pastor, ready to climb off that lonely combine and join in, Brook