Quality Family Time | by Linda Brendle

“The Family that prays together, stays together.” The two sources I checked disagree about who actually came up with the slogan, but both agree that it was first used during the Roman Catholic Family Rosary Crusade, the post-World War II brainchild of Father Patrick Peyton. The slogan has been co-opted by others. In February of 1954 Parents’ Magazine said “The Family that plays together, stays together,” and in December of 2001, the Times said “History has forgotten Catherine Hogarth, as her husband [Charles Dickens] eventually did. Those who cook together stay together. Maybe because they cannot decide who should get the blender.” My version would read “The family that spends time together, stays together.” Not very catchy, I’ll admit, but true nonetheless.

If you believe the ads you see on TV, quality family time consists of expensive vacations to theme parks or time spent playing video games or crowded onto the sofa watching the latest movie on demand while eating tasty snacks. I recently saw a version of quality family time that was quite different from the Madison Avenue version.

When Did This Become My Job? | by Linda Brendle

I joined a work party on Friday to paint the inside of the Senior Center here in Emory. It’s an older building that has been well used and was in need of a face lift. The director secured a small grant for carpet for the entry hall and offices, paint, tile for a backsplash in the kitchen, blinds, and three baseboard heaters, but she didn’t have enough money left to cover labor costs. Our church is always on the lookout for “Outside the Building” projects, so David and I stopped by the pastor’s office on the way home from lunch one day to discuss the possibilities. A couple of phone calls and a visit or two later, David was asked to head up the project and a call for volunteers went out.