The Birthday Breakfast Club – 26 years and counting: l to r: Betty, me, Meg, Judy, Nancy, Tonia, Carol
It began as an experiment – a group of 12 women in the same church community gathering around birthday celebrations. No set ‘spiritual’ agenda, just story-sharing. Oh my, were we surprised. Each of us unique, each of us with a story, a journey to share together – to talk about and wonder over and find God at work in. Some of us housewives and/or stay-at-home moms, a couple of us seminary professors, one a nurse, one a bookkeeper, one a teacher. All of us very quickly fiercely committed to being together around a meal (most often breakfast in the beginning, later morphing to whatever worked!). We came to celebrate one another and to celebrate our shared journey.
For me, this group proved to be one of the most significant and profound spiritual friendship groups in my life – my story turned to seminary at mid-life and a call to ministry that surprised all of us, me most especially. We laughed (and gave each other hilarious cards), we ate, we cried. Eventually, we began yearly weekend retreats together for deeper conversation and greater vulnerability. We’ve walked through deaths together and life together. We’ve talked through troubled children and losing jobs and feeling lost and being found. Now separated from this group by over 100 miles, we still make space to be all together at least once each year. How I thank God for the gift of enduring friendships over long stretches of time, for the joy of shared stories across the years, for the wisdom of women and the grace of friendship.
5 minutes up (actually an extra 30 seconds or so!)
