The Perks of Laboring Together

                Sometimes campus ministers get asked what we do during the summer, which is a fair question. Certainly, things change around campus and town when 25,000 of our closest friends leave for the summer (that’s my estimate). But the reality is the University of Michigan is a year-round institution. Many undergrads leave for the summer, but nearly all the graduate students stick around, and the faculty and staff are certainly here. Without the grind of as many class offerings they often have more wiggle room in their schedules for things like coffee with their friendly local campus minister.

                The summer is also the chance for our ministry to catch up on the sort of projects that don’t fit into the frenetic pace of the academic year. This year that meant a refresh of the Campus Chapel basement space. It had become a bit cluttered with the gradual accumulation of furniture and décor familiar to any homeowner. And the blue and orange wall colors needed to go. A simpler, cleaner look was our goal.

                The board allocated some funds, and we turned the project over to our extremely capable summer intern, Kate Tang. She was merciless but wise deciding what needed to go (not my beloved ping-pong table!). And the key piece to the whole project was a fresh coat of paint and new coordinating baseboards for the multipurpose area.

                We quickly decided this needed to be a community project, not a professional job (have you seen what painters charge these days?). So, we recruited our students and community members and put out the call to Ann Arbor CRC for volunteers. The team came through, and in just four days we got three coats up on the walls. That cinderblock really soaks up the paint!

                The finished project looks fantastic, especially with some new study desks and a few plants scattered around! But the surprise for me was how much I enjoyed the process. There’s something about working on a shared project, painting walls shoulder to shoulder, that allows for the conversations that might be a little too difficult sitting face to face across a table at a coffeeshop. One evening, as the Fleetwood Mac and Madonna were blasting (I was not in charge of music choices that night!), one of our students opened up to me about some heavy things in his life. He showed a vulnerability I’ve never seen from him before, and I tried to offer him the support and care he needed. And that wasn’t the only profound conversation I had or heard about during the basement project.

                I don’t think we’ll re-paint the basement annually, but these moments are reminders of how important it is to live life together in its variety and multitude. If we just worship together, we’ll miss out on these opportunities to bond. Especially in a context where mental activity is paramount, sharing the work of our hands, whether painting, gardening, washing dishes, or something else, opens the door to connection that reflects a wholistic gospel witness. After all, Jesus’s ministry didn’t just happen in synagogues, but walking the road and on fishing boats and around tables, not to mention the majority of his adult life that we don’t have stories about. How many profound conversations did he have while working with “strong hands… skilled at the plane and the lathe?” We’ll never know, but I’m guessing it was many.