An Assortment of Things

I encountered an odd assortment of things while decluttering the stage at the church this week: donated plastic crawfish trays, a painted ocean seascape we used as the backdrop for our Vacation Bible school, a plastic parrot and captain's wheel, a bag of heavy iron chains, hoards of dusty plastic easter eggs, old towels, 35 large cardboard tubes, poly-fil stuffing, and a child's desk. Wedged behind the file cabinet, was the most beffudling find: a fold-out posterboard of a science project from someone's past titled, "Does a Rabbit's Sex Determine Its Appetite?" While I can generally think up a myriad of uses for things, I carried this one to the curb.
When I opened an antique hutch, I found faded poster boards of pictures created for the Sunday school classes from 25 years ago, and enjoyed hunting for familiar faces. I wondered where those now grown children are, and what their lives are like. Going even farther back, I found pictures of Vacation Bible school at our church in the 1950's. Looking at the neat rows of children, with starched dresses and collared shirts, and smiling teachers in pearls, I thought of how different some things are now. I understood better the blissful reminiscing of some of our older members of the "glory days" of the church. They seem to still be wishing for a begone era when things were simpler, tidier and more presentable.
It's amazing the collection of things which accumulate at a church over the years. I wonder which artifacts or photos we will leave behind which will befuddle future generations, and what the make-up of the church will be then. So many lives and so much stuff intersects at a church over the years.