I'm A Lima Visitor

Early on Saturday morning, with the temperature down in the teens, I hopped in the car and pointed it toward Lima, Ohio. Actually, I was going toward Shawnee (pronounced with the accent on the last syllable) and the Shawnee United Methodist Church; home of my classmate, Bryan Bucher.

My purpose? I wanted to experience the town of Shawnee, interview some of the people who call it home, and visit the church in order to learn what I could about Bryan's context. My experience there will ultimately be a part of Bryan's anthropology paper.

By the way, those of you who were at Grandview last Sunday, worshipped with Bryan. He did the same thing, on the same days, for me. I hope you were all well behaved.

An hour and a half after leaving home I was pleased to see the skyline of Cincinnati.

Between Cincy and Dayton I got to see what comedian Heywood Banks calls, "Big Butter Jesus" (he thinks it looks like it's carved from butter). I don't know anything about this church but they've certainly made a splash with the statue. When I saw it I was reminded of that scene in Planet of the Apes when Charleton Heston discovers the Statue of Liberty in pieces on the beach. "They blew it up!" He yells in disgust.

It's a little sad that something created with such high purposes and hopes can, in the end, come across so comically. To me it looks like Peter sinking on the Sea of Galilee. But I digress. I had heard about this statue before the trip, so I kept my eyes open for it. The above picture is downloaded from the internet. This is the best I could with a camera phone while driving . . . ummm . . . I think I was going about 65 mph.

I arrived in Shawnee about 11 am and this was my first gander at Shawnee United Methodist.

I drove around, hoping to get a feel for the town. I recorded my first impressions of the area in a notebook that I will give to Bryan. Then I met one of the leaders of his church at a restaurant called, "Happy Daze." It is a small local chain of restaurants with a 50s vibe.
I'm familiar with 50s-themed restaurants, but "Mid-American" restaurant genre was new to me. Below you will see "Ike's". I wound up eating breakfast there on Sunday. It is a restaurant caught in a transition. It appears to have been the "smoker's" restaurant (for those of you in Johnson City, think of an upscale Aunt B's). However, a new law has been passed in Ohio than bans smoking in public. If I were a smoker I would still go to Ike's. The residue of Marlboro could still satisfy a smoker--but the food is good.

I found a wi-fi/convenient store near the restaurant. It was a good "park and type-on-my-computer" place for the in-between times.

I noticed a major Catholic community in Shawnee. There is a large (new looking) Catholic high school, a newish Knights of Columbus building, and a large Catholic Church building.

I went by the house of the Yunkers, a gracious and hospitable family from ShawneeUM, and dropped my luggage. Then I went to visit Sue at her home in order to interview her. She was a the kind of person that sort of leaves you inspired by her faith, determination, and depth.

After my time with Sue, Charlotte the Associate gave me a tour of the Shawnee's building. The coolest thing, to me, was there "Solid Rock Cafe'." This room, designed by Bryan, is set up for small to medium gatherings. The room can be rented (dirt cheap) by the community for various events. When I arrived a family was using it for their extended family Christmas party.

Another view of the Solid Rock Cafe'
This is the original sanctuary. It is still used for the traditional, first service.

Hey, look, an indoor playground! It reminded me of Grandview!

Their kids Sunday School classes are all themed. This is the outdoor room, it also serves as the meeting space for local scout troops.

This is the movie room.

This is the new multi-purpose room. There are chair teams that set up and break down each week in order to convert it from a space for gathered worship into a basketball/volleyball/play space.

Some different views. I only had my camera phone this weekend, so the pictures leave much to be desired.

After the second service.

I wound up interviewing about eight people and attending two services (both services were the Christmas Cantata). After having lunch with a leader of the church--then a quick interview with the music movers and shakers--I jumped back into my car and made it home about 7:30pm.

It was a busy two days. I was surprised by how hard it is to try to take so much in so quickly. I going to cut this blog entry short and then try to put together a report worthy of the experience. This blog is insufficient . . . and will remain so! I have to get busy.

I would like to thank Gary, Sue, Tim, Tara, Charlotte, Bob, Roger (who went to Wabash College with a friend of mine!), and Shane for wonderful hospitality and for allowing me a glimpse of their missionally-minded church. I'm pleased that when we leave Asbury in May I will be able to say, "Bryan's in a better place now."