Hugaholic

This is the story of how I met Gregory, a self-diagnosed hug-aholic.

Last Wednesday night I had the chance to go and worship at East Liberty Presbyterian Church for their Taize service. The service was in an old stone chapel decorated full of candles, icons, and banners. As we sat in the pews singing and praying, there was no one in front of the congregation leading worship, but instead different members of the congregation would lead prayers from their seat. Having no one up front to focus on only helped our focus on God.

Now East Liberty Presbyterian Church, you must understand, is located in a neighborhood in Pittsburgh that is said to be quite economically and socially depressed. A lot of the commercial building space is vacant and many of the houses are run down. The church itself is a beautiful historic building constructed with money from Andrew Carnegie. If the church wanted to, it could get by on the endowment from Carnegie. However, the church has committed itself to living and serving and not just getting by, and has therefore been quite involved with the community. The church supports local programs that help get community members ready to own homes that have been remodeled, and provide freshly grown food in formerly abandoned lots at a low cost. East Liberty Presbyterian Church is not just getting by, but giving life to a place which is used to desolation and abandonment. The church also warmly welcomes those in the community who many churches may not be as welcoming to.

This brings me to Gregory. I noticed Gregory during the worship service on Wednesday night. He sat towards the front of the sanctuary and sang with all of his heart during the worship service. He had one of those smiles that is contagious and begs you to begin a conversation because you just know there is a story waiting to be told. So, after the service I approached Gregory during a time of refreshments right outside of the chapel. Gregory warmly introduced himself and proceeded to tell me about his button that he made which reads "Hugaholic". He told me about the importance of hugs, how everyone needs hugs, that they are great because they are free, and pretty much that hugs just make the world a better place. Gregory gave me a pamphlet that he drew himself and made photocopies of describing the benefits of hugs with quotes about hugs from various authors. After talking to Gregory for a bit and learning just a small bit about his history I had to join up with my group again. Before I left I asked Gregory if I could give him a hug, and I am confident that us two men hugged the biggest most loving hug two strangers have ever hugged before. We smiled and said our goodbyes, thinking that this could possibly be the last time that we see each other.

Gregory however, had more love to give.

As I gathered some other members of the group that I was with, we headed downstairs to walk to labyrinth. Again, the room was filled with candles, banners of every color of the rainbow, and light instrumental music in the background. When I entered the basement, I found that most of my group, made up of high school students, was already walking the labyrinth, and there in the midst of them was a middle age man, Gregory. Gregory was not walking the labyrinth, he was gracefully dancing and moving with the music, letting the twists and turns of the labyrinth direct his movement. I did not walk the labyrinth, but sat and prayerfully walked the labyrinth through the movements of Gregory.

I saw God that night in the form of a middle aged man named Gregory dancing in and among us. Isn't that how it usually happens? God is right there in front of us, dancing through our lives, so in sync with the movements that we make, that it is hard to recognize at times. I believe that God is always around us in the beauty of music, art, the nature, and people around us, but we need to slow down sometimes to see that it is God. So, may we slow down and join God in the dance he is dancing. Let God wrap his hands around us, pull us tightly towards him and follow God's lead in this dance of life.