I’m sure most of you are aware that this year marks the 45th year since the passing of Elvis Presley. I’m also sure most of you went to see the Elvis movie this month.  Wait, you didn’t, you haven’t?????  Well, not everyone is a follower of Elvis but for those who are, I might be in that group, all of the above are true. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie not only for the music, but the acting as well.  From the movie I learned several things I previously didn’t know about Elvis’ life in the early days. My friend Mary, who is certainly a devoted Elvis fan, was excited about the movie, since she was taking her two grandsons to see it. She wanted them to see why she was such a fan of his singing and for them to also learn a little bit about who he was, as it’s been 45 years since his last rendition of, “Unchained Melody.” So, the only way they were going to learn  about why he was such a sensation during that time was by going to movies featuring his life story. And then their Grandmother could fill in the blanks with her stories of listening to his music and seeing him in concert several times.

Priscilla Presley, his wife, attended a showing of the movie just to see if there were still people who cared and remembered Elvis and to discover if the audience enjoyed this history lesson. Much to her appreciation, the audience was clapping at the end and many tears were shed at the conclusion. She was thrilled to see that people remembered him, senior citizens as well as many younger viewers, and that his contribution to music was still alive within their hearts. As I was thinking about the movie, I realized how important it is for us to keep alive the memory of people who’ve changed the world in some way. This is why my friend, Mary, wanted to share this movie with her grandsons and help to keep that memory alive.

I’m sure many of you, like me, have deceased family and friends.  Many times I find myself sharing their life stories with others so that I can keep their memory alive for myself as well as others. But many times, even in the best of situations, people are forgotten. Eventually there aren’t any people left who actually knew them and all we have are their passed down stories. And over time, those stories, unless written and captured somewhere are gone.  Even the stories that are written get discarded at some point.  They don’t hold any meaning for the generations following them as they’ve become so removed from life due to the passing of time.   Only in the cases of individuals like Elvis, whose music dominated the industry,  do we see a thriving fan base still remembering him today.  When you add to this his sudden death at a relatively young age it’s not surprising that movies about his life are still being made today and continue to draw a crowd. Plus, there’s a huge organization keeping his memory alive at Graceland.  But over time, even these memories will begin to fade as fewer people continue to carry the torch and actually remember him.  It all becomes a part of history. Just like wars, 911, the bubonic plague and someday, COVID. Unless there are large numbers of people continuing to tell the story, and tell it accurately, all events and people fall into oblivion and soon, no one is interested any longer. Something new has replaced the space once occupied by these people and events.

In light of this evidence regarding the “law” of decreasing popularity and awareness, the “Living the Christian Experience,” team decided it was time to hold a live gathering for any of it’s followers who were willing and able to attend. Sharing the written word through it’s blog and prayer list is a great way to stay connected, but there’s really nothing quite like the real thing. It had been several years since a community event as such was held and we thought it was time. So a live event was scheduled, marketed and held at a local coffee shop. As I reflect on our first post pandemic gathering last week, it reminded me of the Elvis story and the necessity of continuing to share our faith stories. I felt that it was time for us to gather again as community and share our stories. It was a time to continue to keep God and the life of Jesus here on earth alive in our hearts, minds and soul. “Everyday they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.: Act 2: 46-47.

During our gathering, we enjoyed all of the benefits of this scripture verse including our very own, Elvis, (John Anderson) accompanied by another John as they wooed us with their rendition of “I can’t help falling in Love with You”! We sang, we broke “cookies”, we prayed and quizzed each other on Bible trivia. When we gather in community, it’s an opportunity to learn some new ideas, provide us with a renewed spark of evangelization and support each other in continuing to build the kingdom. As apostles of Christ we are called to impart the Good News to others and keep the story alive. Share it with everyone!

We can each look back at our faith experiences and see that in these shared moments of community we can be fully energized and amazed. In the Gospel of Luke we hear how when the shepherds saw Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in the manager, they proceeded to make the message known to others and all those who heard were amazed. I know there are many times that I have been amazed by things I’ve heard in community. When I visited Bethlehem with a community of travelers, I was amazed at what I saw, felt and heard and I wanted to share that experience with all those whom I would encounter. I wanted them to see and feel what I saw and felt as I sat on the cold, hard stone in a cave that could have been the site of the birth of Jesus. There were no stockings hung by the fire in hopes that they would be filled with marvelous treats. Instead, we sat on those rough stones and reflected on how there was no room at the inn and how the birth of our Lord and Savior took place in a cold, damp and dark place such as this. I was amazed, “at all I saw and wondered,” how anyone could doubt the story of Jesus. But 2000 years later, we know there’s many who doubt that Christ lived or that he died and rose from the dead! But since I was there and could see, touch and feel the very ground upon which he came into the world, I have no doubt He was born, died and rose from the dead.

As we gathered together in community we were able to keep the story alive and to share that story just like we share the latest movie we’ve seen. None of us has a first hand experience of Jesus but we have a Bible that tells the story of Jesus through the experiences of four evangelist who ate meals, walked, talked and experienced life with him. We have amazing paintings, painted by artists who did see, touch and feel the body and soul of Jesus. There are signs and symbols everywhere to share with others about our faith and belief in Christ Jesus. To be an apostle, it’s important to know that story, so we can share it with others. That’s what makes bible study, bible trivia, prayer groups and gathering in community so important in today’s world. In Bishop Barron’s recent book, “Redeeming the Time,” he states that, “A recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that now fully one-fourth of Americans belong to no religion at all….in the eighteen to twenty-nine age group, the percentage of ‘nones’ goes up to 40!”

Catholicism is no exception to this statistic. We see declining numbers in the pews each Sunday. We only need to look at our children, who were born and raised Catholic who no longer are active in their faith. These facts make it more important than ever for us to be vigilant in keeping the story alive. Whether others choose, including our children, to listen, believe or change their views, is important but not nearly as important as the fact that we continue to tell the story. Without our sharing books, thoughts and words from the bible, our faith will fade from the landscape. It’s possible for it to be just another lost memory. We’ll need to google “Catholic” just to see what it even means.

“In our day Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples” echoes in the changing scenarios and ever new challenges to the Church’s mission of evangelization, and all of us are called to take part in this new missionary “going forth”. Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the “peripheries” in need of the light of the Gospel.” -Pope Francis EG 20

We are each called, as Pope Francis writes, to get out of our comfort zones and reach out to others needing our help, prayers and message of the Good News.  It’s up to us to keep the faith alive and to share our stories with others.  Each day I try to remember that the Good News is the story of loving one another.  Not just loving those who love me, but loving everyone.  At the end of the day, do the people with whom I’ve come in contact feel loved, know more about God and wish they could learn more because they met me?    Wish I could say that at the end of every day, they do, but that would be fake news.  But each new day provides an opportunity to try again to be the person who spreads God’s great love, word and acceptance so that they will know I am Christian by my love.

Thanks to each of you who came out to be community and share your stories. If you were not able to be with us this time, we hope and pray that we will see you the next time. Keep on sending in those prayer requests, reading the blog and when it’s time, we hope to do it again. If you have ideas for future locations, topics and fun activities , feel free to let us know. If you’d like to write something for the community and share your story, do that too. We’re always looking for faith stories to post to our blog. And if something on the blog speaks to you, speak to us by commenting on the article.

We appreciate each and everyone of you and hope you will stay connected and bring others. Anyone can subscribe to the blog and prayer list just by going to our site: LivingtheChristianExperience. Sign up in the box on the right hand side of the home page. An email will be sent to your inbox, just reply that you received it and you’re in!  Hope to hear from you there!

Highlights of our gathering: