Friday night was something special. Adults and kids from The Gathering UMC went over to St. Mary's hospital and did some caroling. We walked up and down the halls singing carols to try to brighten up the sprits of the patients there at this time of year.
My wonderful wife organizes this every year and this is the third year running and the first year I was able to go. In the past we just opened it up to children and family from the church. It was an activity for the kids ministry. The first year kids even made some wreaths to give out. This year it was decided to just open it up to anyone that wanted come and join us. My wife figured the more the merrier.
In order to make sure we covered all the floors that the hospital wanted us to cover she enlisted the help of another employee those also attends the Gathering. That way we could split up in two groups with her leading one and him leading the other. She was able to get two guitar players so each group had their own to accompany them. She also thought if we got enough we could leave a group in the lobby. Well not only did we leave a group in the lobby we had a ukele band playing in the lobby.
So when the time came we left a group in the lobby and the kids and some of the adults split in two and headed to the floors. We went up and down the halls singing and we had staff joining in as we went. Family members were poking heads out doors as they heard us coming. Patients were waving and smiling from their beds and chairs in the rooms as we went by.
After we got done with the floors the timing could not be better as both groups got the lobby at the same time and we joined up iwth the group in the lobby and just sang some more down there before finally calling it a night and enjoying some hot cocoa and cookies before heading home. A great time was had by all.
I can't even explain in words how it felt to see the patients smiling and waving, family members doing the same and making sure their loved ones saw and heard us, and staff members joining in as we past them in the halls. It almost brought a tear to my eye on more than one occassion as we went around the halls. What a feeling. The kids have a great time and even if they all don't quite realize how much it means to those patients that we come around I know some of them do. It is a great service that they can easily do that means a lot to the people there.
