Warmish Meeting Week

After a month of staying inside, this was a week of getting out. Thankfully, temps were in the 40's and 50's with sun. Getting out at church last Sunday still felt very cold though. Tuesday's outing was a much needed haircut and Thursday had a meeting of local pastors and church speakers.

This month's meeting was a "field trip" to one of the funeral homes in town. I used to work with the director in updating their website and got to know him well. Seeing more of his work was interesting, but not sure what I expected. However, Friday was the largest meeting event.

In late 2019, I joined the Olmstead Consumer Task Force. At that time, meetings were mainly in person with an option to meet virtually. Of course that switched a few months later and meetings have been virtual ever since.

I lead one of the sub groups and, a few months ago, member suggested we make a video for the task force to use in promotions and recruitment. It sounded great to everyone and I presumed we could use Zoom as our video recording device. However, a friend of another member is studying film and has access to good cameras and lighting. In the space of a few minutes, we suddenly planned to have everyone gather at my local library due to central location and so I didn't need to travel far in winter.

Therefore, since December I got my library card and arranged renting the meeting room. Our small group planned to join everyone else virtually, which meant we would need access to the room earlier than normal. Thankfully, I was told that wouldn't be a problem and all was set.

Friday morning, my caregiver and I arrived at 9:33 for our planned 9:30 meeting. I saw several people standing around the entrance and soon recognized faces as my group. Knocking on the door and phone calls didn't allow us entrance, but we were finally let in about 15 minutes later. Some quick tech setup allowed our group to join the rest of the task force just one minute late. It was great seeing real faces around us while grazing on Dutch treats, crackers, and other items.

The full group meeting finished early and we were soon off to work on our video project. The film student found a quiet corner of the library to setup his camera and lighting equipment. After short discussions, about six people gave planned and impromptu talks. I originally opted to do my segment in one take, but ended up redoing it after listening to other members and thinking of more to include.

Overall, I think it went well. I look forward to seeing the finished product and hope it works well for years to come. As I laid in bed Friday night, it occurred to me that I didn't take any pictures of our gathering and not sure anyone else thought of it either. Hopefully this will prompt more in-person meetings in the future, but it is easier in the quad life to stay virtual. This week appears to be calm again, except for preparing for my first sermon of the year.