If you ever think "you know"--stop it...

You never know. That's my mantra and one that serves me well as the Rector of a remarkably diverse, outreach driven urban parish. You just never know.

A local choral group is singing as a benefit for the Soup Kitchen/Food Closet housed at St. John's. The director of the Soup Kitchen was inviting volunteers to consider coming and one of them, a woman who is probably late 40's early 50's (I hope I'm not too far off) who is a nursing student and volunteers several days a week told the director she's be glad to come and sing.

Barbara had to explain it was a concert that had singers but the woman did a little bit of a spiritual hymn for her so Barbara came to find me. It turns out this woman once was a vocalist for Count Basie's band. She did the first verse of "Swing Low" out in the hall of the church office and it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

"What do you do on Sunday morning?" I asked her.

"I go to church," she told me.

"How about coming here?" I responded.

I hadn't known she was working on a nursing degree and I certainly had no idea she could sing like an angel.

Most of the people I run into around here have something that shocks and surprises and delights me to share--and I never imagine that.

You just never know what's all around you, especially in a place like this....