Flock

We all want to be part of a flock since we all want that sense of belonging. My grandson’s flock is Star Wars. He’s obsessed with Star War’s legos and he told Santa he wanted the Death Star Lego. His parents were horrified since it costs more than $1300! He loves meeting and playing with other kids that love Star Wars. They talk excitedly about their lightsabers, legos, and characters. He begged me to knit him something that had some kind of Star Wars character. I created this hat from a vanilla hat pattern and the chart from the Star Wars knitting book (Knitting the Galaxy). When he wears it to school his flock will recognize him. I wonder how long he will be a member of this flock.

It’s nice to find like-minded people. When knitters flocked together in Rhinebeck NY this year, I felt like I knew everybody there. This one thing we had in common that caused us to want to meet up created an immediate sense of community and comradery.

I have had the honor of baptizing people. The most poignant moment for me is anointing the head with oil and saying “you are marked as Christ’s own forever. Baptized people are part of the Christian flock and follow the shepherd of love. Unlike sheep, we choose to follow the shepherd. We choose to be part of the Christian flock. When we step inside a church of people marked as Christ’s own forever, we can hope to be loved and accepted. It is our role as one of the flock to make it so. This is what we expect from the flock. We belong to the shepherd and we belong to one another. Life is better in a flock because we know that what we do affects everyone in the flock.

My prayer is that all of us in the earthly flock will be cognizant of others and get vaccinated. Let’s end this pandemic and the misery it is causing. Some of my dearest friends are not vaccinated but I’m going to reach out and appeal to their sense of flock. Maybe you could do the same.