What ever do they do?

I started this from a personal perspective and as my blog, it should be. However, from my preacher perspective, it seems that I should blog in a broader sense - not just about the town where I live, but about the communities that make up this county. Some might say from a preacher perspective, you would rather I blogged about church and God and eternal life. For today, this blog is about my personal life here in the almost Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania.

When I arrived in Tioga County, I wondered about the turns my life would take. High on my list of things I wanted from this move was a sense of community. Coming from a metropolis, I asked if there would be choices of things to do. Would I like the choices? Would the people like and accept me so that I could be part of the community? Today I write about "community" another time, I will write about acceptance. This is part of what I have learned about ways to spend time in this community. These are offerings in a recent 7-day period:

* Attending our local five-star community theatre where two productions are staged odd nights would have enriched you. This month, “Underneath the Lintel” and “7 Stories” are on stage. I hope to get to both this coming weekend.
* For the athletically inclined there are tai-chi classes, yoga at several studios, water aerobics, hiking in the Pine Creek area, biking (b-r-r-r).
* There are reading groups keeping up with the current and the not so current; one locally owned and operated bookstore has a movie afternoon (Sunday) and game night (Friday). This week is “Friday Club” instituted in 1906 by women wanting cerebral involvement and now comprised of dedicated residents who select a topic each year and all current members write a quality report on the selected topic. This year, we are tackling 21st Century authors.
* Anyone who is musically inclined would do quite well – Wednesday Morning Musicale offers many varieties of music for listening or playing. The Penn-Wells hotel has Jazz night and the Wren’s Nest restaurant has Jazz Wednesday. Mansfield University – an institution filled with world-class music majors – sponsors many evening performances that are open and free. Not to mention both Men's Chorus and Women's Chorus. I think carrying a tune is a requirement of both, so I am not ever trying out!
* We have dream groups and self-awareness groups and self-improvement {they are not all the same :o)}.
* Rotary and Kiwanis are active in the county.
* Local faith communities are offering Lenten series. One on Wednesday and one on Thursday. As pastor of this year’s host church, I preached at last week’s Thursday lunch service: Praying for the right-brained.
* Faith communities offer suppers and games and movies.
* Did I mention photography and art?

Finally, there is the sisterhood of creative and awesome women who are now my sisters.

The above is not all-inclusive. What I hear from others and what I see as I write is that a calendar could be full of events of various ilk. If you lived here, you would see people you know and like (and some you don’t especially like) at these places. Your mind could overflow with enrichment or you could lounge around over a beer sopping up culture. Or both. How great is this?