Traditions

October 18, 2016 was Tinker Day.  Tinker Day is a Hollins University Tradition spanning more than 100 years!  Each October, Hollins University students are surprised to be woken up by Seniors banging pots and pans through the hallways, ushering in a grand day of festivities.  A breakfast of Krispy Kreme donuts proceeds a special decree on Front Quad in which the University President (at present Nancy Gray) officially cancels classes for the day. All of the students get dressed in the wackiest costumes possible and they then hike to the top of Tinker Mountain where classes sing songs, perform skits, and stuff themselves with fried chicken and Tinker cake (chocolate).  For four years it is the most anticipated day of the academic year.  You know it is coming in October but you have no idea when and the first month of school is spent speculating; comparing the dates of sporting events, knowing it won't be on a Friday, and keeping an eye out for any suspicious Krispy Kreme deliveries on campus.  By the power of social media, now more than ever, Hollins Graduates are encouraged to continue to celebrate Tinker Day.  Many alumnae chapters hold their own Tinker Day events.  Lots of Hollins women reminisce by posting photos from bygone days (see below).  If we're lucky, we get to have Krispy Kreme donuts and stay in our PJs, or plan to at least wear something "funky" to work that day.  Some graduates even celebrate a special Tinker Day with their families and have dinners of fried chicken and chocolate cake in their homes. 

Very First Tinker Day with all the residents of Randolph 2

Senior Year Tinker Day, 2006

 



What is it about this tradition that makes it so special?  Ironically, even though we mention it so frequently, it isn't about the donuts or the wacky costumes.  It's about celebrating community.  It is about joining other people in a shared experience that creates space for fellowship and provides a branch on which to hang memories and meaning. 

So, that got me thinking about the faith traditions that we celebrate.  What are some things that we do as Christians that we consider to be 'traditions'?  What are the things by which we make meaning in our faith journeys?  What are things that we do by motor memory, time and time again? 

Most importantly, we do the things that Jesus taught us.  We do the things that Jesus did.  We pray the Lord's Prayer, we experience baptism and make commitments to one another as the water is poured.  We also celebrate the Lord's Supper.  We partake in the bread and cup as Jesus invited us to do in remembrance of him. 

 As Christians, we all celebrate these traditions, these sacraments, a little bit differently.  For example,  in the Lord's Prayer, some denominations use the language of trespasses, some use the language of debts, and the ecumenical version as seen here, says sins.  When we communicate the importance of baptism, some denominations favor adult baptisms, some believe in infant baptisms.  In the Presbyterian Church, we do not find age to be an issue, a person can be baptized at any age.  But, we believe that a person only needs to be baptized once in their lives as a sign and seal of God's great love for them.  Communion can be served with wafers and tiny cups on trays.  Communion can be served by intinction, where the bread is dipped in the cup.  You can drink grape juice or wine at the Lord's Supper.  You can celebrate it once a month or every Sunday in worship.  These are traditions that are held in common among Christians.  These are the foundations of our worship life together.  Isn't that amazing to consider? 

If you attend Covenant you may have noticed that we've changed a little bit of worship, especially how we begin our services.  We have (for the time being) tinkered with a beloved tradition known at Covenant as "the entry of the word" as the choir processes into the sanctuary along with the pulpit Bible. We changed this entry to occur during the first hymn and we bring something else along with it.  We bring the Bible as well as the elements of our two sacraments.  We bring in water for the baptismal font and bread and cup for the Communion table.  Word and Sacrament are equally important in our reformed tradition and so we wanted to highlight that each Sunday.

 I wonder if we can bring the same joy and energy to the traditions of our faith as we do to our family traditions or our college traditions.  I love looking back at Tinker Day.... but how often do I really reflect on my baptism for instance (even though I am reminded to do so at every baptism).  Maybe you have a football game day tradition or a college homecoming that you never miss.  Maybe Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas bring about family traditions that have passed through generations. My best friend got married a few weeks ago and her mother brought a ring for her to wear that had belonged to the bride's great grandmother (if I recall correctly).  She wore earrings that her father had given to her mother. This is the same friend who let me wear her grandmother's pearls on my own wedding day, my something borrowed.  How beautiful.  How sacred. 

I wonder if we can come to the Lord's Table each month with the same awe as we do these other things.  Because all traditions find community at the heart of them.  I think we would do well to approach these traditions; The Lord's Prayer, Baptism, and The Lord's Supper, with new eyes.  Instead of going through the motions like we normally do: let us be charged to hear the words that are being read and spoken aloud.  Let us reflect on what we mean when we speak, "Give us this day our daily bread."  Let us think about the cleansing waters of baptism and feel the ways in which gathering around the table for Jesus' feast can be a moment of renewal and healing.  After all, traditions become familiar, that is why we like them.  But each occasion is nuanced.  Each occasion is a new thing, even as we participate in words and actions that are centuries old.  And, if we do it right, can continue long after we are gone.