I'm on my way to meet my "Godfamily" for a week of camping and fun. What is a Godfamily, you ask? Back in Dallas, I was in a choir at All Saints Catholic Church. "The Fellowship Strummers and Singers" started in December 1983 and I was a charter member. It was and still is an amazing group of people who believe and live what music ministry is all about. By 1986, we were pretty big and membership included a wide range of ages and talent. Within the choir, there was a group of singles and instead of joining the regular church singles group, we sort of formed our own. It started with going out for ice cream at Braum's after practice on Wednesday nights. And soon, it grew to a core group of seven folks who spent a LOT of time together: Virginia, Hank, David, Jimmy, Keely, Mary S., and me. We called ourselves the Church Chums, and though we had lots of other friends and we included many people in our activities, we were the core and we were The Chums. This group embodies what Fellowship is all about. We worked, laughed, played, volunteered, ate, listened, moved, traveled, and cried together. Several folks went through job changes that were really new callings to very different careers--youth ministry, non-profit work, living in covenant and working with the homeless. Now those are serious job changes. Several of us lost close family members during that time. And The Chums were there to support each other through it all.
After a while the intensity of time spent together waned but the friendship and fellowship never did. David and Virginia got married and Jimmy and I were godparents to their first child, a girl. A year later (plus a few months), they had a boy, and David's sister and Hank were godparents. When the next boy came along, Mary S. and Steve S. (not related and not a Chum but a good friend of all of us) were godparents. Three more boys followed. I think I've lost track of who the godparents are.
When David and Virginia lived in Dallas, we all still spent a lot of time together and D&V were always really good about including their single friends in their lives. One time, Virginia was telling me that their oldest son (only 5 years old at the time) was complaining that "life isn't fair" 'cuz his sister had two godparents who were around a lot and he didn't. His godfather had moved out of town at that point and his godmother was also his aunt and he couldn't figure out at that young age how one person could be both. For whatever reason, I got inspired and came up with a crazy notion of inventing "Godfriends". The motto was, "Parents pick Godparents, but friends pick Godfriends." I ran the idea past Virginia and past my goddaughter and they both thought it was a good idea, so I asked the oldest son if he would be interested in having a Godfriend. He liked the idea and we've been Godfriends ever since.
Well, along comes the next son and on one of my visits to them in New York, the question came up, "What's a Godfriend and can I be one, too?" So we invented Godbuddies and have been that ever since. So now, as you reach some kind of "age of reasoning," the invitation is extended (you don't have to do it) and if you like the idea, we create our own name. So I have a Godnephew (I'm the Godaunt), and a Godchum. There's only one son left who's not even 4 yet, so he's not ready. I hope he'll want to be a Godpal or else be creative enough to think of another term 'cuz I'm running out of ideas.
Hence, I call this wonderful family my Godfamily.
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