This past Sunday, I was involved in planning and taking part in the week’s church service. As do many Unitarian Universalist congregations, our summer services are lay-led and have less formal support than the ones during the year. I’d already been part of one in July (about the denominational conference four of us attended in June) that went off fairly close to “as expected” and seemed relatively painless to plan. This one, however… grab something fortified to drink, and follow me below the Story Break after a word from our sponsor…
The service grew out of the experience a group of us had taking a class on women’s spirituality. The topic’s not important except to note that one facilitator (let’s call her M) is a member of our church but works at another congregation so is pretty much NEVER at (our) church on Sundays. Being a professional, she did a lot of the work herding we amateurs into assembling a plan for the service. I spent a lot of time hunting down images for a powerpoint to accompany the written words others of our group prepared, while another woman prepared the powerpoint and emailed it to everyone. Someone volunteered their laptop for showing the presentation and was in touch with the Guy Who Knows How The Tech/Projector Works. Others planned music and sent out links for us to hear it and practice so we’d be ready. The worship assistant (ie the person who sets up the space, reads the “welcome stuff” and deals with other boilerplate stuff) had done this before. And so M felt all was set, and left for a weeklong work retreat sans internet.
Cue Sunday morning, where we all arrive at 9am for the 10am service. To discover, in no particular order:
The laptop person never uploaded the slide presentation to her laptop because she “didn’t know she had to, and thought Someone Else would bring it on a drive”. So we had to scrap that.
The worship assistant had no idea what to say because “there’s always a script”, as if Script Elves (Angels, given the religious nature of this story?) magically write them out of the aether.
Almost no one had practiced the music because (a) seeing youtube links in an email titled “song links to practice” didn’t clue anyone in; and (b) the rehearsal M assumed was going to be for everyone ended up being JUST the drummer and pianist.
We had no lyrics to the songs we were supposed to be singing because of course we had them all memorized, or Someone Else was going to bring them.
No one could make decisions and kept looking at M to fix all the things, even though she’d been Pretty Damned Clear she wasn’t going to BE the go to person because Work.
The service starts, I’m expecting the worst, and… it went beautifully unless you knew what we were missing because Someone Else didn’t show up at church that day :-). Everyone loved it, we got great feedback, and it was a net positive experience for most everyone.
The moral? Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I was ready to assume the worst, rather than the best, all because my and others’ planning went awry. But it was enough to feed the spirits of 40 or so people in attendance.
It’s the same in politics too, sometimes. We all want the perfect candidate; the one who agrees with us on all the issues and will never, ever do something counter to what we believe is the way a good politician should act. And when they do, we declare them unworthy of our vote and cast about for other, more perfect candidates. Don’t be that person, folks. Accept that politicians are human too, and sometimes make mistakes. Side other than you would on an issue, but overall are pretty damned good. So please, don’t let the perfect stand in the way of the good, or else we end up with the biggest, greatest yuuuugest pile of shite instead.
Note: sometimes it’s not the perfect being the enemy of the good. It legitimately IS total shite being the enemy of the passably ok. And in those cases (looking at YOU, Zika funding bill smothered in hateful, horrid riders) I am not suggesting we should drop opposition to the bill as it stands, because as it stands is not “good”. It’s not even up to the standard of “not really too craptastic”. It’s BAD.
How are you doing tonite? Please make yourself at home and enjoy what you come here for every night- the Trio of Top Comments, Mojo and Pictures that form the backbone of Top Comments. Remember, your nominations and recs throughout the site during the day are what make Top Comments possible. Give BeninSC a round of thanks, because it’s with his friendship and collaboration that tonight’s diary graces these pages this screen.
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
Note: Especially during this passionate primary season, please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig. (brillig’s disclaimer, but BeninSC did this formatting, brillig blameless!)
From JerryNA:
Heart-felt comment from a veteran, ProgressiveTexasDemocrat, about right wing anger about 49er player Colin Kaepernick.
From Wee Mama:
Succinct reason why Reagan should appear on the Utah ballots, in this comment from DButch.
From Tara the Antisocial Social Worker:
In Hunter's open thread for night owls, with this comment, MTmofo shares the news that Rick Perry will be on Dancing With the Stars, and makes a witty observation.
The exchange between glb3 & Bill in Portland Maine (beginning with this comment) in today's Cheers & Jeers made me laugh out loud at work, and is too good not to share. Enjoy!
This comment from Darmok is the perfect summation of why sometimes the mirror is the harshest witness of all. (To those who create and spread the toxic atmosphere of today’s politics) Hope you'll consider this one.
Thanks for all you do!
For Monday, August 29, 2016, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on the subject.
1) Two words: PAPER BALLOTS. I’m sorry that both of … by stevemb +188
2) The media is really useless. I would go as far t … by noofsh +137
3) I suspect that to this judge, the real crime is … by Apprenticegeezer +113
4) That is some powerful stuff … by wuod kwatch +111
5) Issa losing in November would be very sweet icin … by Laughing Gravy +109
6) This is my first completely and enthusiastically … by TrueBlueMajority +105
6) see...secret by red rabbit +105
8) “Hello, we’d like to inform you that your small … by Mark Sumner +103
9) Let’s hope the voices of Americans like Wright a … by RiveroftheWest +102
10) “Hello, Beloved. I am the widow of the former Fi … by Crashing Vor +93
10) “Your call is important to us. Please stay on th … by Proginoskes +93
12) Jim Wright is a hell of a good writer who gives … by JohnnySacks +86
13) Yes — they are harmful and it is real cause for … by danbury6112 +84
13) When SETI translated the transmission, they real … by bigtimecynic +84
15) she‘s not alone … by Laurence Lewis +82
15) Debtor’s prison is not supposed to exist in this … by MadScientist +82
17) Says the guy who implored Russia to hack the US … by Jacoby Jonze +79
17) We’ve known this about Cokie Roberts for years. … by Semblance +79
19) He is using his freedom to protest what he does … by customgreen +77
20) Woo hoo! This would be great. by bear83 +76
21) I’m looking at the replies to that tweet. She is … by shayera +72
21) Sigh. This year has not been kind to legends. by RoIn +72
23) Thanks Walter by a2nite +69
23) TBM, welcome aboard. I was a Bernie supporter, b … by StellaRay +69
23) “You’re not really going to elect that orange-ha … by Railfan +69
23) Debtors’ Prisons, Then and Now: FAQ … by prettymeadow +69
27) My husband died and left me a huge inheritance o … by ColoTim +68
27) Posted this earlier on another thread. Had the s … by Back of Bourke +68
29) Mrs. Greenspan is already on the case, questioni … by More Questions Than Answers +67
29) They will but only when they can figure out how … by jayden +67
29) All voting should be by paper and there should N … by CaliSista +67
29) The (bad) apple didn’t fall far from the (berobe … by polecat +67
Top Pictures
2016-08-30, courtesy of jotter!