Photo credit: Therese Brummel
The call came in: Kids’ Summer Theatre Camp is coming to Throop!
But the stage curtains are ripped and tattered and have become a hazard.
Throop Church has been the home of Transition Pasadena for nine years. It has been a symbiotic relationship. Transition needed a home base. Throop Church needed a hefty dose of TLC. And so began with the lawn-conversion garden. Soon the garden attracted the pastor. Rev. Tera’s charisma, vision and commitment have attracted diverse new members to the church. Church members now manage, maintain and immerse themselves in that garden. It is a goal of Transition Pasadena to create projects that have an impact and shift awareness, which can then be launched as self-sustaining. Throop Learning Garden is an example of that. Other such successes include the Cool Roofs rebate, Mulch for the People, and the Styrofoam Ban.
Repair Café Pasadena is another example. Repair Café, now with more than 600 people in its Meetup group, has been buoyed by capable leaders in the broader community who feel the call to keep this local networking fun growing. Here’s a story from this week that shows the evidence of community building by Repair Café.
Throop Church asked if it might be possible for Repair Café to mend the time-worn stage curtains, a huge job, the largest curtain being larger than the stage floor! Taking Repair Café Pasadena to a specific job had never been done, but a call was put out to sewing folks and Repair Café helpers who all said “yes!” A dozen or so people showed up at the appointed time, and dust masks were distributed. Several men climbed tall ladders to take down the heavy stage curtains. Shredded sections on each were pinned, re-sewn, patched with new fabric, re-hemmed, and even hand-stitched in some places. One helper dashed to the hardware store for more S hooks while sewing machines buzzed up the rips.
In the meantime a small group of Throopers, watched their Tuesday movie and the Folk Dance tribe, undeterred by the clutter and chatter of the stage crew, put on their traditional tunes and carried on with their line dancing as if nothing was unusual. At the end of the evening, the three groups of mini-communities intermingled over the salads and home baked bread which Greg had supplied.
Greg and I shared a smile and a “who-knew?!” shrug in the kitchen.
We agreed that it’s a far cry from the nearly vacant Throop Church we walked into nine years ago. Shelley, who held the vision and made this project happen told the crew, “You remind me to trust that we are not alone and that everything will work out when we figure it out together. And we'll have fun doing it!”
The curtains are hung again by fourteen workers who would not have known each other had it not been for a series of nibbles tasting the joys of community. Thank you Laura, Anne, David, Michael, Greg, Richard, Susan, Vicki, Kirsten, Harvey, Tami, Denise,and Shelley!
------ Therese Brummel
The call came in: Kids’ Summer Theatre Camp is coming to Throop!
But the stage curtains are ripped and tattered and have become a hazard.
Throop Church has been the home of Transition Pasadena for nine years. It has been a symbiotic relationship. Transition needed a home base. Throop Church needed a hefty dose of TLC. And so began with the lawn-conversion garden. Soon the garden attracted the pastor. Rev. Tera’s charisma, vision and commitment have attracted diverse new members to the church. Church members now manage, maintain and immerse themselves in that garden. It is a goal of Transition Pasadena to create projects that have an impact and shift awareness, which can then be launched as self-sustaining. Throop Learning Garden is an example of that. Other such successes include the Cool Roofs rebate, Mulch for the People, and the Styrofoam Ban.
Repair Café Pasadena is another example. Repair Café, now with more than 600 people in its Meetup group, has been buoyed by capable leaders in the broader community who feel the call to keep this local networking fun growing. Here’s a story from this week that shows the evidence of community building by Repair Café.
Throop Church asked if it might be possible for Repair Café to mend the time-worn stage curtains, a huge job, the largest curtain being larger than the stage floor! Taking Repair Café Pasadena to a specific job had never been done, but a call was put out to sewing folks and Repair Café helpers who all said “yes!” A dozen or so people showed up at the appointed time, and dust masks were distributed. Several men climbed tall ladders to take down the heavy stage curtains. Shredded sections on each were pinned, re-sewn, patched with new fabric, re-hemmed, and even hand-stitched in some places. One helper dashed to the hardware store for more S hooks while sewing machines buzzed up the rips.
In the meantime a small group of Throopers, watched their Tuesday movie and the Folk Dance tribe, undeterred by the clutter and chatter of the stage crew, put on their traditional tunes and carried on with their line dancing as if nothing was unusual. At the end of the evening, the three groups of mini-communities intermingled over the salads and home baked bread which Greg had supplied.
Greg and I shared a smile and a “who-knew?!” shrug in the kitchen.
We agreed that it’s a far cry from the nearly vacant Throop Church we walked into nine years ago. Shelley, who held the vision and made this project happen told the crew, “You remind me to trust that we are not alone and that everything will work out when we figure it out together. And we'll have fun doing it!”
The curtains are hung again by fourteen workers who would not have known each other had it not been for a series of nibbles tasting the joys of community. Thank you Laura, Anne, David, Michael, Greg, Richard, Susan, Vicki, Kirsten, Harvey, Tami, Denise,and Shelley!
------ Therese Brummel
