A Memoir to the Honorable Singing Kitchen Men

It was our last day together.

All 6 of us were in there: 5 guys and 1 girl, me, of course.

In August 2017 when I first began after-chapel lunch cleanup duty, my intentions were to get free lunch. The 3 honorable men were junior at the time. We were cleaning and drying dishes, and they began to sing. 

That's when I knew I was working in there not just to get free lunch.

Over the next several months, working in the kitchen on Wednesday afternoons was a refreshing, worshipful time for me. The practice was to sing at least one song, though sometimes the men would forget. I would make sure that we sang before they left. Back then, it was only the 3 honorable and then the beautiful Elisabeth and I. Those were good days because there was a good female voice. This year we don't have Elisabeth, but 2 more men were added to our number. Thankfully, they are both very good singers.

Anyway, this Wednesday was our last time with the 3 big boys. They are seniors and graduating next week. It's sad and strange and happy all at once.

I have grown to know them better, and they are all like big bros to me (obviously, Tyler is a big bro). So, this week we all insisted that we sing a couple songs before they left for class. I recommended "Great is Thy Faithfulness" because that has been a theme especially in Tyler's experience here at Bethlehem College and Seminary. We really sang with our whole hearts that day. It was real sweet and worshipful. Then Brax began one of his favorites, "There is a Fountain." Boy, we have some good singers in our little kitchen a cappella group.

It was a little nostalgic as the three left, and one of my younger pals said something like, "I'm gonna have to memorize some hymns over the summer." Yes, amen to that. We don't want to lose our kitchen singers.

So, goodbye to the honorable singing kitchen men. They have passed the baton along to a new generation.

Sorry, this has become very sentimental. Haha!

And, life moves on.