DANCE AND SONG - A 24 CARROT MEDLEY

We're on the GO project, an initiative of the United Church to give youth a sense of what mission might mean in the context of the United Church. It's early in our time, only the third day, but already we are experiencing blessings from this well-prepared program.

The first day, we visit Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. Our group of 6 participants and 2 leaders separate into groups of 4 and are given different tasks. One group sorts donations into boxes. The other group, the one I am with, are shown a large bin of carrots and asked to stuff the edible ones into 5 pound bags and to discard the ones that are no longer edible. We discover carrots that have grown 2 and 3 legs. They remind us of dancers. The young people take up the task with energy and with humour. We decide that we will be selecting an elite group of carrots to be allowed into a carrot dance school. By the time we have worked our way to the bottom of the bin we have discovered a full bag of prospective carrot ballerinas.

I feel the touch of the divine dancer in the good humour with which we carry forward our volunteer work. These United Church youth are intelligent and playfully serious people.

The memory of carrots carries on into our second day. Our group visits a Larche community project. During the lunch break we revise some of our best loved songs replacing key words in the songs with the word 'carrot.' We are inspired by the Larche community members who welcome all creative efforts with smiles and laughter. We learn from the good humour of the people in these social projects.