Now here’s a really fresh idea that you might use at your church sometime…

A “virtual” bridal shower.  Let’s say a church member’s future bride is in another city and won’t be able to travel to your town for a shower. Or perhaps a member of your Sunday School class has moved to another state, but your class wants to have a shower for her long-distance.

Last week, my husband’s associates at his office decided to plan a bridal shower for our daughter. She’s ‘in Texas, and we’re all in Indiana.  They made it a surprise shower, and sent Autumn a note that they needed her to be available on that certain day and time, and they would “Skype” her on the computer.  If you haven’t used Skype, it’s sort of like the old cartoon, the Jetson’s. You look at one another on the computer as you speak (and it’s free!)  Autumn thought that her parents were receiving a surprise award and she was going to get to watch.

It was a surprise for us as well.  I’d been recruited to stop by the office to volunteer help on a project (so I thought).  As the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana’s staff devotionals began, then, Steve and I were surprised when the overhead computer screen showed that they were calling our daughter, Autumn, and her photo was on the projector.

She laughed for days about the hilarious scene she saw! Since the bride and groom were long-distance, they’d prepared paper hats for the parents of the bride – a top hat labeled “father of the bride” and a fancy box top with bubble-wrap veil labeled “mother of the bride.” There was punch and wedding cake, a darling photo album, and a generous money tree for the bride and groom.

Talk about a perfect long-distance bridal shower! Each person had written fun marital advice on cards for the nearly-weds. Brenda presented a dramatic, comedic version from 1 Corinthians 13–the love chapter. Allison led the whole group in a mad-libs game where they created a silly love story about Autumn and Yale.

This was probably Autumn’s largest wedding shower, and she was 1000 miles away!

Oh, there were a few technical difficulties, but Autumn got the gist of the party. Friends of her parents were showing their love for God and for her, even though the miles between them were many. Thanks, SCBI friends, for your love and thoughtfulness. The wedding day, January 31st, is approaching soon, and we love how you’ve shared our joy.

Now, how could you use this idea –

for a “virtual” birthday greeting for a missionary,

a “virtual” congratulations for a graduating seminary student,

a “virtual” prayer meeting for a military friend…

“They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” 1 Timothy 6:18.

P.S.  I’m still having trouble with image downloads on this blog, so I’ll come back and add photos when it’s all working again.

This Fresh Idea was posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 | Deacon Wives, Family Tidbits, Ideas For Churches, Indiana Baptists, Women's Ministry.