Full Circle

Kansas City, MO. I like it when things come full circle. When the last becomes the first. When Alpha meets Omega.

When someone says, "Wow, we started out with one idea, pursued all manner of twists and turns and now we're back to the idea we started with. Only richer."

That was the feeling I had a week ago when Coming of Age: Kansas City launched.

And launch they did, at an incredible party at one of that city's architectural and cultural jewels: The National World War I Museum.

JoEllen Wurth, Executive Director of Shepherd's Center of KC Central, and the force of nature who had championed bringing Coming of Age to Kansas City, read from the Shepherd's Center Central mission statement, written almost 40 years ago:

"Shepherd's Center with its partner organizations, enables mid-life and older adults to share their talents, skills and wisdom, for the good of their peers and the community."

Coming Home

Amazing, Many Shepherd's Centers have morphed into senior service organizations. Shepherd's Center of KC Central provides those service too, but it is also the lead agency in Kansas city for bringing Coming of Age to that community.

And through Coming of Age: Kansas City, Shepherd's Center Central was essentially going home... full circle from whence it had started.

When JoEllen read the mission statement, you could feel the amazement and delight in the room.

One of those in the room who clearly was feeling that way was Dr. Elbert Cole, the 92-year-old founder of the Shepherd's Center movement in America. Elbert, along with the other 150 guests, had braved a miserably cold and wet night to be part of the launch.

I spoke with him. He is a Methodist minister, and clearly his work had been both inspired and guided by his faith. Service and spirituality have been the twin pillars of his life, always intertwined and often indistinguishable.

I think he saw Coming of Age as a re-invention of what he had set out to do with the Shepherd's Centers-- a way for today's generation of older adults to give back and build community.

Different... and the Same

And in the spirit of people who are not threatened by new ideas but can see them as an expansion of what has come before-- in this case, what he had created before-- he welcomed this 21st century iteration of his idea.

As did the others in the room.

Kansas City: welcome to the Coming of Age family.

Welcome to something new... and not so new.