Odd Man Out?!
700+ women and me….nuff said. Most men I think would be overwhelmed by the odds, or would love the odds if single. I was invited, and briefly attended the Devoted Hearts Conference Friday and Saturday at Autumn Ridge Church here in Rochester. I had to set up Betsy’s and KFSI’s informational booth on Friday and at first I was overwhelmed by the size of the church, then once inside the beauty of it. While setting up the booth, I found myself scrambling around trying to find a power strip. Thanks to Tom (the all around fixer/helper guy) he saved the day. From that point, I felt the warmth of the church from him and others.
After chatting with several nice folks at the church Michelle McKinney Hammond (the featured speaker) came out that evening. She was talking with Betsy and a few other ladies. I missed her “talk” so I didn’t know her views. After listening I gestured to Betsy and said we should do a faith story on her. Michelle agreed and off we went. Her interview was very eye-opening and I felt blessed to hear her stories. I won’t say anymore because her faith story will be coming soon. Let’s just say it made my day and you could see her glowing with love for the Lord!
After the interview I needed to get video (b-roll) of her talking to the audience. So I went back Saturday to shoot her speaking. When I walked into the sanctuary, it was packed. From what I saw, you couldn’t get another person in there with a shoe horn. Right off the bat I laughed to myself…”I’m surrounded by a lot of estrogen.” :-) As I started filming she said, “Okay ladies lets talk about men.” OHHHH boy. God sure has a sense of humor…to have me walk in at this exact time. But from a guy’s stand-point, I liked her message and even I got a charge from her, just like filming the interview.
At the end of the day is when I trembled in fear as the doors opened and all the women poured out. That’s when it hit how many ladies were there. Fear? I kid, it was awesome to talk to a lot of the ladies. I can relate to women I think a little bit better than most men. I was speaking from my heart and shared stories, either from Bible study, working at KFSI or whatever. I HAD A BLAST!
So, was I the odd man out? NO WAY. It was fun, inspirational, spiritual and moving. I felt comfortable in my surroundings and we got an awesome faith story to boot. To wrap this up, all joking aside I thank all of you at Autumn Ridge, all the great ladies, Michelle and the Lord for letting me be a part of seeing the “other side”. I didn’t get a window seat to peek in, I got a front row seat! Men, if this opportunity comes along next year…TAKE IT, if possible.
PS. Happy 7th Anniversery to you Betsy, my wife! Also happy 27th Anniversery to KFSI…27 years and still going strong!
Ken Quattrin
UPDATE 5-9-08
