A termite walks into a bar and asks, “Is the bar tender here?” Sorry. It’s the only termite joke I know, and I needed to laugh about termites. Because it turns out they’re not funny. We discovered termites in the library at the church this week. Not just a few, but a whole bunch. So far (because we’re still inspecting) they have eaten a fair amount of the baseboard along the outside wall, a bunch of the beautiful wood paneling, and about eight books on the lower left bookshelf. That’s what we can see so far.

We don’t know how they got there and how no one noticed them or why our termite control didn’t work.  But we’re working on getting some of those questions answered this week. This is my first go around with termites, and despite the fact that they cause damage and cost money, I’ve been fascinated and interested to learn about what they do and how they do it. Consequently, I’ve learned a lot more about termites than I had thought I wanted to know.

For example, I now know that termites, while visually similar to ants, are actually closer to cockroaches and are classified as insects in the cockroach family.  There are more than 3,000 species of termites. Like ants, they have workers and queens, but also kings. Their queens are among the longest living insects in the world; termite queens have been shown to live 30-50 years! Although I joked at Vestry during our prayer time that I wanted God to help me understand why termites are important, it is actually because they are incredibly helpful at recycling dead trees in a forest. That’s a much more appropriate place for them than our homes and churches though.

So, we have to figure out how much damage they’ve done in the library, how far their colony extends, and how much work (and money) it will take to repair the damage. With our master planning coming to a close next month, we will probably make temporary repairs until we have a clearer picture of what the long term plan for our spaces looks like. But, there’s time for all that to get worked out. We’ll eradicate what’s there and make sure they don’t keep spreading while we determine our long-term options.

Scott McQuade, who is on our Vestry and was one of the Vestry members who came into the library to see the termite discovery after our monthly meeting this week, pointed out to me how much damage such little creatures can cause. He noted how they can work together to do such huge things over time. And it’s true. To see how they have eaten wood and books, one tiny bite at a time is pretty amazing. If it weren’t such costly damage, I’d want to keep watching them work and study their progress. 

It turns out that termites will preach, so to speak. Their collective efforts to accomplish something like recycling a whole tree, or a two hundred page book for that matter, truly is mind blowing. They remind us of what is possible when we band together to tackle big problems. Hopefully, when humans band together it’s for a good outcome, although we know we can band together for the opposite reasons, too. We are fully aware that when we work together, and when we work together with God’s help, almost anything is possible.

This is what gives me hope about our abilities to address big problems and affect positive change in the world; to feed the hungry; to lift up the poor; to grow the church, and so many other things. No one of us will ever be able to do it, but together, with God, we can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine doing alone. And I like being reminded of that. I wish it had come from a less destructive object lesson, but I’ll take what I can get. See, God can work with unfortunate things like termite infestations, too. Good can always come from bad. Even in this case. So don’t let the termites get to you too much. We’re on it. Just remember churches are holy places, and sometimes they’re holey too. 

Tom+

O heavenly Father, who has filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through who all things were make, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.