Want your question answered?

Meet Mel

Melanchthon Alouicious Schreiber, our Mel, is a timeless being similar to the Jinn of pre-Islamic Arabia. No one, including Mel, is sure how he came to be or what will eventually become of him. So he takes life as it comes - one day at a time. He lives (and always has as far back as he can remember) at the bottom of the Well at St. Luke's. There is an antechamber near the bottom where he has a cozy living space: a small but well-appointed kitchen, a functional, ever-evolving library, and a soft bed stuffed with dandelion fluff for reading and relaxing. 

His antechamber, being right above the water, makes the acoustics just right for hearing everything that is said at the top of the well. So for many millennia, Mel has heard all the conversations that happen between people meeting to draw water. These conversations are sometimes silly (If aliens landed on earth tomorrow and offered to take you home with them, would you go?), sometimes thought-provoking (What is the biggest challenge to believing there is a God?) and sometimes challenging (If I believe in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth but do not accept him as a God, could I still be a Christian?). Mel writes them all down. He keeps them in his library in case anyone ever comes to visit so that he will have some conversation topics to choose from. 

Despite being a bit silly-looking with all his frowsy fur, Mel is a loving spirit, a deep thinker, a gracious host, and also a bit of a dandy. His many colorful shirts are his pride and joy. His favorite food is cabbage (especially raw) and his favorite musician is Django Reinhart. His hobbies include light bookkeeping, hydrodynamics, creatively curating combs and, of course, theology!