Don't Forget!

This Monday, after a foot of snow fell, I clomped over to the church to shovel the walks.  Before starting, I took a picture of our beautiful building (shown above). New slate roof, new flat roof, renovated bathrooms and common room (a much more attractive and multi-use space these days!).  What God has done in our midst is nothing short of miraculous and we must not, cannot forget that!

This week, there was an article in the NYT called The Church Fixer.  It featured a Brooklyn minister named Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster and the work she has done in revitalizing congregations.  Katrina’s secret sauce for success might sound familiar to you: engage the surrounding community by holding more community wide events in the building, advocate for improvements in the community, ask for money, and get the building up to date.  The byproduct of this effort has consistently been congregational growth. 

When I began at St. Paul’s there were huge problems with the building.  The bathrooms were notorious for exuding sewer fumes, the common room had 1970s school cafeteria vibes, and the closets were filled with detritus.
With some trepidation, I began emptying the closets.  Soon, the whole congregation, moving in the Holy Spirit, began renovating and restoring the building and our relationship to Carondelet.

God (by way of the Diocese and Church Insurance) provided the funds to make the repairs. Lay leaders made significant sacrifices of time and skill, and the Diocese walked with us through the whole process. As I took the picture shown above and looked at our building so beautiful in the snow, I gave thanks. Then I began to shovel.
I kid you not, in five minutes, one of our neighbors who eats at our free meals and has spent at least a night or two sleeping in our yard, came up and insisted on shoveling. “I can’t pay you,” I said. He didn’t care.  He shoveled the sidewalk up to the Heigham House.  Before he was done, our new tenant, Mr. Amidou arrived home from the store. Immediately, he and his wife insisted on taking over.  They shoveled the sidewalk from the church awning door to the street. If you know our space, you know how far that is!

Walking home, people greeted me and asked about the church.  The love for this place is huge.  People I don’t’ even know are asking about my departure. Will there still be meals? What’s going to happen? The answers to those questions now rest in your hands.   

God has called us to this place and set before us a feast of love and opportunity. The Bible admonishes us to remember God’s faithfulness. The word, remember, is used over 8,000 times in the Bible. Remember, remember, remember! Why? Because we forget so easily!

Remember the Lord.  Remember the work God has done!  We are here for a reason. We are here to be Jesus’ love incarnated in our time and place.  Remember to stand on the promise that the God who began a good work in this community will continue it (I Thessalonians 5:24).  You are a part of this miraculous work!
I’m excited for what God has in store!  Even on these days of snow and short daylight, God has brought us through, and will be with us, strengthening us for what lies ahead. Remember!

-- Pastor Rebecca