Abatement Begins

Today, Monday, October 29, work began on the old buildings which are scheduled for demolition. The crew worked primarily in the original sanctuary (A-Frame Building) doing demolition in preparation of removing the old floor. By tomorrow afternoon there will be nothing inside but a clean concrete floor.

As I walked through the building (one last time) I was reminded of how important this sacred space has been in the life of the congregation. In recent years, due to its deterioration, it has been too easy to forget that from this place the Word of God was preached in its truth and purity and the Sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ.

This is sacred space. A place that was consecrated to the presence of Christ working in His church through the means of grace. Inside these walls people brought their children for holy baptism. Inside these walls families began as husband and wife made vows of love and faithfulness. Inside these walls people came to feed on the medicine of immortality, the very body and blood of Christ. Inside these walls the sleeping flesh of our brothers and sisters came one last time before the resurrection of all flesh.

Whatever scars and blemishes might now appear within and without, this space has been for us the "house of God." As we begin our final farewell we rejoice in the faithfulness of God and His willingness to always provide for His people in every age.

While the old must go to make room for the new, we never forget the past and the sacred spaces that have shaped our lives. We rejoice that the presence of our Lord can never be confined to a single space and we trust that the new spaces will be used to continue the proclamation of the Gospel to the very ends of the earth. May the next fifty-years be as glorious as the first.