What a fellowship.
What a joy divine ….
– from the hymn Leaning On The Everlasting Arms by E.A Hoffman, 1887
Dear Caldwell,
When I arrived home Sunday after a full day of study, worship and reunion with you, the words above from the old hymn were swimming through my head. What a lovely embrace you extended as I eased back from my sabbatical into the precious gift that is ministry among you. To the organizers of the reception and to all I spoke with, “thank you” for the love and care. To everyone else, I look forward to seeing you soon.
In addition to the joy of reengaging with the Caldwell community, I return with deep gratitude to my amazing partner in ministry Gail for stepping up to serve as head of staff so smoothly, to Parish Associate Rev. Dr. Diane Mowery, who came alongside the staff in my absence, and to Rick, Anne and Justin for all they did to care for you and keep the church so effectively “on the tracks.” Add to that my thanks to the session and for all who have served on committees, ministry teams and volunteered in other ways too numerous to name. It’s great to be back and find things in such wonderful shape.
We named yesterday’s sermon-discussion “Where the heck have you been?” as a playful way to answer a few of the questions about what I did with the gift of sabbatical you gave me. (You can check it out on our Youtube channel of you want.) I look forward to extending that dialogue with anyone who is interested. The short answer is that I used the time for rest and renewal, to visit family and friends, to get away to the beach, watch some minor league baseball and to travel and research other churches that are putting affordable housing on their campuses. I did some reading (see photo for a mini bibliography) and some writing. I prayed for you, as the apostle Paul said, continually.
As to my travel and research, I visited and interviewed the people engaged at 20+ various churches doing affordable housing from California to the Washington DC area to right here in Charlotte. Each project is an inspiration and each is unique in its combination of type of housing, population to be housed, financing and construction and the story of how these congregations came to its decision to take this bold step to make God’s house truly a home. There is much to learn. If you want an overview, I was asked to write a story for the Presbyterian Outlook magazine you can read here.
Jump On Board
The metaphor of how you have “kept the train on the tracks” fits as I now have the happy job of running to catch up with it and all that is ahead in the weeks to come. Several aspects of Easter’s Home are taking shape. A crew will begin some preconstruction work this month in the Price Building. A Partner Selection Committee has worked diligently through the summer and is entering into deeper and deeper conversation with the non-profits who are our potential partners in operating Easter’s Home.
Another immediate activity is the formation of a ministry team to lead the congregation in thinking about our financial stewardship. Life together in the community of Christ is, of course, built on many aspects of our discipleship, not just our pledge. And … how we raise and use the church budget is an important part of our covenant commitment to Christ, each other and our city. If you would like to join a few others in a committee forming NOW to help with that, please let me know right away.
This Sunday, there is yet another chance to “jump on board” when the youth feed the church lunch after worship and all families of every kind are invited to come for some fun. For smaller children, there will be a “bouncy house.” Come and take part in the fun and renew your relationships as we come back from summer.
As part of the event on Sunday, we also want to invite anyone interested to paruse some items that need new homes. We are emptying the Price Building and need new homes for:
- A dishwasher (good condition, had been in Belk Hall)
- A gas stove (same as above)
- Some church pews that we can no longer use in the sanctuary
- MANY sturdy wooden chairs – the kind that you might otherwise see in the Shelby Room
- A range of children’s furniture – play and otherwise – toys, art and school supplies
IF YOU WOULD LIKE any of these items, come Sunday to claim them. After Sunday, we will promptly find a place for them to go to make way for construction workers.
On an important closing note, please keep two members in mind – LaWonder McDowell, who will have surgery on Wednesday, and Richard Campbell, who is at Atrium Main. He asks for no visitors but you can read updates and leave “well wishes” for him on Caring Bridge here. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardcampbellcaldwell
The hymn I cited above includes the verse below. It speaks well as I lean back into your arms – in person and in spirit – and we lean into each other to carry each others’ burdens and to do our part in healing a broken and hurting world in the name of the one who has healed us.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
leaning on the everlasting arms.
Yours in Christ,
John