Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Church's One Foundation...

Jamesville covers an area only 1.3 square miles, so when something happens in the town, it affects the whole town.  This was no different yesterday, when news of the Christian Church burning down began showing up on Facebook.  This wasn't my home church, but growing up in the town, that doesn't mean I don't have memories of the church.

~Each Easter, they would put up a large wooden cross in front of the church.  On Good Friday, a black piece of cloth would hang on the cross.  Some time before church on Easter Sunday, the cloth would be replaced with a white cloth.  This was always such a beautiful representation of the resurrection story that I always looked forward to driving by the church to see it.

~The summer I helped take care of my granddad, who lived across the street from the church, I used to spy out the front windows at my crush, who mowed the Christian Church's lawn.

~Most summer mornings were spent picking vegetables in my granddad's garden.  When the noon bells chimed at the Christian Church, we knew it was time to quit, eat lunch, and head to the pool.  Bung bong bong bong bong.  Bung bong bong bong bong!  BWONGGGGG!  BWONGGGGG!  BWONGGGG!

~The church was walking distance from my high school (then again, what in town isn't walking distance?), and it was our safe haven during bomb threats.  We only ever had one threat when I was in high school, but there was a calm assurance standing in that church parking lot.  We all felt safe.

~My church was tiny compared to the Christian Church, so it was always nice to drive by afterwards and see all the people I knew.  They usually recognized our car and waved.  That's the true nature of my town, and the true nature of that church.  I've heard in countless sermons before, the church is not a building, it's a group of people.  In that case, the Christian Church lives on.

That's how I'll remember the church, not like this:


My prayers go out to my community and to all the members.  To see more about the fire, you can watch the news story here.

2 comments:

Shannon Dingle said...

Praying for your town!

Jenn & David said...

Megan, I am so very sorry to hear this news. Praying for your community and for this church.