Tuesday, October 31, 2006

My dear God,

I remember when the days of bad news rolled in at the church. This person was upset; this one was leaving the church. The giving was down. The same gray cloud rolled in every Sunday morning, settling in just above the sanctuary. Seemingly the only good news was the Good News. And it was this Good News that held us until the good news took hold.

Today I was aware that our good news was the Good News. We are living the Good News at church. The hallways, the beautiful bright white hallways with a green and blue tile here and there, are indicators of the bright news we share as a congregation.

This morning I learned we had gone over our $20,000 goal for a new piano. (We really learned about it Sunday afternoon but today I saw the figures) We ordered our piano. We got the go ahead to take down the half wall in the sanctuary to make room not only for the piano, but for dance, drama, music, the creative arts.

I got a call from Lilly Endowment. I was told earlier that it was difficult to get an appointment with Jean because she receives lots of calls and many people want to meet with her. But today she called me to make an appointment. I get to tell her about our church and its renewal. I am sure I will have to be brief, concise, enthusiastic. I want her to know our story and she seems very interested.

I am going to talk with Jean about my last $1500 of renewal money. I want to publish my year long letters with God. I have to make a revised budget showing the changes in my spending. (My airfare came in about $3,000 less than I had predicted) I need to know if this is possible and what publisher might be interested in doing it. $1500 won't go far; I am even going to ask if there are additional grants for such an endeavor. It's a fleece before the Lord, the same kind of fleece Gideon set before God.

I was able to show my video to a friend who had not seen it on Sunday. She really enjoyed it. And me? Well, each time I see it, I see God all through the video. When my husband asked me the other day why I was watching it again, looking at myself, I told him I was seeing God. I see God's hand in the travels, the photo images, the music, my dance, the experiences, the mystery. And to look upon the work of God is a joy to the soul.

The spirit today was a good news spirit. Our nursery school children love being at Bethel and so do their parents. Their teachers love them. And so do I.

That spirit came through as I spoke with Ivette, the interpreter for our Hispanic congregation. She told me they are looking for new space, not because they are upset with us. They came to us just one month ago with 70-80 people attending. Last Sunday they had 124. Our space is rapidly becoming too small for them. The spirit is so alive at Bethel that the Holy Spirit cloud above us is drawing people in.

It is true that Good News brings good news to the people. And we are receiving it daily. We are so blessed!

Blessing above all blessings,
I offer you my heartfelt praise.
All good comes from you.
You are the source of all good.
You have revealed yourself to us.
You live with us,
in the walls and outside the walls
of your church.
I see your face.
I hear your voice
of laugher and glee,
of joy and promise.
I know your presence.
Your love is apparent.
You have swept away
the dark clouds
that snared us
for so long.
The light of your Son
shines in our windows.
We know
that we know
that we know
God is here.

Gratefully, Andrea