We Did It!

 
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” 
1 Kings 8:27-30
 
We did it! We consecrated our new space to the worship of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – on the 22nd of September. If you missed the day, I’m so sorry because it I was glorious. Not the building or the people but the presence of the Lord as we gathered together. We do have some bulletins from the service if you would like one; especially meaningful to me were words of encouragement from our two oldest members, Ms. Jane Gresley and Dr. James Sunwall.
 
You may be wondering why I’m just now writing about the service since it happened almost two weeks ago. Simple answer: fatigue. Putting on a wedding takes a lot of effort. I fondly told people after the service, “I feel like I’ve been engaged to this new space since April and now we are married.” One purpose of a marriage ceremony is to acknowledge the covenant being made by the couple in a public way. I think a consecration service is a similar for a parish as we as a congregation make covenant with the Lord to love and serve Him through the use of this space. It is set apart for God’s purposes, which is why the Bishop took time to walk around and bless our font, instruments, lectern, pulpit, and communion table. These are not ours, they belong to the Lord and we commit ourselves and all our labor to making our new space beautiful to God’s glory.
 
The passage above is a part of Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple he had just finished constructing in Jerusalem. Now obviously I’m not suggesting that our worship space on 8th Avenue is comparable to the Temple dedication in 1 Kings 8, however I do believe God is honored as we dedicate our new space for worship unto the Lord. We know God is not constrained to only sacred spaces, however as Solomon says, God honors prayers offered by His people gathered in sacred spaces if His name is glorified in that place.
 
May Servants of Christ Anglican Church at 3530 NW 8th Avenue always be a place where God’s people gather in prayer, proclaim the glory of God, and demonstrate the good news that in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness for all!
 
Onward and Upward,
 

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