PASTOR'S PERSPECTIVES: CELEBRATE SIGNS OF GOD'S PRESENCE

Our church has been here for many, many years. German immigrants got off the boat in Cape Girardeau, and traveled west to this beautiful area called Gordonville. For 150 years this church has been a beacon of God's presence and love to her surrounding community. Time passes so quickly.

I wonder if those who built our present sanctuary building in 1876 ever thought it would last this long. If they didn't, they sure built a strong building anyway. God has been present with this congregation for each and every one of these 150 years.

So many things have happened in that time. The Civil War came and went. The 19th century gave way to the 20th. World Wars were fought. Technology increased astronomically. We traveled to the moon and back. The world shifted from rural to urban. This church has seen so much. Through it all, God's presence has been strong and palpable.

We are approaching a new millennium again. I say again because this church has already been through one millennium change. The Year 2000 problem confronts us. We wonder what life will be like when the calendar reads January 1, 2000. Will the world suddenly grind to a halt? Whatever life will be, God will be with us, then as now. The founder of our denomination, John Wesley, said, on his death bed in London, "Best of all, God is with us." He captured it so well. No matter what happens, good or bad, success or failure, God is indeed with us.

We have spent the summer worshiping in our educational building. Why? Because we are renovating our sanctuary. It had not been updated for many years. Now we have a new coat of paint, the paneling has disappeared, the hardwood floors have a beautiful new finish; it looks so different now. Why did we do all of this? First, probably, for aesthetics. We like the way it looks, it looks better somehow. Deep inside, though, we do it because we want this beacon of God's love, the church, to shine as brightly as it can for the world to see. We want it to shine for 150 more years. We who are here now won't see all those years, but we want this church to.

As time passes, the world needs, love, grace and mercy, perhaps more than ever before. The church offers this. Each and every church offers these gifts of God. We are celebrating 150 years of opportunity to share these gifts. We will gather together on Sunday, August 2 for our homecoming. We want to celebrate, with our friends and neighbors, this important milestone in the history of Zion. At the same time, we celebrate with all churches, everywhere, that God's presence is here among us today, and will continue to be with us, no matter what happens.

Time does indeed pass. Every once in a while, it is a good idea to stop for a moment and take stock of what has gone before. That's what we're doing this year, and I encourage each of us and our churches to do the same. Look for signs of God's presence in your life and in the life of your church, and celebrate them. The Year 2000 will come and go, as 1800 and 1900 did previously. God is calling us into the future, into new ministries and fresh proclamations of the good news. The founders of Zion United Methodist Church made their mark 150 years ago. Let us answer the call, and step boldly into the future ourselves, always assured of God's presence.

Conway Briscoe is pastor of Zion United Methodist Church near Gordonville.