Dear friends and fellow disciples,
What memories do you have of the Fellowship Hall? What has happened in that space that has meaning for you?
Spaces, as you know, are much more than bricks and concrete block, wood and shingles. Spaces matter to us because of what has happened in them, how those events changed us, how the people we met have shaped our lives.
The Fellowship Hall here at Westminster, as so many of you know, was the original sanctuary for this church, until the present one was built in 1987. It has been home to countless potluck dinners and youth groups, but also worship, Sunday after Sunday, and baptisms, weddings, and funerals for people we love. It has been the heart of this church's ministry for so long. So it is with a bit of sadness - or maybe better said, a touch of nostalgia - that we are soon to say goodbye.
But that is what we'll do this Sunday, July 14, which promises to be a very special day in the life of our church. We will have a time of prayer and thanksgiving during worship for our Fellowship Hall, a building that has served this congregation well for more than 50 years. We will also pray together for God’s guidance and continued blessing as we begin a new phase of Westminster's history and work begins on our new Fellowship Hall.
After worship, I will be encouraging everyone to walk over to the Fellowship Hall and take a few minutes to reflect on this space and what we’ve experienced there as a church family over the years - memories for us and for the greater community we serve.
As a way of saying goodbye, this week I invite you to come to the Fellowship Hall, grab a Sharpie marker, and write on the wall! Write a prayer, write a memory, write a blessing for the season ahead. Some folks have already started, and we hope you'll add your voice to the chorus, giving thanks to God for the ministry that Christ has done in that space and will continue to do through this church, through YOU, in the coming years.
