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Dear Covenant Friends,
If I had a wooden church model for every church I’ve ever served or preached in, I suppose my shelves would not have enough room for all my books! But I’m glad I have these two- The Church of the Covenant on the left and Fairmount Presbyterian on the right. Our churches are only 2.5 miles apart and, as you know, were served by a married clergy couple in the recent past. Interestingly, Second Presbyterian Church of Cleveland played a role in the history of both congregations.
Covenant’s building is older, dedicated in 1911 as Euclid Avenue Presbyterian Church and renamed the Church of the Covenant in 1920 when Second Presbyterian Church (chartered in 1837) merged with them. These days, church mergers are often a last resort for congregations who otherwise might not survive, but in Cleveland in the early 1900s, it was a strategic response to social change and a population stretching eastward. Only a few years earlier, Fairmount was seeded from Sunday School classes organized by Second Presbyterian venturing into the Heights. Fairmount Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1916, and by 1921, they had enough acreage to build a permanent sanctuary.
Perhaps more so than today, Presbyterians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries thought of themselves as deeply connectional and operated accordingly. Decisions were made at the Presbytery level from the perspective of the whole community of Presbyterians and newcomers to the area. Pastors were colleagues and friends, not competitors in a religious landscape of ever decreasing adherents.
Sometimes we struggle to maintain the connections today. Particularly for larger, more established congregations, we operate with enough complexity that we become isolated in our own programming and mission, as well as our challenges. Which is why something as simple as a pulpit exchange can remind us of the ways we are linked in mission and ministry.
At Pastor Ryan Wallace’s invitation, Fairmount and Covenant held a pulpit swap on June 23. I returned to the Fairmount pulpit, where I served as Interim Pastor before coming to Covenant, and Pastor Ryan preached here. It was an opportunity to get to know another pastor in the neighborhood, and a church that shares similar concerns. We are both members of Greater Cleveland Congregations and both Earth Care Congregations. I was not surprised to receive greetings from Fairmounters who have friends and family at Covenant and I’m sure Pastor Ryan experienced something similar here.
The sermon I wrote for Fairmount contains a story you may have heard me tell, newly interpreted with the benefit of time to reflect. I also enjoyed sharing a Time for Young Disciples with them. If you are interested in hearing/seeing either the sermon or children’s time, you can find them here, starting at about minute 35.
I missed you all, and I’ll be back in the pulpit Sunday, June 30th. In the meantime, I thank you for your prayers, not only for me, but for other pastors in our neighborhood (like Pastor Ryan) who share the gospel with love. May God’s Spirit flourish among us all.
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