A Walk Through the Past

This week I had the blessing to meet a gentleman that was a member of the congregation in the 30s and 40s. He is now a member of a neighboring congregation and his pastor set up a chance for him to visit with me and take a tour of the building and share memories.

This was a stressful week and I must admit that when the door bell rang I was not in the right frame of mind for the visit down memory lane nor did I really have the time for the visit. But, my attitude quickly changed after we started talking and he started sharing stories.

As we walked through the building he shared how it looked before the addition built in 1959, which was after his family joined another congregation. I've seen photos, but there was something different about having a person touch the walls to say where things one hung or where meetings once took place. It was touching to hear the joy in his voice when he shared memories of youth group events and stories told in the back pews during church while the stern pastor glared at the confirmation kids with eyes that said, "shut your mouth".

I then showed him the council minutes from the first decade of the congregation along with the founding constitution and signatures of all the founding members. When I showed him this it was like he was a kid in a candy store. He got excited every time he came across a name he recognized and with some names he had stories to share of dinners at a home or an annual party or a Sunday school teacher that meant a lot to him. We also looked at some of the old photographs. He loved seeing the faces of people he once knew and he was beyond giddy when we found his confirmation class photo. He pointed to a chubby faced boy with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eye and said proudly, "That's me" then took the photo upstairs to show his pastor and his wife - who could not go on the tour with him because our lift was broken.

After we left the building and after a few photos we went out for pizza and shared more stories about the neighborhood and the current realities for the congregation and I heard about what is going on at his current home congregation - which has been his home congregation for over 40 years now. It ended up being a lovely way to spend an afternoon. It made me realize that the congregation closing is going to affect many more people than just the people inside the congregation and I have to be aware of how I am offering pastoral care to everyone that has a memory with the congregation, no matter how big or how small that may be. I had ideas flowing through my head of how to celebrate this long reach the congregation has to neighboring congregations, businesses and organizations. Ideas for memory sharing and celebration moments flooded through my head. I also felt humbled to be entrusted with such an important ministry.