Expecting the Unexpected
One of the surprising things about life is that we are often surprised by the ordinary. Take death, for instance. Every single day people die, in every city, in every country of the world. Yet it is almost always surprising when it comes (unless you work in a funeral home). You would think we would be better prepared for this reality of life, especially as Christians, given that at the very center of our faith we have the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We look forward to His return, and we know that our earthly bodies are vessels for our eternal souls. So we do not grieve as those who have no hope, as our hope is rooted in our true home in Heaven, which I’m reminded of daily when I pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Other ordinary surprises are car crashes, illnesses, job losses, and fires. That’s why we shouldn’t have been surprised Sunday when the fire alarm went off near the end of the service. Fires happen every day, everywhere. That’s why there are fire stations nearby, and why we gladly pay tax money to provide for fire fighters to help us in time of need. Thank you to everyone who quickly found the source of the problem: Jim Stewart, Joe Hillerich, Mark Sweetman, Chad Greathouse and others acted quickly to determine that there was not a fire in the building. The problem was a newly installed HVAC unit that had not been properly sealed and was leaking hot air into the closet where it was located. Thus, that small room became much hotter than it should, triggering a fire sensor. The HVAC company has already been out to do the repair, and everything is now working properly.
This also gave us a chance to evaluate our church-wide response to such events. One thing we will do, moving forward, is to have on screen exit instructions and information on the location of children. This will help us to be prepared to expect the unexpected! Thanks to everyone who stayed around to help sort White Christmas food donations. Everything went well and we were able to deliver the boxes to those in need this week.
This Sunday is our Christmas Service. Doors open at 10:00 am with cookies and hot chocolate served in the lobby. Children can check in starting at 10:45. Come early and spend time visiting with friends new and old. Service starts at 11:00. Ask a neighbor if they are going to church anywhere this Sunday. You never know when someone has been thinking about trying out a church, especially this time of year. See you Sunday!
Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki