The Devil is in the Stained Glass

Wow. I've really let this go. Been a very busy Lenten season. Not so much because it's Lent, but because it's been busy.

There's a big hole in the hand-painted, valued-at-$350,000 stained glass window in the sanctuary at church. Actually the whole window is bowing in and is in danger of collapsing out into the street. We have one grant to hep with repairs in the sanctuary, but it's not enough, so we're using that grant to (hopefully) leverage another one. But we won't know about the grant until June, so we're going to have to board up the window to protect it until then. And to add to the whole deal, we have to sign an easement over to the historical society giving the grant. Shouldn't be a big deal, but since the Presbytery owns our property, they have to sign off on the whole thing--which, of course, makes it all a big deal.

So here's the thing. I'm am coming to hate this beautiful, stained glass window. It is sucking up resources of time and money right and left, and it won't do one damn thing to let the people of NLR know that God loves them. I've been meeting the people of Argenta, and I can't see them walking by that window and thinking, "Hey, I've really got to check this place out!" I hope I'm wrong. God has used stranger things than stained glass to communicate with people. I was just reflecting with someone yesterday about the people God places in our path. Perhaps this whole stained glass ordeal will end up putting our church smack dab in the middle of someone's path. I really hope so. Because we could sell that window and fix just about everything else in the church. Killing me!

Went to a great funeral yesterday for the Rev. Dr. Tom Logue. There was a man with a calling. In spite of a number of personal tragedies, he continued reaching out to people and sharing the Good News in a way that they could hear for over 60 years. The tributes given at his service were funny ( he was a funny man) and poignant. The number of lives he touched can't even begin to be calculated. My dad did a great job with his part. Although, he left out my favorite Tom Logue story, which involves Tom being convinced at a funeral (or maybe a visitation) when he couldn't find his glasses that the man in the casket was wearing them. Perhaps dad thought he couldn't get through the telling without cracking up himself. I wonder if Dr. Logue ever had to deal with a stained glass window?

My Lenten discipline marches on. Sadly, it has not been all that difficult to assemble of a bag of stuff per day to get rid of. Although, a couple of bags have just been trash from some of Maddie's "project areas". Have had to double up a couple of times when I just haven't been home long enough to do it on certain days, and will be doubling all of next week because of upcoming vacation. When I did this before in Germany, we knew we were moving to London, so there was a purging as well as an accumulating of things we wanted to have from Germany. So I couldn't really see the difference in the house. But I wonder this time, if I will see a difference or feel "lighter" by the time Lent is over. Maybe I should learn to be like Dr. Logue and not buy anything new until the old (shoes, pants, whatever) have holes.