Litany of Leaving -- On Our Final Sunday

I wrote this for our last Sunday in our temporary church home on Main Street, November 26, 2017.

It was a way of saying thanks and goodbye. 

God brought us to this place.

When we were unsure of our future, God brought us to this place.

God brought us to this place, and through the power of God’s Spirit a store became a sanctuary.

Through the power of God’s Spirit, a coffee house became a church.

God brought us to this place, and taught us that worship is not defined by the walls that surround it.

From the pulpit we have heard messages of hope, exhortations for justice and prophecies of peace.

God brought us to this place, and taught us that music could still soar in a smaller space.

From the piano, from the choir and from our own voices raised in song, our music has overwhelmed us with joy and moved us to tears. New hymns have captured our imaginations, and old hymns have seemed even sweeter sung together, neighbor to neighbor.

God has brought us to this place, gathering us together for fellowship.

At this counter, we have shared food and laughter, coffee and sympathy. We have been given new opportunities not only to catch up on one another’s lives, but to live out the hospitality of the gospel.

God has brought us to this place, and here we have met Christ.

At this table, our memories have been renewed. We have met Christ, seen Christ, and shared in Christ’s peace. At this table we have been called, and from this table we have been sent.

God brought us to this place and made of it a church. We give thanks for every moment we have spent here. Like the Israelites following God in the pillars of cloud and fire in the wilderness, we trust that God is just ahead of us. God brought us to this place, God leads us still. Amen.