preparing a place

Renée Antrosio – August 2, 2022 2 Comments

Yesterday was the Ministerial Alliance’s first planning meeting for a celebration of World Communion Sunday, and New Covenant was chosen to host this open-table gathering. It was fun to discuss ideas with ministers from different denominations and exciting to imagine welcoming our wider faith community into our sanctuary again. 

I’m going to bring them back from the north; I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the disabled, expectant mothers and those in labor; a great throng will return here. Jeremiah 31:8 (CEB)

I realize that these promises are to Israel, but…and… I can also pray them for New Covenant. In faith, we prepare. For gatherings we are planning, for opportunities that we glimpse, and for things we can’t yet imagine.

This morning, we met with an electrician to count every non-LED light fixture at New Covenant to submit to Ameren’s energy efficiency program to fund replacements. Then, Jim Linder and I met with the City street-repair supervisor to discuss the hazards of the new sidewalk and how to improve safety and accessibility from White Street. 

Vonne and I have made real progress consolidating storage and making rooms ready. Paige and Carolyn have cleaned up our library, sharing books with those who need them and creating space on our shelves. Piles of papers in the music room have been filed so that surfaces emerge. Doug has the new amplifier and repaired speakers sounding great. And I just got off the phone with Christie security who is happy to re-open the parking lot across the street for us Sunday mornings. Yay!

Set up markers, put up signs; think about the road you have traveled, the path you have taken. Jeremiah 31:21a (CEB)

We look back and consider how far God has brought us. We look ahead in hope for what God will do in the future. May we be faithful with the tasks God has given us. May we share our resources and be a blessing. May Jesus rule in our hearts and our fellowship that we may live into the kingdom of God here and now.  -Renée