Leaving the Old Building (May, 2012)
“John Yates led us out as well as he had led us all along. He admonished us to be careful not to grumble about the inevitable inconveniences and sacrifices ahead. We did not want to let him down. We celebrated God’s faithfulness with a joyous and deeply meaningful farewell service of praise and thanksgiving and wise counsel* from each young Timothy who returned to join us.
Virginia Watson used to say, ‘There is something about a prayed-in place.’ Indeed, there is. John Yates anointed and blessed the pulpits in both sanctuaries on our last Sunday. On the day the property was turned over to the Falls Church Episcopal, our attorneys walked the property and prayed as they had nearly every week for the last six years. And Leslie Hackman and her team prayer-walked the entire property, praying in every room and anointing even the foundation with oil.
John and Susan Yates’ oldest daughter, Allison Gaskins and her husband Will came to the church to pray one last time the day we had to turn over the property to The Falls Church Episcopal. They said goodbye to the place that had been home to Allison since she was a little girl, where they have baptized all five of their children. Allison and Will organized a group to make sure the church was clean and ready to be turned over, and even baked a cake to leave for the new rector.
At our farewell service of praise, one of our church planters, taking a line from the movie, Jaws, suggested that we were going to ‘need a bigger boat.’ He did not necessarily mean in terms of physical size, but that the Lord was calling us to more in terms of ministry. One young parishioner told her mother that the loss of the property reminded her of the cicada invasion several years before – those insects shed their exoskeletons because they had outgrown them. Those words recalled lyrics from Sara Groves’ song ‘Painting Pictures of Egypt:’
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I’ve learned.
We left without bitterness, and with joy and anticipation. God had proven His faithfulness over and over. Why would we doubt Him now? That is not to say that there was not sadness about our losses. Grief and gratitude can and did coexist in the members of our congregation as we said goodbye.”
—A member of the Personal History Writing Group
*Sunday, May 13, 2012
Notes from the last service at the East Fairfax Street church…
Hebrews 12
Jack Grubbs (Potomac Falls) used Hebrews 12 – running the race – and exhorted us to throw off encumbrances, whether they are bitterness, second-guessing, grief, whatever – so we are ready to run the race God has chosen. He then said the only way forward was to fix our eyes on Jesus, and to know that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who are cheering us on.
Being Family
David Glade (Christ the King, Alexandria) talked about coming as a fellow and being so young and all that he learned here. He talked about us being a family, and that we are moving out as a family – it’s about the people, not the buildings.
God’s Provision
Patrick Ware (Winchester Anglican) talked about the ways God met their needs when they started Winchester Anglican – naming specific people who showed up to help with all the logistics, and reminded us that God is faithful and will meet every need. He used Acts 18.
Tailor-Made Refining
Bill Haley (St. Brendan’s in the City) was full of excitement that God is allowing us to be used in new ways and suffer a little for our faith. He said that when he was going through a very dry time, his spiritual director said, “Bill, God’s pedagogy for us is tailor-made.” God’s ways of maturing and refining us are very specific. So, we can rejoice at this outcome because He is clearly speaking very specifically to our congregation and using this to mature us. Bill talked about how he has learned that God needs to pry open our hands and take away the things we cling to so that they are empty and ready to receive what we really want. He told us that Mother Teresa said, “When He takes something away from me, I smile, because He has not forgotten me.”
Psalm 16:5
James Swinford (eventually planting a church in Williamsburg) used Psalm 16:5, where David calls God his portion, an image of the cup of salvation and the idea of a feast. He challenged us to think deeply about whether we can honestly say that God is our portion – that He is what is filling us up, not other things.
Time to Fish
Johnny Kurcina (Christ Church Vienna) talked about his vision for Vienna not being to build a church building, but to establish a fishing operation to go out into the community and reach people and show them Jesus. He exhorted us to start fishing.
Isaiah 49:6
Wright Wall (planting a church in DC called All Nations Anglican) used a scene from the movie Jaws about how the guys hunting the shark had way too small a vision of what it looked like. When they finally saw the massive animal, one turned to the other and said, “Well, you’re going to need a bigger boat.” His point was that perhaps our vision of what God wants to do is way too small, and that we have been limited by the property. He told John he’s going to need a bigger boat. I don’t think he even meant in terms of numbers, but rather in terms of really sharing Christ with people and reaching out in bigger ways in ministry. His Scripture was Isaiah 49:6.
2 Timothy 2:1-3, 8
Sam Ferguson (our newest Timothy) talked about being given the advice to find a good church and a strong mentor and keep quiet, listen, and learn. He shared the things he had learned in the last nine months. He related a conversation he had with his dad when the court decision came out in which he told his father that if in several decades he is pastoring a church and is able to stand firm and be humble, it will all be because of what he has heard and seen during his time here, from the clergy and the people: (1) standing firm, (2) praising in loss, and (3) joy. He ended by making a strong statement (pointing at John) that he would never let that man down. He was pledging not to let John down, really not to let God down. He also talked about the impact of the church on the next generations and how they have learned from watching how we have walked through these years. He used 2 Timothy 2:1-3 and 8. He said, “You are infusing me with courage. You are building the next generation.”
Ephesians 3:21, James 1:2-4
Gary Haugen (International Justice Mission) also talked about the next generation and talked about the formation of IJM. He talked directly to the kids present and strongly exhorted them about how much the church needs them and needs them to mature in Christ to be ready. He used Ephesians 3:21 and James 1:2-4. He reminded us what a gift it is to be embarking on a great adventure with God – a gift, not a loss. He encouraged us to let endurance have its full effect and reminded to us not to go on the trip but miss the adventure.
Psalm 116
David Hanke (Restoration Anglican, Arlington) talked about being convicted the first time he preached in the main sanctuary by the little plaque on the pulpit that says, “Feed My Sheep.” He talked about the burden he felt to preach rightly and feed the sheep, and that’s what we need to be about as we go out. He used Psalm 116.