The Strong Word – October 2011

I have been looking at the order of service for the stone laying for our church building on the 4th November 1911, exactly 100 years ago. The day included celebrations in both the afternoon and the evening.

In the evening two sermons were preached with the choir singing an anthem in between. Some meeting! as after a further hymn and collection, a third sermon! There were a number of great preachers on hand for all that preaching, together with the Fuller Silver Band and a tea served at a cost of 6d, that is 2.5 pence in today’s money!

There was the wish that offerings for the building work should be generous so that the church would not have to face large debts as it opened for use in 1912.

It is surprising how similar the aspirations of the church are 100 years later. We too wish to serve our community. We too like a good sing and a nice tea! The costs may have risen, but the scale of project and the numbers of people involved are similar, as with the hope that debt will not hang over the life of the church when the work has been completed.

We still have the desire here at Carey to serve our local community, to be there for our neighbours. Although we may cut out a sermon or two, we still wish to proclaim the message of Jesus and his love for us in word and song.

One of the hymns our forefathers sang celebrated the building of the church, as well as the building up of us all to be the real church of God on earth, living stones built on the deep foundations of prayer in the grace of Christ, to become a people amongst whom the weary and troubled find true rest and hope.

As we start the next 100 years may we remain true to our calling here at Carey, to be like living stones built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I Peter 2 continues:- “we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people belonging to God that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light, once we were not a people but now we are the people of God”. Whatever the state of our building may our hearts be in good repair! May the Lord bless us as we move forward into his future.