Last Sunday was very interesting and inspirational.
After retiring in 2017, most Sundays I attend the worship service at the Rockbridge United Methodist Church in Rockbridge, Illinois. This is my home church. I attended there almost every Sunday from my earliest memories until I moved away for college.
This past Sunday (Feb 16, 2020), one of the scripture passages read was from Hebrews 12:1-3:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the
cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such
opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
I found myself thinking about the great cloud of witnesses that surround me – especially in that sanctuary. Since 1926, pastors have been proclaiming the gospel from that chancel area in that building. (And in a previous building on that site since 1887.) A couple of the many pastors in that cloud of witnesses who have occupied the Rockbridge pulpit made a big impact on me: Rev. John Richard Seed and Rev. Leroy Sanders. Here are a couple of things I thought about as I sat there after hearing the scripture:
One Sunday, Rev. Seed surprised
the congregation when he sang How Great Thou Art as a solo. He had a great
voice and the song and his singing made a huge impression on all of us. I had
never heard a pastor sing a solo before! Rev. Seed baptized me and told me one
time that he thought God had something in store for me to do.
Rev. Sanders was a pastor who
loved to tell stories and jokes. I don’t really remember any of his sermons,
but I do remember the joke he told the first time he met with the youth group!
He affirmed me and my calling into the ministry. He invited me to preach my
first sermon.
In the afternoon I attended a commissioning service for a mission team (one of our Rockbridge UMC members is on the team) heading to Jamaica in a few days. The service was in a church in a nearby town. Before we prayed for the team, a scripture printed in the back of the hymnal was read responsively. It was from Hebrews 12 – the cloud of witnesses! When the reading was finished, I glanced at the inside cover of the hymnal and saw that the hymnal was given in memory of my aunt, Mary Vesta Weber, who had been a member of that church.
I’m not sure what it was about Sunday, but I just couldn’t get away from the cloud of witnesses! And I was/am grateful!
