by Michiana Covenant | Oct 15, 2013 | Building
The sanctuary is coming together! Thanks to the diligent labors of many, many hands, all 26 pews are now belt sanded, rough sanded, detail sanded, and fine sanded (and then sanded again in many instances!) — and then given 3-4 coats of polyurethane — and then the book racks were sanded, poly-ed, and re-attached — and then they were installed!
When you think about it, every pew has passed through the hands of at least 20-30 different people: those who loaded and unloaded the pews in August
those who cut them down and organized them in the fellowship area
those who took them out and sanded them
those who poly-ed them
those who installed them in the sanctuary
Two months of hard work later — here is the result!
Here is the sanctuary as the carpet was being laid:
As the poly-ers finished the pews, we started installing them, so the following Sunday we had a *few pews* installed…
And then came the ceremonial “carrying of the last pew” — as we finished the sanding on Saturday afternoon…
And here is a view of the pews from the front — with all but the last six pews installed…
Here is what it looks like with all the pews in place. It’s a pretty dramatic change from the old white and purple square!
Here is the view from the back:
And here is the view from the front:
Thank you to all who made this possible through your labor, your gifts, your prayers, your encouragement, and your love.
by Michiana Covenant | Sep 19, 2013 | Numbers
I had been planning for some time to start a series on Numbers this fall — but the building project makes it even more appropriate. The opening chapters of Numbers are all about the arrangement of the people of God as the Wilderness Camp — the War Camp of the Great King. They are sojourners on the way from Sinai to the Promised Land. God has rescued them from Pharaoh and he continues to provide bread from heaven for them in the wilderness — but they are not yet what they will be.
As it turns out, the opening chapters of Numbers will set us up nicely for our building dedication service on October 27 — as we should be at Numbers 10 by then, when Israel has everything set up and ready, and now embarks on its journey across the wilderness.
Of course, some might say, “But Pastor, don’t you know what happened next?!! Israel disintegrated!” Yes, but keep reading. The book of Numbers includes the story of Israel’s rebellion — but the overarching narrative is that God had mercy on his people, and in spite of their rebellion, he renewed and sanctified his people, and by the end of the book, there is a faithful generation that is ready to enter the Land. So yes, I fully expect that we will disintegrate — that we will sin against each other — that we will grumble against each other (and against God!) — but I also expect that God will show mercy, that God’s people will repent and forgive, and that by the end of our stories there will be a faithful generation that will be ready to the enter the Land. There is no way to the Promised Land except the way of the cross.
by Michiana Covenant | Sep 17, 2013 | Building
Here’s another update on the building project. We pulled everything out of the sanctuary on Sunday evening.
On Monday, the painter began his work. We still hope to see everything ready for carpet by Thursday. Lord willing, by this Sunday the transformation should be almost complete:
Of course, the pews won’t be ready for Sunday. On Saturday we had yet another sanding party:
And the indefatigable Phyllis brought lunch! (Thank you, Phyllis!!!)
But at least now the sanded pews outnumber the unsanded pews!
And thanks to Hugh and Jacob, the pulpit platform is almost ready for the carpet guy on Thursday…
Stay tuned — the dedication service/20th anniversary celebration will be on Sunday evening, October 27!
by Michiana Covenant | Aug 24, 2013 | Building
Today was pew-day at MCPC! More than 40 people turned out — well, maybe half of those were under the age of 15, but given Abby’s sanding, and Elijah and William’s drilling/screwing — not to mention childcare and general usefulness — I’d say the 8-14 year olds did their fair share!
Thanks to Hugh Lynn for capturing this day on camera — and thanks to the whole crew for a hard day’s work. All 26 pews are now cut down to size, and due to the sanding efforts of Rachael and Deborah and Jay and Karen and Margaret (and Abby!!), we have a pretty fair estimate of what it will take to finish the job.
At the beginning of the day, the task looked daunting: turn all these 19-foot pews into 14-foot pews… and start sanding them down.
But Jay was ready for the task!
And the masterminds put their heads together and came up with a plan…
Everyone pitched in!
And as the afternoon progressed, the pews disappeared!
We finally had to tell the sanders to stop…
The last pew makes its entrance! Now we just need to sand and stain them!!
by Michiana Covenant | Aug 22, 2013 | Breckinridge
September 25, 2012
I’m only eight months away from RJB’s death, and it isn’t pretty. I’m reading letters from old friends — those who had known him for fifty years or more — and they are begging him to come back to Lexington (his hometown — 40 miles from Danville) to see them again. Sure, maybe they disagree on politics — or on whether to join the southern Presbyterian Church — or whether the Old School should have reunited with the New School…
click
If the telephone had been invented, Breckinridge would have hung up on them. 75% of the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky was now part of the southern General Assembly — and then 90% of the 1/4 of Kentucky that remained in the Old School had the temerity to vote for reunion with the New School. And then the reunited northern Presbyterian General Assembly removed him from his professorship at Danville Theological Seminary — some said because he had dared to oppose the Reunion. His brother, William, fled to Missouri, where the independent Old School Synod of Missouri would refuse to join either Assembly until 1874.
In Kentucky politics, it was no better. Anyone who had been pro-Union during the War was now an outcast. Lawyers couldn’t find clients. Shopkeepers couldn’t find patrons. Pastors couldn’t find churches. Many sought out R. J. Breckinridge, seeking his assistance in obtaining the patronage of the Ulysses S. Grant administration (in the old “spoils system” the President could appoint every post master, tax assessor, etc., in the country!). More simply left Kentucky for the north.
R. J. Breckinridge simply hung up.
Of course, in the age of letters, it was easier to say (and in fact it was true) that he was too ill. His long-standing pattern of being deathly ill every winter got worse in 1869 when he was hit with neuralgia — one of the most intense facial pains imaginable. During the last year of his life he was rarely able to write. As he wrote to his son, Willie, one letter could take an entire day to write.
But write he did. He had to make sure that his estate was tidied up for the sake of his children. The Panic of 1870 had severely affected several of them, and he hastened to arrange his affairs so that his death would not add to their troubles. His sizeable estate would guarantee that all of them (with some continued exertion of their own) could live comfortably.
Death continued to stalk him. Two grandchildren died — only weeks apart. Then, a few weeks later, his brother, William, lost a grown son and his wife of 46 years in the span of two months.
By the spring of 1871, RJB’s world had contracted to a very close circle of family, and a very few close friends.
