Update time!

May the pictures from above not only direct us to appreciate the way in which the building served us so well for 42 years, but also to the lives represented in each picture...the first is Aaron Carper giving us a living illustration of a rooted tree in Psalm 1, and the second is Bernie Elmore and Steve Carper giving the offering to God on the Sunday in September in which we honored firefighters and rescue squad personnel during worship...little did we know what direct role they would play in our lives just a short while afterwards...

Hello to all concerned and praying for this traumatic situation in the life of our congregation...

First, a couple announcements:

We will be gathering for worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the New Hope Community Center (formerly New Hope Elem. ) Directly following our worship time, we will be eating together, so if you would bring some picnic-style lunch (sandwiches, drinks, chips, etc) for your family and maybe a couple extra for those who won't come with anything, that would be great. Directly following the lunchtime, several leaders in the church family will update us on business-related issues regarding what's already taken place since Tuesday morning, what will take place in the coming days, weeks, and months, and most importantly, what we can do to distribute the stress of the upcoming steps through the church family.

We are starting a bank account either today or tomorrow in the name of "Middle River Church Building Fund" if you would like to make a financial contribution in this time. If you send this by mail, send it to this address in care of:

Pam Carper
2464 Laurel Hill Rd
Staunton, Va 24401

We've also heard many offers of help of various kinds from all over the place: whether it's been the Shenandoah District of the Church of the Brethren, individual churches, individuals in general (a man from the local community just popped in and gave a check to a church member the other night), or whoever else. Things are still shaking down a bit to where we're getting a bit more firm grasp on what is necessary and what we need to do; right now the main work is with contractors of various kinds, but as soon as we get more of an understanding of what is needed in terms of more on-the-ground volunteering, etc, we'll get the word out.

With all that being said...here's a couple thoughts that may be useful for our prayers and actions:

It's really easy in smooth times to talk about the calling to pursue being involved in doing whatever is necessary for the church to thrive, but, regrettably, we often don't get the point until something catastrophic happens.

We NEED to stand together as a church family, shift priorities as necessary (sometimes painfully), and attack this challenge together.

We NEED to trust the leadership of our church to make sound decisions about the direction we head as a family (that involves listening to all, but eventually making hard decisions for the good of the whole); that's why we've called them out as leaders.

We NEED to eliminate from our vocabulary words such as "them," "they," and "those people." The church is US, and God carries high expectations for us to love one another and build one another up in this process; especially in times of disagreement. Let's disagree well, and handle ourselves as followers of Jesus are called to act, and seek forgiveness and take a shot to our pride when we fail. Let's do this together.

We NEED to lean on God in this time...the most obvious way we can do this is through a commitment to prayer; individually and together. Those who gathered last evening to pray together experienced a powerful sense of unity and identity...let's not walk away and forget that goal we are called to. Consistency in prayer and unity will define us into the future. Will we continue to gather together in prayer even when it seems tedious or like hard work? If at all possible, let's plan on getting together into the near future at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays to pray together. The locations may vary; we'll stay updated.

Doug Southers, a good friend of the congregation, fellow mission-worker with members of our congregation in Haiti, and a man who has earned a reputation as a straight-shooter, called on Tuesday evening and said this: "You're gonna find out what you're made of through this." A high calling to pursue. Together.