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“Dedication”, (I Kings 8:22-30 ) A Sermon Preached by Rev. Dr. Peter W. Shidemantle
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Service of Dedication, September 12, 2004 |
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PEBBLE HILL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 5200 Jamesville Rd., DeWitt, NY 13214 Phone: 315-446-0960 FAX: 446-0672 |
| The dedication of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem (I Kings) is hardly comparable, it would seem, to what we are doing here this morning. That was the temple for a nation, the center of devotion for all Jews everywhere and for all time. We’re just sitting here in little old DeWitt, New York. The Temple’s magnificent construction was unmatched – ours infinitely more modest, (though taking almost as long to build!). But its purpose was largely the same as is the purpose that we are about when we gather in this place – a house constructed, a house expanded, for the praise of God and prayer to God, to be nurtured in the ways of God, together as God’s people. And so the dedication of that place in that time and this place in this time is not, I would suggest, all that different. To “dedicate.” The first two definitions of that word, according to Webster, are 1) to set apart for a definite use, and 2) to become committed to a goal or a way of life. Both of those definitions are in play here for us here this morning. If you’ll recall, there were three things we said we wanted to accomplish when we undertook this project and when we committed to it as a congregation. The first was accessibility. “This all started with an elevator.” That’s been the joke around here, as things have stretched on and on. We wanted to make all levels and areas of our facility accessible – reachable, available, useable to all of our members and to other groups that use this house. Today we dedicate our new elevator, our new restrooms, our new entrance for the use of all, but especially those who have been prevented from full participation in the life of this community by physical barriers. But accessibility is more than elevators and rest room stalls and ground level entrances, isn’t it? Today we are invited to dedicate ourselves, and dedicate ourselves anew, to being an accessible community of faith – dedicated to those ways that people will have access, through us, to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the life of his faithful people. As we know, it’s not just our buildings that can get in the way or prevent who we are called to be and what we want to do as the church. The biggest barriers to the vitality and growth of the church aren’t brick and mortar but flesh and blood. As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to not be “in the way” but to be the way, that we might see and know in one another, that others might see and know through us, the astounding love of God, the life of blessing, the gift of salvation. There are many things that have a part in this, things we’ve been thinking about and working on. Is our worship accessible? Our music? Our curriculum? Our Sunday morning schedule? But the most important question behind all these and behind any growth strategies or programmatic techniques is, “Is God accessible here?” Are we a community that is open and transparent to the movement of the Spirit, open to the questions and yearnings of searching hearts, open to the gifts that others bring? This whole thing did start with an elevator, but as we continued in our planning the committee, in its wisdom, asked staff and volunteers involved in our various ministries to project into the future and consider the kind of space needs that would enhance our ministries and our outreach. Two additional things rose to the top and found their way into the design of our physical spaces, reflecting key commitments of this congregation. One was the desire to open ourselves even more to our community. There was a vision of offering a place where important common concerns might be addressed, a place of helpfulness and hopefulness for children, young people and adults. We want to wear the place out with people and groups using these spaces to meet and discuss, to celebrate and dance, to share and to learn. Today we dedicate new and enlarged spaces for children, shower rooms for overnight and mission work groups, a refurbished fellowship hall for community gatherings and celebrations, a beautiful courtyard room where light pours down and draws us up, the center of which is in line with the cross that is the center of our common life. We envision our open hands, both reaching out with inviting love and receiving from others the gifts they bring. We envision a place for young people to come to meet and have fun together and serve their community together in ways that offer an alternative to the destructive and even deadly patterns of alcohol and drugs at house parties and field parties – in a community of significant means but few alternatives for its young people. As we dedicate these spaces for these uses, we are invited to dedicate ourselves anew as a church that is not turned in on itself but turned outward toward our community and our world. Each Lord’s Day we are led from this place of worship by acolytes bearing the flame that symbolizes the light of Christ that leads us into the world, where we are to be about our ministries as Christians. God goes before us, and it is God’s presence to work in the world to which we bear witness. And the other key commitment of this congregation that has been designed and built into these spaces we dedicate today, is the Christian nurture of our children, youth and adults. This place has always taken seriously that part of the greatest commandment that says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your ...mind.” To love the Lord our God with all of our minds is les to know biblical facts or Reformation history, or even Presbyterian polity, than it is to grow in our understanding of the mind of Christ. It is to grow in our ability to see ourselves as God sees us, and to see our neighbors as Christ sees them. It is to be less concerned with intellectual certainty than with the sure and certain hope we have in Christ Jesus. It is an o-penness to being stretched in new directions, challenged to walk more faithfully in the way of Christ. To love the Lord our God with all of our minds is to approach the scriptures with the expectation that God has a word for us there. As you know, we took our son off to college a few weeks ago for his freshman year, far away from home. The first few days – and especially nights – were pretty tough for him, and for us. For the last year or so Dale has been reading the Bible every night, the Bible he received here on Confirmation. He’s always been a pray-er. After about three nights of very difficult phone calls Dale called and said, “You know, Mom and Dad, I’ve been reading the Bible, and I’ve been praying, and I’ve realized that I am at home wherever I am, because God is here.” Dale grew up here. He learned that from you. Solomon prays to the Lord in the dedication of the Jerusalem temple: “Let your word be confirmed (here).” And so we pray today, let your word be confirmed, here. As we dedicate these spaces let us dedicate ourselves to God’s word of life, of love, of hope, of peace. Let his word be confirmed in us.
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| Copyright, Rev. Dr.
Peter W. Shidemantle. All rights reserved. Permission granted for
non-commercial use.
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