I drove to Long
Beach Island last Sunday to visit Island Baptist Church in Beach Haven,
NJ. On a normal Sunday, the service would probably be ending when I arrived at
the church at 11:00am. This was not a normal Sunday. The church building,
like many on LBI, stands empty and gutted.
I then drove to the
Holiday Inn in Manahawkin to attend the morning worship service. Members
embraced one another and recounted common experiences from the previous week,
including cleaning out their homes and others in the neighborhood.
I sensed a passion for worship that I didn't experience when I spoke at this church earlier in the summer. Not that the previous service lacked passion, but there was something different. It was the joy of the Lord that Hurricane Sandy couldn't take from them.
This joy was also expressed during the communion service as Pastor Ray instructed them to remember the Lord's table differently on this Sunday. We were instructed to walk to the front, take the bread and the cup, and share something for which we were thankful. I wondered how some could be thankful having lost so much. Member after member expressed their thanks for family and friends and also for how the church body cared for their needs. There was not a dry eye in the room.
Then George, who lost most everything in the storm, walked to the front to receive the offering. He took the liberty to add another element to the service. He reminded the congregation of how Pastor Ray and Bev Laird had given so much of themselves caring for others in the days following the storm. He invited two women to pray for Beverly, and he also invited two men to pray for Ray.
I wanted to visit this church to encourage them about ways our regional fellowship was coming alongside to assist them in their recovery efforts. Instead, the members of this little church ministered to my heart. They reminded me that it is not stuff you have to offer that is important, but the joy that resides in your heart.
We ask you to continue to pray for Pastor Ray and Bev, and the members of Island Baptist Church. We also urge you to continue to follow our updates on Facebook and on our website for ways you can help this church as well as others throughout our region as they recover from Hurricane Sandy.
I sensed a passion for worship that I didn't experience when I spoke at this church earlier in the summer. Not that the previous service lacked passion, but there was something different. It was the joy of the Lord that Hurricane Sandy couldn't take from them.
This joy was also expressed during the communion service as Pastor Ray instructed them to remember the Lord's table differently on this Sunday. We were instructed to walk to the front, take the bread and the cup, and share something for which we were thankful. I wondered how some could be thankful having lost so much. Member after member expressed their thanks for family and friends and also for how the church body cared for their needs. There was not a dry eye in the room.
Then George, who lost most everything in the storm, walked to the front to receive the offering. He took the liberty to add another element to the service. He reminded the congregation of how Pastor Ray and Bev Laird had given so much of themselves caring for others in the days following the storm. He invited two women to pray for Beverly, and he also invited two men to pray for Ray.
I wanted to visit this church to encourage them about ways our regional fellowship was coming alongside to assist them in their recovery efforts. Instead, the members of this little church ministered to my heart. They reminded me that it is not stuff you have to offer that is important, but the joy that resides in your heart.
We ask you to continue to pray for Pastor Ray and Bev, and the members of Island Baptist Church. We also urge you to continue to follow our updates on Facebook and on our website for ways you can help this church as well as others throughout our region as they recover from Hurricane Sandy.
No comments:
Post a Comment