St. Paul Lutheran Church

Fulfilling The Dream!

“The job’s not done till . . . “ By Dick Babson

Three years ago, at a special congregational meeting, we agreed to spend $550,000. on the construction of the Dream project.  The plan was to raise half of this cost through the Building the Dream campaign and take out a mortgage loan for the balance.  Our congregation’s munificent support of the drive made it an unqualified success!

Now the project is complete, we are accessible, have a magnificent structure and a mortgage loan. Our congregation has an extensive history of progress through the years made possible by the generosity of our members.  At times it has been a single or small group of members, but for the most part it was the collective effort of all!  The purchase of the building on Norseman Avenue more than 100 years ago, our current building early last century, Lane’s School in the 60’s, the building of the “educational wing”, the purchase of our pipe organ.

It is our hope that we can add retiring the mortgage to this list.  To that end, we are initiating a five year campaign entitled, Fulfilling the Dream in hopes of an early repayment of the fifteen year loan.  The kickoff of this effort was on a commitment Sunday on June 20th.  If you would like to be part of this latest example of our progress, we welcome any and all contributions. If you missed the opportunity to participate last time, don’t let this chance pass you by!

---

Temple Talk - Fulfilling the Dream

by Joel Swann

A few months ago, I found a poem written by a Somerville native named John Holmes.  In the poem, a young man reminisces about growing up and spending time with an older neighbor building model ships. Ever since reading the poem, one of the lines continues to surface in my thoughts and I find myself using it more frequently. Here is the line.

“However you build it, the ship must sail; you can’t explain to the ocean.”

When I was growing up, both of my grandfathers would often say things like this. It was one of their ways of teaching me about life. When I would try to skip some part of a chore or explain that what I had done was “good enough” they would often respond back saying “Any job worth doing is worth doing well.” Other times, I would finish a job but would not put things away properly and I would be told “Every tool has its place.”

Maybe, that’s why I straighten all the hymnals after church! It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. As soon as the work was done and the life lesson of the day was taught, my grandmothers would always have a freshly baked pie or ice cream ready. Three years ago, I was given an opportunity to speak with you about “Building the Dream”. That year, Pastor Charles Lane told us that “Building the Dream isn’t just about improving our church home. It is also about changing our life together as God’s people.” Stan Feener spoke about welcoming   opportunities and allowing them to take us on a journey from which we can never turn back. After those two inspiring talks, I spoke about being an usher and how a group of ladies allowed me to sit in their pew.

With this opportunity to stand in front of you again and talk about “Fulfilling the Dream”, my initial thought is “I’m at the wrong end of the sanctuary again”. It does, however, give me the opportunity to think back upon our journey so far. Three years ago, there were many questions and concerns expressed about the addition.

1. What would it look like?
2. Would we lose the tree?
3. Would we be able to have services during the construction?
4. What about the yard sale?
5. How would we pay for it?

During the construction, we watched the front of the church come down and a new front rise. We trekked like sherpas in the back door, up the back steps, past Joanne’s and Pastor Anne’s offices and then down another set of steps to get into the sanctuary.  We experienced construction dust, a few services without heat and even an occasional flood. It sounds almost Biblical, doesn’t it?

Being an occasional usher during this journey has afforded me opportunities to notice a few changes at St. Paul in addition to the elevator and the new entryway:

• There is a new sense of energy and excitement as people enter the church.
• There always seems to be different paintings and artwork decorating the path into the sanctuary.
• The openness of the entryway is more inviting to all whom visit here.
• That group of ladies has moved to a different pew again!

Most importantly, the stairs are no longer a barrier separating anyone from attending church. We can honestly now say that “All are Welcome!” The addition has truly changed our life together as God’s people. My grandfathers would say that this job was worth doing and was worth doing well. It would definitely be pie and ice cream time.

Although the construction project is now completed, we are still on that journey. As Stan mentioned three years ago, we can never turn back.  Our journey continues as we explore ways to provide financially for the project and the church, as well as explore ways to use the new addition to increasingly ‘Share the Spirit’ at St. Paul.

This brings me back to the line from the poem by John Holmes again: “However you build it, the ship must sail; you can’t explain to the ocean.”

During the past two Sundays, George Scharfe and Ron Fleet presented the financial concerns and reasons for “Fulfilling the Dream”. Next week, Dick Babson will inspire us even more. St. Paul is that ship sailing out into our community. However we build our financial plan, however we fulfill the dream, our St. Paul ship must and will sail.

Let us pray.

Gracious and loving God,
You call us to be stewards of Your abundance, the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us.
Help us to always use Your gifts wisely and teach us to share them generously.
Send the Holy Spirit to work through us, bringing Your message to those we serve.
May our faithful stewardship bear witness to the love of Jesus Christ in our lives.
We pray with grateful hearts, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

---