Prices Paid and Passages as Gifts

My childhood parochial school and church were sold this year.  In spite of the fact that I haven't been back there for going on thirty years, the sale really impacted me.  Memories are written on our hearts, but they are also written on wood, glass, and stone.

Not long after, our current long-time parish received news about another church building that has shaped me.  Based on a court decision, our church home would fall into the hands of another group.   We had known that we may lose this beautiful place.  It was a risk that we took when we chose the path of Biblical Christianity.  Still, even when one knows that it may be coming, the loss of the place where memories have been made and graces have been received is a difficult casualty to face.

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I imagine this was likely my last glimpse of the font at which my daughter was baptized and of the church where she had planned to marry.

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We have loved this place.

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Tonight, we entered, for the last time, this church building which we have held so dear as a family and as a community.

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Why am I showing you the really horrible cell phone picture above?

I'm showing it to you because:

1) In spite of the fact that we have a camera that can take closeups of the moon,

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I'm not at all smart enough to remember to take that camera to once-in-a-lifetime rituals for transition, and,

2) Despite my inadequate camera access, I wanted to capture the fact that the aumbry lamp was not burning in that blurry picture up there.  Even though it wasn't Good Friday, our Lord's body was not reserved there.  It was finally time for us to move on to a new home.

So, we brought with us visible symbols of the memories that we would carry onward...

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and gave thanks for the many blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us in this place.

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Then, due to the kind hospitality of other believers, we passed forward to new ground,

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where the Eucharist was celebrated and the aumbry lamp was lighted,

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and that is all that really matters.

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Because home is where our Lord dwells and the aumbry light burns.  Home is where the people of God gather,

--and there will be peace.

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“‘“The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

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the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

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the Lord turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.”’

~Numbers 6: 24-26