This past Sunday evening,  I had the great pleasure of hearing Angela Primm sing with our choir during a concert held at our church in Sheridan. Even after a meal of comfort foods including homemade chicken and noodles on mashed potatoes, we did not doze off. Angie’s rousing African-American Gospel music, kept our toes tapping and hands clapping in time. My heart was full as I sat with my husband and parents in our traditional 1917 sanctuary gaily decorated for this occasion in the lights of Christmas. The magic and Spirit of the holidays filled the air all around us.

If I looked closely, I could see evidence of the wear and tear of time: a little peeling paint and some cracks in the plaster. Just earlier in the day we were told that our church is $10,000 behind budget just to keep the building heated and salaries paid. This doesn’t count the repairs that need to be made and the tithe we owe to the greater Methodist conference of $15,000. In the 3 years that we have attended here, members have always come through by the end of the year to make up the difference. We’re in better shape than many churches these days. Priorities in our post-modern society are elsewhere. Even with church goers, the financial commitment to the church often comes last after everything else. The Bible speaks of giving of the “first fruits” of the harvest. But all too often, our offering is made up of leftovers.

Certainly the church is not just a building. Without people to fill it and give it life, the building would be unnecessary. I remember singing as a child, “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together. Every kind of people, all across the world, Yes, we’re the church together.” But without the building, we would be unable to enjoy the community that is the church. Every outreach mission we do, needs a home base. Giving to the church to keep up the building and pay the staff is an investment in the future. If we were not here, the children we feed during lunch club would not have healthy, hot meals. The Learn and Play students would not have the preschool experience to ready them for kindergarten. These missions and more, directly benefit the wider Sheridan community, not just our members.

As the concert was coming to a conclusion, Pastor Carol asked those in attendance to come forward to pray for Angela and her husband. Tim and my parents had already left so I went to stand next to a young mom with her son who have just started coming to our church. He was so cute dressed in his footie pajamas ready for bed. His 3 older sisters were playing in the nursery. Just a few weeks ago, she came to Lunch Club with all the kids. Kathy, who runs the kitchen, found out that her husband had left her and that they were being evicted from their home. Kathy asked the congregation to pray for this family. Prayers resulted in monetary support. Someone else found a rental apartment that the family could afford. Furniture was donated and now they are moved in to their new place. We didn’t realize until afterward that for a while they were living out of their car. As I stood beside this brave, single mom and reached out to touch her little one, my thoughts came back to the church. Who would have stepped in to help if not us? I cringe to think of these precious children sleeping in a car in this cold, snowy weather. I firmly believe that God brought her to us to show us why we are the church and why we must fight to stay in Sheridan another 100 years. My heart is full of thankfulness. We truly are the church together!