In the Space

When you walk into St. Silas Lutheran Church, this is what you see.  The space is done and we had our first Divine Service there this past Sunday.  The day before this we had our first major snowfall of winter.  Did that stop us from moving in?  Nonsense!  A couple of families actually braved the roads from Cedar Rapids simply because this was our first service in the new space.  It was great to be there.

I'm glad to finally have a picture of the following:

One of the very first people I talked with upon arriving in North Liberty was Jon Rinderknecht from Atkins, IA.  He wanted to know how he could help this budding congregation.  I heard from a couple of people that he was fabulous at wood-working, so I asked him if he would build us a portable altar and pulpit and give his time if we paid for the materials.  He agreed and has had them ready to go since this past Easter.  He also built a lectern and a cross with a stand.  All of it is easily disassembled because we didn't know what our situation would be, whether we would have a permanent space or whether we would be setting up and tearing down each week.  We're glad to have the permanent space for one more reason now: we get to use these beautiful pieces of liturgical furniture without worrying about damaging them by moving them around.  The pieces are built from walnut with spalted maple paneling.  The pattern of the spalted maple on the altar quite resembles blood dripping, calling to mind the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus that we receive each Lord's Day.  And to top it all off, Jon requested that we pay him absolutely nothing.  He's been one of the unsung saints who has supported our congregation, and I'm glad to finally be able to see and share his work.  This past Sunday the congregation stood to hear the Holy Gospel read from that lectern, heard the Word of God preached from that pulpit, and received the body and blood of Christ from that altar.

We will be having a Service of Carols and Lessons this evening to celebrate the Eve of the Nativity and Divine Service tomorrow for the Nativity of Our Lord.  The space came at the perfect time, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to meet today or tomorrow.  We have a bit of settling in to do, which hopefully won't take more than a month.  After that point we'll be celebrating our one-year anniversary as a congregation and turn our attention to our community to bring people in to receive the Lord's gifts with us.

On January 19th we will be having a formal dedication of the building, welcome of the congregation into synod, and installation of a pastor.  We'll be in touch, probably through the district, to give the specifics when we have everything ironed out.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com

New Space and Called Pastor

When I moved to North Liberty I was called as Assistant Pastor to St. Paul's Lutheran Chapel in Iowa City for the purpose of planting an LCMS congregation in North Liberty.  When I accepted that call the new mission congregation didn't have a name or members or a location, and if it was on me to make those things come about we still wouldn't have any of them.  But thanks be to God!  Just under a year and a half after being ordained and installed at St. Paul's the saints of St. Silas Lutheran Church in North Liberty, IA have called me to be their pastor.  After prayerfully considering this call (for over a year) I accepted and St. Silas now has their first pastor.  When I say, "As a called and ordained servant of Christ" that word "called" means a little more now to the congregation because Christ has called me through them.

Sunday I also had the pleasure of announcing after the service: "This will be our last Sunday in this space!  Next Sunday go to the storefront.  Don't come here."  And there was clapping and cheering.  The contractor is on track to have an occupancy permit for us by this Thursday December 19th, giving us a couple days to move things over from the North Liberty Living Center and get ready for our first service in our new space on The Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 22nd.  Then on Christmas Eve we'll have a Service of Carols and Lessons and on Christmas Day Divine Service.  This transition in space comes at a great time as we enter into the second most joyous season of the Church Year.

Christ has shown that he truly is the one who builds his Church (Mathew 16:18), the one who speaks into the darkness and creates something out of nothing.  Christmas Day when we hear the reading from John 1 we will be rejoicing and giving thanks to God that "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com

Carpet and Christmas and Call Meeting. Oh My!

The space has been carpeted and the kitchenette is fully installed.  On Thursday the second bathroom was being tiled and moldings had arrived for the base of the walls.  Solid core doors are being installed in the back hallway.  Chairs are gradually being moved into the space.  Wallpaper is being chosen for the chancel wall.  We're still on track to be in the space by Christmas, and perhaps even by December 19th.

Tomorrow we finish the transfer of memberships and the congregation then has a call meeting scheduled following the service.  Sometime in January we will be having a big to do: welcome of a congregation into synod, dedication of a building, and installation of a pastor, with breaks for lunch and supper.  Just kidding, it won't be that long.  Maybe.  A more formal invitation will go out through the district when the time comes, but consider yourself invited.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  We're looking forward to finally being able to accommodate more visitors, and especially being in a better position to reach out to the community of North Liberty.  We had done some planning a while back concerning our strategies for outreach, and we will be revisiting that when we move into the space.  There are a great many things we have planned that we will finally be able to do.  More news to follow soon.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com

Painting the Space

Last Friday and Saturday the congregation went to our storefront to paint.  The color on the left wall of the above photo is the color that went on.  The color on the right is what was covered up.  The new color is lighter, has a slight golden tint, and brightens up the space nicely.  The main space and the bathrooms were coated and then touched up.  This was the first time the congregation was able to do something to help the space along.

The half-wall will be wallpapered to set the chancel area apart.  The carpet will also be different in the chancel area and aisles.

Now that the space is painted the contractor can install the cabinets, counter top, and sink, which have all arrived.  Carpet is expected to arrive sometime this week.  Our move-in date still seems on track for Christmas.  We'll be having a dedication service once we're in the space, sometime during the season of Christmas or Epiphany.  I'll post more when we know more.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com