The Spiritual Gift of Generosity

On a recent Lord's Day at the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinty, I was sitting in my usual place in the choir at the back of the church.  On that particular Sunday, I had a moment to just sit and enjoy our beautiful worship space.  I recalled how in the very early years the Lord remarkably provided all we needed to grow a church in this place.  This space is a warm and wonderful place that contributes to our corporate worship through beautiful sign and symbols of our relationship with the Almighty.  Here are a few details I mused over on that recent Sunday morning: 

I recalled all the parishioners who worked hard to transform this old warehouse into the beautiful worship space that it has become, from the construction of the walls, to the flooring, the lighting, paint color selections, and carpeting.  

I looked at the retable, altar rail, and font that Bill Bargeloh had so skillfully built when we first moved in here.  On each side of the retable (table behind the Lord's Table) are the cathedra and assisting priest's chair that Larry Pettinato had lovingly made.  Larry also fabricated the large cross over the altar that draws my minds to Christ every Sunday.  

Sitting prominently on the retable are the "office candles."  The candelabras were given to Holy Trinity by my brother and sister-in-law.  The Eucharistic candle holders on the Lord's Table were also a gift from a parishioner.  The silver chalice and ciborium (the vessel holding the Eucharistic bread and wine) that we use each Sunday were donated by a person living in Swansea, SC that almost none of us know.  

Then my eyes went delightfully to the frontals, vestments and hangings that had been donated by many over the years.  On the walls around me I could see my wife Nancy's offering of love in the renaissance reproductions telling the story of the nativity.  Had we been in the Easter cycle of the church year, I would have been looking at my mother-in-law's paintings of the "Way of the Cross" that were her Lenten discipline many years prior to the planting of this church.  

Looking at our pascal candle stand, I was reminded of a road trip several of us took to All Saints Anglican Church in Peachtree City, Georgia.  They had started that church just prior to us planting Holy Trinty here in North Augusta.  They were willing to share with us their experiences of starting a church.   This lampstand was a gift from that congregation to us.  

Our noble-looking eagle podium, a great symbol in the Anglican tradition, was given to us by a friend of the congregation living in Fort Mill, SC.  Earl the Eagle Podium, as we affectionately call it, came from a parish church somewhere in rural England.  It is skillfully carved and quite old.  We are blessed to have Earl from which to read our scriptures and lead our prayers. 

These and many other things reflect the spiritual gift of generosity we experienced in this church family in those earlier years, and generosity continues characterizes our life together to this day.  Thanks be to God.