Slideshow image

Before long, it will be our 4th anniversary here at Prince of Faith; but meanwhile, the Lord is at work, preparing a new home for us.  On Tuesday, the Wardens and I met with Archdeacon Barry Foster and the leaders at Trinity Place Foundation to review the plans for our new space.  I am delighted to say that almost every single one of our requests has been accommodated in these updated architectural drawings.  The Baptismal Font (a boulder from the Rocky mountains, for those who, like me, haven’t yet seen it) will be installed indoors, in our worship space.  We will be able to install a Cross on the East-facing wall, and there’s ample accommodation for magnificent liturgical hangings.  There will be a hall downstairs for our Sunday School, as well as socials and potlucks.  It will be equipped with kitchen facilities.  In addition, there is a wonderful space on the main floor, near to the worship space, where we’ll be able to host coffee on Sunday mornings, so no one gets lost finding the social  time after our services!  All our requests regarding storage facilities have been amply met, and as we tweak the details (could we have a sink where the Altar Guild storage will be?), the team at Trinity Place Foundation continue to be very open-minded and accommodating. 
 
There are many reasons now for us to be really quite excited about moving into our new home!  The worship space itself has every possibility of being quite beautiful, with gloriously high ceilings and lots of natural light.  I think all of us walked away from our meeting on Tuesday feeling really very positive – I know I certainly did!  But there are additional reasons to feel wonderful anticipation about this project.  Perhaps for the first time, we got a sense of how cutting-edge this housing facility will be.  Trinity Place is on the fore-front of developing housing solutions that genuinely transform people’s lives.  Jesus said, “whatever you do for the least of these, you do it for me” (Mt. 25:40) – some of the folks Trinity Place will house in this facility are truly “the least of these” in our society, folks who have faced addictions, mental health challenges, and homelessness.  They will be housed with compassion and incredible care.  There will be dedicated social workers who will help them settle into their new life in community with their fellow residents.  There will be 24-7 health care available on-site, so that they can get the medical attention they need, quite literally without taking off their slippers.  There will be a full-time building manager, managing up to 50 staff at this new facility.  In addition to the supportive-living side, there will also be affordable seniors housing available for the community – so if living on Church property has always been your deepest wish, keep an eye open for that opportunity! 
 
It has been a long journey, and it will be a long journey still before we move into our new home.  But God is indeed going ahead of us, preparing the way.  We look forward to the day when the shovels go in the ground, and we can begin our final preparations for our magnificent new home.  In the meantime, we continue to do our work, building up St. George’s congregation, so that on that day we can step fully and open-heartedly into all the opportunities God will open for us in our new home. 
 
The Lord goes before us, and the Lord our God is with us, even now.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.