Make New Friends, Keep the Old

Last week we received surprising news that Abundant Life Faith Center (COGIC) has received a new call and will be relocating to serve neighbors in the Southbridge neighborhood of Wilmington. Their last Sunday sharing our sanctuary is this coming Sunday, July 6. I will be sorry to say goodbye them. In the time that I’ve been at St Stephen’s, Pastor Robert and Claudine Norman have become friends and ministry partners.  They prayed for me through my recent surgery and for others in our congregation, and we have prayed for their loved ones. They’ve been part of Peace of Pizza the last few years and who could forget their fabulous Gospel concert two years ago! When Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Carla Christopher visited St Stephen’s early in my tenure, she was happily surprised to see congregations with such different traditions and styles of worship sharing space and working together so well. She shouldn’t have been surprised. The psalmist writes, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity.” (Psalm 133.1)

In their farewell letter, Pastor Robert and Claudine wrote,

We have deeply valued our time and fellowship with St Stephen’s Lutheran.  We are grateful for the spiritual growth, community, and support we have experienced here.  We will especially miss the family connection and the Peace of Pizza event.  [We] pray for abundant blessings and growth in your ministry.

We rejoice with Abundant Life Faith Center at the new opportunities God has in mind for them!  

Within 24 hours of receiving that news, we heard from a new congregation wondering if we had space we would be willing to share with them. It’s too soon to know whether that will develop into something, but we have exchanged emails and phone calls, and they have toured our building. You know the old saying about doors closing but windows opening.  

Similarly, this is the final summer when Bootless Stageworks will be our theater company in residence.  They also are pursuing other opportunities and other ways of creating art.  We’ll say goodbye to Bootless at the end of August. But just this week we welcomed a new partner to the building.  The Delaware Ecumenical Council for Children and Families (DECCF) moved into office space upstairs, and we are excited to get to know them. Our property team spent the spring readying the space and we wish DECCF a long and blessed season with us. Brian Sanders, the Executive Director of DECCF, is also the pastor of Unity Lutheran Church on Lancaster Avenue in Wilmington.

Change is one of the universal constants in life. People and opportunities come and go, but we trust that God is present through it all, finding new ways to build beloved community. May the psalmist’s words continue to bear fruit at 1301 N Broom Street as we live into our mission: To Love, To Invite, To Serve.

Gratefully,

Pastor Sue