Reclaiming the Parish Hall as a Place of Healing and Renewal

Dear Saint Stephen’s Community,

Underneath sheetrock and hardwood, fashioned to the concrete slab and steel beams that support and frame our Parish Hall are words and prayers of inspiration, a vision for how we are to live our Christian life. Before the construction was completed in 2014, our church gathered together to write messages of love, hope, and Christian faith to be the permanent foundation of the Parish Hall. “Dear Lord, thank you for this Church,” wrote James, a word of gratitude for Saint Stephen’s and the place that it is and will always be. Deacon Katy Smith wrote in dark marker, “Welcome the stranger.” Her words have become a reminder of what our faith is really about – God’s unconditional welcome into the Body of Christ – an invitation to a broken world that has the power to heal, restore, and provide the way to eternal life.  

Those prayers are still there. On Sunday, July 10, at the conclusion of the 10:15 a.m. service, we will process into the Parish Hall once again to proclaim God’s victory over death and to honor the Parish Hall as a place of healing and renewal. When Jesus visited the disciples in the upper room just days after his crucifixion, he stood there with his wounds in his hands extending an invitation into the way of love and life. When we stand in the Parish Hall, it will not be without the memories of Jane, Bart, and Sharon. The scars are fresh in our memory, and yet it is the scars that remind us of God’s victory over death. It is the scars that remind us that love is always the way, and the stranger will always be welcome.   

When you walk into the Parish Hall on Sunday, July 10, you will find pictures from the construction of the Parish Hall as well as pictures of moments of joy and wonder in the Parish Hall. We invite you to bring your own pictures to add to this collection. When we gather on July 10, I ask that you consider writing or bringing a note of hopefulness for what you imagine happening in that space in the future. Together we will see that God’s love blankets the Parish Hall to be a place of healing and renewal, even with its scars. I am grateful that our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Glenda Curry, will be with us to lead us in prayers of renewal and hope.   

Prior to gathering in the Parish Hall, our Boomers group will have gathered for a private Eucharist. Both those Boomers who were there on June 16, and those who couldn’t be there on that evening, will have decorated and set up our Parish Hall, hanging up the initial pictures and praying over the space in anticipation of July 10.

I pray that you will join us on July 10. I am also delighted that our former rector, the Rt. Rev. Russell Kendrick, will be with us to preach at three services on Sunday, July 10. Russell was the rector when our Parish Hall was constructed (and sent many of the pictures that you will see displayed on July 10).   

We are Easter people. Through the pain of death, we find life. I pray that our community has grown in our capacity to love, to welcome, to heal, and to proclaim the Good News of God in Christ. 

Faithfully, 

The Rev. John B. Burruss