HOLY GROUND

Jesus called Cindy and me one late-September day in 2007 and sent us out on a holy and precious venture that lasted for twenty-one months. What we experienced was for us like a “spiritual honeymoon” of sorts. It was sheer pleasure for us as we lived in the joy of the Lord and the love of the people of Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church. It was our privilege to serve as their pastoral family – the first nine months as the “interim,” and for the past 12 months, as the “appointed” pastor. It was a “family affair.”

One source of the pleasure Cindy and I had was that all of our children and grandchildren, except one daughter, worshiped with us and enjoyed the loving fellowship of the wonderful people of Mt Vernon UMC. My sister and her husband from Cincinnati spent one weekend with us. Cindy’s brother and his wife from Virginia, her cousin and her husband from South Carolina, as well as her mom and dad, who live at Westminster Village, came to worship with us. Also during our tenure at Mt. Vernon, the church family celebrated with us as two of our children were married, and again when two more grandchildren were born. What’s more, a large number of our former church family at Dauphin Way UMC in Mobile came out to worship with us from time to time. Based upon their own personal experiences, all concur when we speak of the love of the folk at Mt. Vernon.

Our Lord gave Cindy and me such a special gift of His love in that place. The memories of the people and our brief time among them will bless us for the rest of our lives. Just as He promised He would, the Lord showed up every Sunday; and just as He said He would, every week, He provided His Word that we all needed to hear. It was truly living in the Light as He is in the Light. But really; did the sun actually shine on Mt. Vernon every Sunday we were there? It sure seemed like it.

For sure there were a few Sundays (very few) when it was raining as we set out for Mt. Vernon, and it may have rained again in the afternoon, but when church time came, the sunlight broke through the clouds and literally lit up that little church. Each Sunday, as we rounded the curve on Military Road and the church came into sight, that beautiful little white church was gleaming in the sunlight. On the weekends we stayed in the parsonage, as we opened the living room blinds or the front door first thing in the morning, we were greeted by the lovely sight of the church glowing in the early morning light. And as the sun came up, the church took on a beautiful radiance that seemed to glow brighter and brighter as the sun climbed higher. And again in the evening, as the sunset bathed the church and cemetery in its golden rays, casting its long shadows at the end of the day, it created yet another scene of serenity and peace. Although we tried, a thousand photographs could never capture the beauty our hearts saw. A watercolor by a friend, Ernest Kirkland, came closest.

As beautiful as that little white church is, that is not what makes it special. Man can build beautiful white churches. The countryside is dotted with pretty little white churches. What makes this place beautiful is the glory of the Lord and the beauty of His holiness in the place. The vibrant presence of the Holy Spirit continues to visit Sunday after Sunday. That is what sets the place ablaze. Where God shows up that place becomes Holy Ground. God has indeed shown up and has told this lovely and loving church family that He holds them in His heart and has a work for them to do. As they remain faithful and follow only Him, they will behold His glory as never before; for the best days of Mt. Vernon UMC are yet to be.