It was on a Sunday in July of 1867 that 14 men and
women gathered to worship in the home of Mrs. Catherine Hornbaker, not far from
what are now the Fairgrounds. They became the foundation of Manassas
Presbyterian Church. Others joined that first group, one here, two there, the
community growing by word of mouth. Within 10 years, the community had outgrown
the shed they had purchased for a worship space. Plans were made to construct
the building that still stands in Old Town.
Were we to travel back in time and participate in a
worship service from those formative years, we’d find things not all that
different from today. Certainly the biggest difference would have been the
length of the service – worship would have lasted more than 2 hours, and the
pews would not have been upholstered, nor, as we head into summer, would the
Sanctuary have been air-conditioned!
Still, we have much on common with our ancestors in
faith, not least of which is reaching out to others with an invitation to join
our community. Even with all the technology we have today that makes
communication easy, inexpensive and instantaneous, the best way to spread the
word about our church is word of mouth – telling your neighbors and friends.
I recently put together a fact-sheet for our Stewardship
Committee and our Elders highlighting what a wonderful church we have. It is
easy to overlook all the good things happening here.
We have an extraordinary music program; anyone of
any age can find a place to “make a joyful noise to the Lord”. We have a deep
commitment to learning as we seek to grow not just in knowledge, but in wisdom.
Our Youth programs are in a word, amazing.
We have one the best preschools in the County. It
is always such a joy for me to hear parents praise the school, and in
particular, our talented, dedicated teachers.
We have a beautiful campus that we are happy to
make available to outside groups such as Beacon, Girl Scouts, support groups,
and others. Our building is a bustling, busy place every day of the week, even
in the heat of summer.
Most important, we are a community that gathers
each Sunday to worship, pray, praise, sing, and learn. We gather in community
in much the same way the first 14 gathered, called by the Spirit to grow in
Christ.
Anne Lamott has written, “in church we live in
community – in shared loss and hope”, or, as wedding vows remind us, in joy and
in sorrow, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want. We cannot worship
the Lord alone; we come together to be together, just as the very first
followers did 2,000 years ago: They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life
together, the common meal, and the prayers. (Acts 2:42)
To God be the Glory!
Pastor Skip
