Dedication Service, 3 pm Sunday, December 1, 2002, Bowie, Maryland;
The Reverend Richard L. Dowhower, D.D., retired pastor of All
Saints Lutheran Church of Bowie.
Texts: Ezra 3:8-12; II Maccabees 10:1-9; Revelation 1:1-3:22;
I Timothy 1:18 & 6:13; I Thessalonians 2:11-12
"Grace to you
from him who is, who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne
and from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness,
the first born of the dead
and the ruler of the kings of the earth..."
With these words a servant of God named John
on the Island of Patmos
began his greeting and blessed his readers
before launching into a charge to each of their seven congregations.
Another thing he did before setting his charge to their churches,
was to cite the experiences which had prepared him
to write these things to them.
I want to do the same thing today,
citing the personal experiences which commend me
to deliver the charge to follow.
In addition to mentioning my baptism in 1937 and my ordination in 1961,
I invite you to return with me to a Sunday afternoon in February 1973
when as the pastor of a Lutheran congregation
in the north suburbs of Pittsburgh,
I received a telephone call at my home
and heard an excited voice shout,
"Pastor, come quick! The church is on fire!"
You of Village Baptist know all too well
the kinds of experiences that followed:
boarding up the remains, relocating ministries,
negotiating with stingy insurance adjusters, rebuilding
and finally returning to the reconstructed sacred space.
My second experience came in January of 1989,
when my wife and I moved to Pointer Ridge
as I became Pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church.
Driving around the community we noticed with admiration
Village Baptist's previous facility.
Such an inviting and functional building
and what a nice little red brick first unit with a white steeple it
was!
But we were worshiping in the less than luxurious accommodations
of the Community Room of the Pointer Ridge fire hall
with the infamous so-called "charitable" gambling casinos
sharing the room four days a week,
All Saints congregation and I lamented
whether we would ever get to have a "real" church of our own.
(I recall that Village members had a brief experience
of how uninspiring that old place could be.)
Back in 1989 our admiration of you turned to envy and even covetousness.
As you have experienced in these past three years
worshiping in somebody else's space,
to feel like a real congregation you have to have your own holy
place.
Other experiences we share include:
(1) the frustration of working through
the interminable and unpredictable building permitting processes
of Prince George's County!
(2) but also the joy and almost disbelief that day in July of that
year
when we actually moved out of the ranch house and fire hall
into what for us was indeed The Promised Land.
Welcome today, back to your own promised land!
But the most gripping experience bringing me here today
came on what started to be an ordinary Saturday in January of 2000.
I was driving to All Saints for a 9 am premarital counseling appointment
and as I drove down Pittsfield Lane I heard fire engines.
Turning onto Mitchellville Road, I saw the smoke coming from
that cute little red brick church with the white steeple
we had admired for so long.
Embracing Bruce Salmon in the parking lot a few minutes later
left me flooded with all the feelings
from the events I have described for you today.
To have been a supportive mission partner
to Pastor Salmon and the people of Village Baptist Church
is an honor that I cherish this day.
Today I want to help you see yourselves and this congregation
with a clear and insightful mission perspective.
Envision us today in the great faith tradition of Zerubbabel and Jeshua
in Jerusalem in the year 520 Before the Common Era
as Ezra describes the rebuilding of Israel's Holy Temple
by the returning exiles from the Babylonian Captivity.
Sing as they sang "...praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
"For he is good and his steadfast loves endures forever..."
Look through the ageless eyes of faith
and see us today in the great tradition
of the Hebrews under Judas Maccabeus
who defeated the oppression of Antiochus Epiphanes
and purified the restored Temple at Jerusalem in 165 bce.
As Jews everywhere celebrate this week
that victory and restoration in the Festival of Hanukkah
we join them in praising God, the Ruler of the Universe,
for sanctifying us through his commandments
and calling us to kindle our lights.
Now let me get back to the kind of charges to congregations
John modeled on the Isle of Patmos in The Revelation
as he began each letter reciting the virtues of Christ,
then praising the members of each church for their faithful living,
censuring them for their failings,
admonishing them to shape up,
and promising them the conqueror's reward.
Basic to heeding the Lord's charge is for everyone at Village Church
to acknowledge that today's events do not celebrate a completion
but call us to dedicate ourselves for mission.
You have only just begun.
The past three years are the Lord's preparation of you
to emerge into fall and expanded mission.
You have only just begun!
I beg your indulgence to further venture the perspective
that Village Baptist began its current era of enkindled lights
even before that devastating fire of January 8,2000.
I read your history to say that
when this congregation appointed a Long Range Planning Committee
toward the close of 1998
and engaged in a disciplined process of searching souls and Spirit
for the guidance of the Lord of the church,
you were doing far more than
responding to the changing circumstances
of your congregation and neighborhood,
far more than getting ready for expanded ministries
after the mortgages would be paid off.
I believe the Spirit of God was leading you into readiness
for the next adventures he had for you to face.
It is the Lord God himself meeting you
in the experiences of life
in which you may have been making other plans.
Your emergent report, "Toward a New Vision"
says to me that you with the Spirit's guidance
have already written your own charge to Village Baptist Church!
You have charged yourselves to ten Core Values
with which my spirit certainly resonates,
especially your Christ-centeredness, your caring,
accepting, challenging, celebrating and serving.
Be, I would charge you, that which you claim to be!
I love your new Statement of Purpose.
Especially fascinating to me are phrases like:
"risking in faith"
and "seeking in restlessness."
I dare you to be so unchurchy as to make those happen!
I thrill to your "Vision Highlights"
especially such statements as:
"celebrating the value of everyone"
"joyous, convenient, participatory worship"
"generous support of community ministries"
"a well-trained leadership corps"
and "global witnessing."
You go, Villagers! You go!
Reading your Long Range Plan on your website
has made me anxious to return here
to see just how Village Baptist congregation
would act out this energetic and lively calling.
You leaders of Village Church have laid before us
a more profound charge than I could have ever done on my own.
But do you have the drive and energy left
to actualize what you have envisioned?
Or will this report,
like so many other congregational Long Range Plans before it ,
die in the dust of neglect.
And how about the rest of you?
Do you claim ownership with commitment to action,
or is this someone else's thing
for which you have no sense of responsibility?
It would be a tragedy for "Toward a New Vision"
to be abandoned for whatever reason.
"Toward a New Vision" is a dream for greatness in parish ministry
which I, for one, pray you are being empowered to achieve!
As St. Paul charged Timothy:
"fight the good fight"
"keep the faith"
"have a good conscience"
and I would add,
Respond in readiness for the Lord's next adventure for Village Baptist
Church!
God bless you!
Thank you so much for inviting me today!