Church in the Windshield

Church in the Windshield 

Stull United Methodist Church

September 8, 2019

Drive west of Lawrence on East 250 Road, Lecompton, Kansas to the address of 1596. There you will find a very unique United Methodist Church. This well-kept church symbolizes faith, hope, grace and prosperity. It’s an attractive building from the outside and is community serving from the inside.

The marquee at the front of the church says, “Welcome, Stull UMC United in Mission with Christ.” I pondered that statement for a moment and then went around on the other side of the building to take a few more pictures for the blog. The parking lot is on the back side of the church consequently, church members and visitors enter the back door of the church to attend the worship service.

The back of the church was just as impressive as the front of the church. It also left the impression that here was a congregation that took good care of their building. A closer look revealed some interesting things. There was a box on a pedestal and from a distance, I could not tell what it was. I walked up close to the box and saw a clever and unique idea. The box was a place to borrow or return a book and this out door library was often used by members of the church and community. What a wonderful way to encourage reading, I thought to myself, and here is another way of uniting with Christ in mission. 

A slight turn of the camera revealed a prayer garden. It was so peaceful, so quiet, so restful . . . so inviting. One could sit on the bench, meditate, pray or read God’s word and experience His presence in an awesome glorious way. Here is another form of outreach I surmised. Sometimes, it’s the little things that render the greatest spiritual awakenings . . . a prayer garden . . . the song of a meadow lark or the music of an exuberant house wren. I wonder sometimes, how many things God has made to enhance our lives and we are so busy . . . so pre-occupied that we miss them. Sheron and I saw a number of hummingbirds hovering in the air at a feeder and gave God thanks for the little reminders that He sent us.

After the birds sang there was a moment of deafening silence . . .   . Silence in the midst of sound is like a diamond on black velvet. I stood there for a quiet moment and gazed at the prayer garden. Surely, God was in this place.

The silence was broken when a friend of ours asked, “Would you like to see some of the things that our church is doing?” I responded with, “Yes, I would like that very much.”  “Follow me,” he said. A fleeting thought and a Bible scripture came to mind and I wondered if this was what the disciples might have felt when Jesus said, “Come . . . follow me.” (Matthew 4:19). I was escorted to the basement where I saw a well-organized rack of clothes that was available to the community as needed. There was a fully stocked

food pantry next to the clothing store. It was obvious that this church was equipped to be “United in Mission with Christ.”

Soon it was time for the service to begin and we made our way into the sanctuary along with other folk gathered for worship. This little church family greeted us each one with the warmest, sweetest “Hello’s . . . glad you are here.” Why I don’t think there was a person in church that morning that didn’t welcome us. For a little while we felt like we were truly a part of their flock.

A praise band consisting of a violin, bass guitar, piano player and two singers helped us focus as we began the praise worship service. Pastor Marshall Larson, new to the church this year, did an excellent job presenting the message entitled “Blessed Assurance,” and it was based on the scriptures of Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18.

Psalm 139:13-18 New International Version (NIV)

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

The above passage of scripture could certainly be a source of assurance to any Christian person . . . “Blessed Assurance.” The sermon title and the scripture cause me to think about the song in the Methodist hymnal where the words are in part . . . “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Oh what a foretaste of Glory Devine . . .  .

Until next time keep the assurance in your heart and a song on your lips.

Ron & Sheron, drivers behind the windshield