Church in the Windshield
First Congregational Russell, Kansas
March 1, 2020
It’s
Sunday Morning, March 1, Sheron and I have not been able to travel for the
“Church in the Windshield” for a while. So we decided that it might be a good
time to feature a church . . . which
church should it be? We decided that we had not been to the First
Congregational Church in Russell and this would be our Sunday to visit. The
First Congregational Church of Russell is believed to be the actual first
church in Russell. The original church was organized when the rail- road came
to Russell in the eighteen hundreds. Here was a church that began with services
held in a box car at the railroad. It seems to us that it would have been fun
to have attended some of those services. A sign in front reveals the church
origin. Take a look.
Our
journey to worship that morning, took an interesting twist. We arrived early as
we usually do, parked our car in the designated parking place and began our
trek to the building. We walked down the sidewalk around the corner and headed
for what we thought was the front door. Before we could get to the front door,
a friendly voice greeted us from a side entrance. “Are you looking for the door
of the church?” she asked. “Yes we are,” we responded. “That door is not being
used anymore, come this way and Welcome,” she said. We followed her instructions and made our way
down the sidewalk toward door. Once we entered the sanctuary, we were greeted
by the congregation. The congregation was older but certainly friendly enough.
Pastor Ron Wedel (see picture later in the blog) came down from the front of
the church, bid us a nice welcome and told us that the church had “Open
Communion” (meaning any true believer can receive Holy Communion). The
sanctuary was well kept and conducive to worship. Worship started with a
responsive call to worship and a hymn “Wonderful Words of Life.” My mind
drifted back to my growing up years where we often sang the lyrics; Sing them
over again to me wonderful words of life, let me more of their beauty see,
wonderful words of life . . . Words of life and beauty, teach me faith and duty
. . . beautiful words . . . wonderful words of life. That song has
always given
me lift and it gave a lift to the church as well. After the morning-prayer and
the offering, something happened that gave my heart a pull. Pastor Ron Wedel had laryngitis and it was
very difficult for him to talk, but he stood bravely before the congregation to
read the scriptures. However, before he could start reading the scripture and
elderly man who had difficulty walking, stood up and said, “I am going to
volunteer to read the scriptures for you this morning to take some of the
stress off of you.” Needless to say, both Sheron and I were impressed with that
type of caring for the pastor. Later, we found out that the pastor was relatively
new to ministry and that made the event even more
special. Wouldn’t it be great
if we could all share the love of Christ as did the elderly gentleman for the
pastor? Pastor Wedel’s message that
morning “What you Eat, Give Life or Death” taken from Matthew 4:1-4. In this
passage of scripture Jesus was tempted for forty day without food to turn
stones into bread. Jesus of course, refused to do that. The message was a great
message for the first Sunday in Lent. And by the way, Pastor Wedel gained his
voice back during the sermon. God does work His wonders in mysterious ways!
Following
the message that morning Holy Communion was served at the pews. The altar at
the front of the church (though the picture was taken after the communion
utensils were removed) enhanced the communion service. For us, a beautiful
altar helps us remember our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The inscription on
the altar
says, “In Remembrance of Me.” Perhaps that is why it is so special to
us. Following the service that morning, we took some pictures of the outside of
the church.
One
of those pictures was that of the corner stone.
Corner stones of churches have always intrigued me and perhaps it is
because some of them had metal boxes on the inside (time capsules). This church
was built in 1951 . . . was there a time capsule or an infamous metal box hidden
behind the corner stone? It’s a mystery
. . . perhaps we shall never know.
And
finally, there is a picture of the church marquee. Here is a church that would
give you a warm welcome.
Until
next time, God can be found in so many different places. Take time for Him in
the church of your choice.
Ron
& Sheron, Drivers behind the Windshield
