Farewell For A While

By the time our service at Grace starts today, I will have finished both the morning (English) and evening (Hindi) services here at Covenant Blessings Church. We had a great time this morning and it was good to see everyone here again - Basil introduced me as a father to the church here. Now I don't know about that (I'm way too young after all!), but the worship was outstanding and I think the preacher went over pretty well too. I used the sermon I preached at home last Sunday to start our 40 Days of Community - "Why We Need Each Other".

I was telling them that I love the church - and I do. That's only right, because the Bible says that Jesus loves the church too. Looking forward to being back in our own church next Sunday!

This will be my last post here for about a week as we leave early tomorrow on the four hours drive to Poona where the church camp is being held. It's in an old hospital which is now a retreat center. I hear it's pretty basic, so it should be fun. Basil tells me there's generally a rat that keeps coming up the drain in the room I'll be using - should be fun.

Please pray that these next five days will be significant in the lives of everyone who is there. Friday night we start the long journey back to JFK, arriving Saturday afternoon. Taking the time difference into consideration, we'll be traveling around 34 actual hours, but it will be worth it to sleep in my own bed again and see our own church family on Sunday.

As we move out from here tomorrow, Gill will be heading to South Africa with a missions team. I guess we share the same passion to show God's love to those who need him and when you think about it, it's a good job we're on the same page even though we're on different continents.

Just About Made It

Looks like I'll just squeak in with our Friday feature - Cool Person Of The Week. It's Saturday morning here and I'm back in Mumbai, but it's still Friday back home in the USA.

We finished the Pastors Conference yesterday and those who attended were very appreciative of all the teaching. In a country with no resources available to church leaders, these guys got enough material to help them with their ministry for several months to come.

We flew back here last night on Jet Airways, the Rolls Royce of economy airline travel. Trust me, Delta, American, US Airways, United, and even my favorite Jet Blue, could all learn a lesson from Jet. They actually treat you like people. Before take-off there is a drink and candy, during the flight they serve a full meal and they are the most courteous airline staff I have ever encountered. All this during a sixty minutes flight by the way. Now it may seem as if my rating of their service is based on the amount of food provided, but we all know that would be an unfair conclusion to come to!!!

HERE IT IS ... SUPERCOOL PERSON OF THE WEEK
It will come as no surprise I'm sure to learn that my Supercool Person Of The Week comes from the Indian sub-continent. It is our host for the Pastors Conference that has just concluded in Udaipur, Pastor Manohar (don't worry about his last name, iot's unpronouncable and I can never remember it anyway!)

Manohar has done a great job planting a good church in this tourist city in the state of Rajestan. From the church he does a lot of outreach into the surrounding villages and he is now in the process of training ten young men who will move out next year and plant another ten churches. He works tirelesly, loves people who need Jesus and is the most courteous host you could imagine. By the way he also did a great job of translating for us for the whole conference.

Here's the bit that struck me - Manohar, his wife and teenage daughters live in the balcony of the church. They work with people who are dirt poor and I suppose a tithe of next to nothing is very little indeed. His income must be tiny, far below what he would need to rent or buy a home, so they have put a couple of sheets of plywood up against the rail of the balcony for some privacy and they all live there.

I never had to live in the church in all my years of ministry. We've always had a home to go back to. I really admire this man. He's totally sold out to what he's doing. So he's my hero as I look at the past week.

Of course I'd love to see him in a place of his own, but we'll chat about that later!

The Zodiac & I

Someone who is new to our church asked me yesterday why I have astrological data on my blog profile. That's a fair question.

The answer is not that I believe that stuff. It's part of the template that the host website gives you. I looked upon it as an annoyance, but I realize it could give the totally wrong impression, so I'm looking into doing something about it.

Thankfully I don't need demonic weirdness to tell me my future, God has written it very clearly. His plans are to prosper me and to do me good, to give me a future and a hope.

There's a lot of darkness over here, a real spiritual battle going on, but I have met some outstanding pastors who are at the forefront of that warfare. In this area the government has put together a list of churches that are "converting people". Sadly there are only 51 churches on it of the hundreds that exist.

The host church for our conference is high up that list. I'd want Grace Church to be on that kind of list too. In some ways it's a threat, but it's also a badge of honor. If people are not coming to Jesus, what's the point of it all?

Have a great day loving others and enjoying God's love.

Prayer & Pills

Isn't it amazing what a lot of prayer and two Tylenol PMs can do for you? After less than five hours sleep in over 56 hours, last night I slept from 10.00pm until 6.30am. It would have been longer if my alarm clock had not pulled me back to earth from whatever I was doing in my world of dreams. I could also have switched it off and gone back to sleep, except I did need to spend some more time preparing today's teaching for the Pastors' Conference. So day one is almost done. We have a service tonight for the pastors and the people from the church hosting the conference and I'm scheduled to preach. Then it will be back to the hotel and hopefully more sleep.

I remember many of the pastors here from last year's conference. They are good guys, doing a great job in what is often a hostile environment. One pastor told me today that a while ago his 12 year old son was kidnapped by Hindu extremists. They took him to some secluded place and one drew a knife to kill him. He kicked out and his two captors both fell to the ground and stayed there unable to move as if being pinned down by some unseen force. The boy ran and escaped.

In this state only 1% of the population are Christians, yet the Hindus are worried about how they will influence the state. So the majority are acting like the minority, while the minority is thinking like the majority.

So whatever you have come your way today, remember that one with God makes a majority and remember the force is with you - God that is!

Sleep Deprivation

Arrived in Udaipur and checked into our 175 year old hotel for the duration of the Pastors' Conference, which is being held in a nearby church.

Was traveling over Sunday night and dozed on and off for two hours. Last night I slept for 1 1/2 hours, so if you get a moment, please pray I sleep tonight as tomorrow is a full day. Thanks!

India Revisited

It was good to walk out of the crowded Mumbai (Bombay) airport last night and see our good friend Basil D'Souza there waiting for us. Door to door the journey took little more than 24 hours, which is not too long at all compared with some of the traveling our missions teams have done this year. It was 82 degrees at 10.45pm, which is pretty good for October in my book. Daytime temperatures should be in the 90's all the time we're here.

What a privilege to be able to stand with Basil as he works in this great country and with the churches under his care.

Pastor Agnel in Goa has been in negotiations over a piece of land and it looks like that will now move forward. So as I lay in bed this morning and read today's devotional from 40 Days of Community, I reflected on the fact God really does know what he's talking about ... we are definitely better together.

This afternoon we fly north to Udaipur for a conference with 100 pastors that will run from Wednesday to Friday and I don't expect to be back on here until we return to Mumbai at the weekend. Have a great week - read the book, get into a group and let's keep growing together!

Top Ten Stupid Questions

I have spent quite a bit of time talking to the press this week and have been amazed at some of the questions I have been asked. Let me say upfront that all the editors and reporters I have had conversations with have been extremely courteous and their reporting has been fair and balanced. The crazy questions came from ill-informed and downright malicious comments from people with their own agenda who want to stop us building. In Letterman style, here are my Top Ten Stupid Questions ...

10. WAS GRACE CHURCH OFFERED AN ALTERNATIVE LOCATION?
Only if you count someone pointing out that the Brookhaven Multiplex is up for sale as the same thing as being offered another place. That's just passing on information we knew already. Now if that person offered us the $20,000,000 to secure the purchase, that would meet my definition of being offered an alternative location.

9. ISN'T THE BUILDING TOO BIG FOR THAT LAND
Nope! In Brookhaven you can build on 15% of your property and we're only planning to build on 11.3%.

8. IS IT CORRECT THAT YOUR CONGREGATION COMES FROM PLACES LIKE QUEENS?
Nope! 90% of our folks are from Brookhaven and the others live a few miles either side.

7. WHY ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A DRUG RHAB CENTER IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA?
We're not. Never had one, haven't got one, don't plan to have one. Just another story being circulated by nasty-minded people to prey on the fears of the uninformed.

6. DIDN'T YOU AND ANOTHER PASTOR START A CHURCH ON RTE 112 & HORSEBLOCK ROAD THAT RAN OUT OF MONEY?
I guess that's a reference to the church being built by my good friend Anthony Pellela. He's my buddy, but it's not a joint-venture. They did have a glitch in the building process, but I'm happy to say it's back on track and will be opening in a couple of months.

5. IS YOUR CHURCH GOING TO RUN A FOOD PANTRY?
That's a dumb question because someone meant it to be accusatory - as if we should hide the fact or be ashamed that we are helping struggling local families as is every church worth its salt. So the answer is ... yes we are! And with no apologies.

4. DIDN'T YOU WORK WITH A HOMELESS ORGANIZATION
Yep, I volunteered a lot of hours a week for seven years with a ministry that helps the homeless in Manhattan. Loved it, glad I did it. What's the problem?

3. IS IT TRUE YOU PASTORED A CHURCH IN SCOTLAND THAT FAILED AND SO CAME HERE?
Nope! The person looking for ammunition on my blogs should at least quote them correctly - here's last week's statement again for the clandestine critic who likes to twist the truth ... When we moved over here in 1991 the church I had planted there went along quite well for a while, but then it faltered. When I left it was doing well - I thought I stated that clearly enough.

2. WON'T YOUR CHURCH CREATE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS?
No it won't. Professional independent engineers have done a report which has been approved by Traffic Safety and the Planning Department that says we will have negligible to no impact on trafffic in the area. Can't we lay that objection to rest. It has been answered a hundred times.

1. DO YOU EXPECT TO WIN?
Of course I do. The Constitution is on our side. The law is on our side and best of all God is on our side. If you really want to take on that combination, you obviously relish exercises in futility.

Mr. Supercool

Yes folks, it's Friday again and time to unveil our Cool Person Of The Week

Having introduced you to someone last Friday who is planting a church in our area, how about meeting another church planter?

I have known Tony Balsamo for around 13 years now and for quite a few of those he has been the Associate Pastor at the other Grace Church - Grace Gospel Church in North Patchogue.

Turns out they're planning to plant a new church in the Spring of '06 and Tony is moving out to launch it. He'll do well putting everything together for their Easter Sunday opening and I'm sure he'll build a great church.

So pray for him as he gets everything in place and thank God for another new congregation that is coming to Brookhaven.

He'll be with us Sunday to see how not to do church! So look out for him and encourage him all you can.

For daring to step out of his comfort zone, Tony Balsamo is our Cool Person of The Week.

Starbucks Sermon

Life in the 21st Century really is amazing! Especially to someone born when food was still being rationed following WWII, trains were being powered by steam, televisions were only just becoming popular and the Beatles were hardly out of diapers.

In those dark distant years when some dianosaurs still roamed the forests of southern England, there was no such thing as the internet (Al Gore was just a kid) nor was there an extravagently priced coffee house on every corner. But that was then and this is now.

So to my amazement and amusement - simple soul that I am, there I was sitting in Starbucks on East 66th Street in Manhattan today and working just as if it was my regular basement office. I walked in, plugged in, logged in and had full access to the internet and to my Bible program, so I worked on my sermon right there amidst the chaos of life in the city.

For those who may wonder why I took the 7.04 out of Ronkonkoma this morning to sit and prepare Sunday's sermon over a latte, there is of course a simpler answer than the fact that I may at last have totally lost my marbles.

I'm leaving for India on Sunday afternoon and while I have a 10 year visa, my friend Josh who is traveling with me doesn't have any visa at all. As he couldn't get away from work, I told him I'd go to the Indian Embassy with his paperwork. You drop it off at 9.15 and pick it up again at 12.00 noon (which turned out to be 1.10 in reality).

While waiting I used the time to work on Sunday's sermon, deal with emails, write some letters, etc. The coffee was good (totally overpriced of course) and there were few distractions. I actually got quite a lot done, but I doubt if I'll make a habit of riding the LIRR to my coffee shop office on 3rd Avenue.

Our Small Group

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about our 40 Days of Community small group that will be getting together next week for the first of six meetings. I must admit that I enjoy Rick Warren's teaching so his video teaching is one of the things I'm looking forward to in our Saturday morning group.

But I'm also waiting to see which of the community projects we'll undertake together. If God had intended us to be isolationists he would probably have directed us all to monasteries, but the fact is he never planned for that. He wanted the church to change the world.

So here we are, poised to learn, be encouraged and to actually take the time to put some of this good stuff into practice.

If you didn't sign up to join a group yet, please make a point of doing so on Sunday. Don't sit on the sidelines - get in the game and dare to believe it will make you different and also that you will make a difference.

Town Board Meeting #3,497

Just got in from the Town Board meeting and Press Conference. Here are a few observations -

1. I'm not sure of the final number, but I reckon we had at least 30 pastors there pressing the Town Board to make changes.

2. A long-time opponent of our church's plans had quite an outburst during the Press Conference. It reminded me we are in a spiritual battle.

3. The attorneys representing us did a great job. Thanks to Rich Boes for making the connection there and congrats to Rich Johannesen and Ken Auerbach - they made a great team.

4. Bureacracy tends to move slowly, so the Town Board scheduled a public hearing to discuss amending the code for December 6th.

5. Politicians can indeed be encouraged to change their minds when enough people make their voices heard.

6. We need to keep praying because after election day some politicians have been known to change their minds again.

All in all a good night. It means that our own planning application will take a while yet, but we are spearheading the reversal of a major injustice that left unchallenged could hinder God's work in Brookhaven for many years to come.

Check tomorrow's Newsday!

It's How You Finish That Matters

Imagine that, the undefeated Colts start the game by going 17-0 down and looking like a bunch of amateurs. It could have been a long night.

Of course the NFL and ABC insist on showing Monday night games at times when good God-fearing East Coast folks are sound asleep, so I didn't get to see the amazing comeback of Peyton Manning and crew. But I did discover this morning that they won convincingly.

I also heard that the Cardinals came away with a win after being down with one strike left in the 9th.

Which all reminds me that things sometimes don't seem to be going the way we would have planned, but we should never forget that they will always finish up the way God intends because ALL things work together for good for those who love God.

One Liners

Okay, I'll fess up, I'm just sitting watching Monday night football and letting my mind wander occasionally. I love watching the Colts and Tony Dungee is one of the most classy head coaches in football - and a Christian too.

I'm thinking about what people could write on signs for tomorrow evening's Press Conference at the Town Hall.

SEPARATE STATE FROM CHURCH

BROOKHAVEN NEEDS CHURCHES

HELP CHURCHES - DON'T HINDER THEM

HANDS OFF CHURCHES

SUPPORT OUR CHURCHES

CHANGE THE CODE

CHRISTIANS COUNT - THEY VOTE TOO

WHY PUNISH CHURCHES?

Sorry, can't stay - need to focus. The Rams scored on the opening drive. But by all means bring a sign or banner tomorrow at 5.30.

Press Release Out For Tomorrow

Here's the press release that has been sent out ahead of tomorrow night's Press Conference at Brookhaven Town Hall and the Town Board meeting that follows.

Our attorneys have advised forming a separate corporation - Brookhaven Coalition For Religious Freedom. Speaking as its President, our church will be protected from any repercussions from what I say.



To: Assignment Editor
From: Brookhaven Coalition for Religious Freedom
Contact: Pastor Roger Blackmore, (Tel. - 696-5682)
Pastor Stephen Willoughby, (Tel.- 447-5782)
Richard Johannesen, Esq., (Tel. - 821-6234)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2005

Brookhaven Coalition for Religious Freedom seeks amendment to Brookhaven law to exclude places of worship

On Tuesday October 18, 2005 at 5:45 p.m., the newly formed Brookhaven Coalition for Religious Freedom will hold a press conference on the steps of Brookhaven Town Hall, located in Farmingville, New York.

Roger Blackmore, President of the newly formed Brookhaven Coalition for Religious Freedom and Pastor of Grace Ministries said:
“ On September 20, 2005, the Brookhaven Town Board passed a local law that limits the size of buildings in residential zones to 15,000 square feet. Unfortunately the Town failed to exclude churches from the local law. Our coalition will appear before the Town Board on Tuesday to request that they remedy their error and amend the local law to exclude churches and similar places of worship.”

Coalition member and Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Patchogue, Stephen Willoughby, said: “some people may ask why are we here tonight before the Brookhaven Town Board rather than feeding the hungry and ministering to the homeless. We are here because the local law will limit the size of our churches and therefore limit our ability to do what we are called to do.” Pastor Willoughby continued “By the words and example of the Apostle Paul, we are called to pray for those who rule us and appeal to them not to interfere with our goal of reaching out with the gospel (1 Timothy 2, 1-4).”

Richard Johannesen, Esq., co-counsel to the coalition with attorneys Kenneth Auerbach and Steven LoSquadro said “ The local law is a clear violation of federal law and the U.S. Constitution. I believe the Town Board’s failure to exclude churches from the local law was an oversight. My co-counsel and I offer our services, pro-bono, to the town to assist in amending the local law and resolve the oversight.”

Back Home

It was good to touch down in NY last night and make my way home along the flooded highways of Long Island. My brief visit to Scotland for a funeral provided another great trip down memory lane following our two weeks vacation there last month. I love Scotland - but this is home.

When we moved over here in 1991 the church I had planted there went along quite well for a while, but then it faltered, had some major problems and sadly it eventually folded. However, most of the folks from there became involved in a new church in the main town a few miles away and they certainly gave that congregation a great boost.

But the village our kids grew up in now has no credible Christian church in it. That's weighing heavy on me still today. I'm wondering if Scotland should become one of our missionfields??? Maybe it's an issue we will need to address. Please pray for Scotland and especially for these two places, the twin villages of Inverallochy and Cairnbulg.

Nehemiah 1:1-3 - At the hour for serving wine I brought it in and gave it to the king. I had never been hangdog in his presence before, so he asked me, "Why the long face? You're not sick are you? Or are you depressed?"
That made me all the more agitated. I said, "Long live the king! And why shouldn't I be depressed when the city, the city where all my family is buried, is in ruins and the city gates have been reduced to cinders?"

The French And Other Things

Here I am sitting in Charles De Gaulle Airport waiting for my flight home fron this briefest of trips to Scotlqnd for a funeral and I've worked out why the French are seldon on the same page as the rest of us. I'll type this quick in case the computer blows up, but here it is .......
THEY DON'T SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE!

Seriously. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to use a keyboard even - they have the letters all over the place. The question mark is where the ¨M¨should be; the ¨Z¨is in the ¨W¨spot, etc, etc. They're marching to the beat of a different drum. I was in a church that's doing that yesterday and predictably it's dying because it has lost touch with the people it is meant to be reaching. Let's take note and stay relevant.

IT'S FRIDAY - TIME TO UNVEIL OUR SUPERCOOL PERSON OF THE WEEK
This week we want to give it to someone who is not a member of our own church, but is doing a great job building God's kingdom in this area. Having worked for years to build the most happening thing around here for young people - Hearts Of Fire (if you haven't heard of it you're probably too old!!!), last month Bert Crabbe started a new church in Port Jeff Station and it's going great guns.
They have an outstanding building that they worked like dogs to fix up, their music is outrageous and Bert really is a supercool dude. Check his church out at www.truenorthchurch.net and pray they really flourish.

I ACCEPT NO BLAME FOR ANY TYPOS - THEY ARE TOTALLY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FRENCH!

Another Day - Another Meeting

It was a short stay at Town Hall tonight. At the start of the meeting it was announced that our application would not be dealt with as the new code means we require a variance from the Town Board.

I asked for permission to address the issue and went over the timeline that has dragged this thing out for 952 days since we first submitted our plans. I let it be known that I blamed the Planning Board's delays for the fact we were now in this position - then I came home and ate dinner. Tonight I'll sleep - well! After all I won't sleep much tomorrow night as I'll be on an overnight flight to Scotland.

I can sleep well because God is in control. I'll be back from Scotland on Friday night, enjoy the Kick-Off event for 40 Days of Community on Sunday and then after the weekend I'll continue talking to attorneys about the next step.

Let's look for a great response Sunday. A lot of people know Rick Warren from his book and the TV, so why not invite someone to come with you?

Round Three

This evening we have a third public hearing with the Planning Board at 5.00pm. I'm not sure what will happen there in light of the new code recently adopted by the Town Board, but God knows and he has the first word as well as the last.

I'm far more pumped about 40 Days of Community right now than about battles with politicians. There's a great buzz around about small groups, community projects, etc. This will be a great fall for us as a church.

I've picked my small group for the six weeks series. Which is yours?

And of course Rick Warren will be speaking for us on Sunday. He is a brilliant, transparent communicator and it will be a thrill to welcome him to our stage at Patchogue UA. Okay, to the screen at Patchogue UA. It will be an outstanding morning with an autumn fair and brunch to follow. We do eat good at Grace!

Heart of Worship

When everything else in our Christian lives takes backstage, we are left with what really matters - our own relationship with God himself. That's what counts above all else. Heck, it's the heart of it all.

I love to worship. It helps me to focus.

That's why I'm excited about 4HIM on Thursday night of this week. I've wanted to do this for a while and now we have the opportunity. This is an evening of worship, enjoying God's presence and communion and it will be led by our own worship team and special guest Lynn Swart, who is no stranger to our church family.

Lynn teaches on worship and leads worship at major events all over the world. For some time now she has visited us once or twice a year, acting as a mentor to our worship team and it is always great to have her around.

So Thursday night will be special. It's from 8.00 to 9.00pm (or maybe a few minutes longer!) at Christian Assembly at 424 Columbus Avenue in East Pathogue. If you Mapquest the address, you won't be driving around looking for it and miss the start. It's right off of Montauk Highway.

There will be no preaching, just worship. And if you like it, we'll do it again and again and again ...

Barbara

The day after we arrived in Scotland back in 1976 with our two small children in tow ready to begin a new adventure, a lady we didn't know came to our door and over the years she turned out to be one of those special people who are part of all of our lives.

Barbara announced that she was part of the congregation of the church that I had come to pastor and she wanted to help us settle in. We protested politely, told her we had it covered and generally made the noises we usually make when we don't really know what to say to people. She went on to tell us she couldn't do a lot publicly in the church, but she would be happy to wash our china, glassware, etc as we unpacked it and then put it away for us. And so she set to work. For the eight years we spent in that house, I'd swear all of our crockery, cutlery and glasses lived exactly where Barbara placed them that June morning.

The northeast of Scotland was hundreds of miles away from family so we had no one we knew near at hand. As she left that day, looking fresh as a daisy despite her 60 years, Barbara offered her services as a baby-sitter whenever needed.And that's how she became Charlotte and Jonathan's "Scottish granny". As they grew, they would often announce, "We're just going down to Barbara's" and they would make their way through the village to her home on the shore where there was always a smell of fresh baking in the air and delicious scones and pancakes on offer for hungry children.

Barbara went home today. Home to heaven at the age of 89. I don't know that she ever preached a sermon or often stood in front of a congregation, but she blessed hundreds of people in her lifetime by being there for them at their point of need. Barbara was very like Jesus who announced once that he had not come to be served, but to serve. She lived for others, devoted her life to others and finally heard her Lord say, "Well done!"

It's doing the little things faithfully and well that really matters.

Thankfully I got some excellent seats to fly over to Scotland for the funeral (using frequent flyer miles!), so I'll be leaving Wednesday evening and will be back on Friday evening.

In The News Again

The following articel is in today's Newsday, in the Faith section. Above it is a large picture of our proposed building.

http://www.newsday.com/features/religion/ny-lsfaith4458119oct08,0,6672194.story

How's Frank?

Now that's a good question. We've been asked it at least a thousand times this week and that is good. 90% of the calls to our office have been to see how he's doing.

Well, the word tonight is that the doctors went back in, checked things out and reckon he's doing okay. He hopes to be home tomorrow.

Frank's an outstanding guy. He has been the first one there for us when loads of us have needed help of one sort or another and he's been the last one to leave too. But when he is going through a rough time himself - like now - he is beating off visitors and is happier left in peace. So let's keep praying for him and give him some space to rest and recover - we all know this guy is 100% pure gold.

There is no question, Frank Summers is the real thing, so if you can think of some innovative way of telling him he's valued - from a distance - go for it!

Cool Person Of The Week

Yes, it's that time again when we take a look around at al that is going on at Grace and single out just one person from a whole buch of heroes as our person of the week.

Maybe at the end of the year we should look at everyone who has one this prestigious award and draw a Grace Church Person of The Year from among them? Then we could send the winner to Disney or give them a Ford Explorer. Yea right! Mention on these pages is sufficient reward and if it's not, it'll just have to be!

There's a ton of work being done here in our offices through the course of a week. You might be amazed at how many different things get juggled so that we manage to maintain the illusion that we're on top of things and actually know what we're doing. And one of the people who helps us in that is our cool person of the week .....

Lynn Hargraves
Lynn volunteers on a weekly basis giving us one or two days a week of professional office help. She's the one who sets up and prints The View on a regular basis and she cheerfully and capably does a load of other things around here too.
Lynn has been reading my scrawl, correcting my grammar and helping me make impossible deadlines for more than ten years now.
She's a gem and an essential part of what most people don't see - all that needs to be accomplished behind the scenes.

Yet Another Attorney

I just got back from a meeting with an attorney - another attorney. There's a whole bunch of them waiting to sue the Town of Brookhaven for us because it's such a winnable case and of course they'll make plenty of money from the victory themselves. I have talked to several lately.

I really liked the guy I talked to this afternoon. He seemed more concerned about getting the newly amended town code re-amended to make places of worship exempt from their restrictions. He isn't looking to sue anyone or for us to take him on.

He's simply offering (free) advice on how to get an injustice reversed, especially in the last month leading up to local elections. So I'm listening.

This isn't about us anymore (I guess those words sound familiar), it's about every church now planning to build or expand and about those who will want to in the future. Let's focus on that fight first for a few weeks.

I loved this statement the attorney made, "Don't you think it's interesting that God has caused the church to be his instrument to confront the corruption in the Town of Brookhaven?"

That's a great point. Let's do it. More to follow as we are guided by this Christian man in how to move forward.

How Was Breakfast?

After I had written my umpteenth card to first-time visitors from Sunday's open-house, I concluded that the morning had been a great success. Now I know it didn't take most normal human beings with an ounce of God-given intelligence more than around ten minutes to reach that conclusion, but it's sometimes good to sit back and weigh a thing up.

Sure there was a real buzz around the movie theater and the place was packed. I know it was a great breakfast - by the way, we got the food from the Wunderbar Deli in Port Jeff Station just in case you were wondering. (Rumors that Gene Holland cooked it all himself are greatly exaggerated!)

But did it achieve what we set out to accomplish? That's the true measure of success.

So, when I had reckoned that I wrote to more than 50 people today thanking them for being with us ... and when I worked out that they were just the ones who filled out a visitors' card ... and when I realized that there must have been at least that many guests who do not complete a card ... I realized that this was one of the best connection events we have ever done.

Also -

+ Hundreds of our regular congregation got time to hang out instead of being rushed out as is the case most Sundays

+ No one seemed to throw up their hands in horror at the fact we didn't have a "proper service". A few may have stayed at home, but we still had around 400 people celebrating our anniversary.

It really was a great day. It was a first, but hold onto your hats, we never plan for things to get comfortable - or boring - at Grace.

Newsday & Grace

Here's a link to a good article from today's Newsday about our building plans. It was full page and included two large pictures of our proposal -

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vptopica4451639oct02,0,7418284.story?coll=ny-viewpoints-headlines

A Long Way From Scotland

It's over fourteen years since we left Scotland and one thing's for sure, Long Island is a lot different from Inverallochy, the remote village in the northeast corner of the country that had been our home. We lived on the street in this picture - our house is not visible, but stands to the left side of the photo.

The move to the U.S. was a big one, and it took a while to adjust to life on this side of the Atlantic, but this last seven years have been the happiest of the 35 I've spent in ministry. We have some amazing people at Grace Church and as we celebrate our seventh anniversary tomorrow, I'm grateful to God for everyone who has joined us on this journey.

Above all I appreciate the leadership team that God has given us, so as we approach our birthday, let me say this -

Lesaya Kelly is a gift from God to our church. Her heart for God's kingdom and for others is obvious. She maintains an amazing workload and her organizational, pastoral and preaching skills add a tremendous amount to our effectiveness.

Frank Summers is like gold. He is the calibre of man that any church would be thrilled to have on their staff, but we are the church that is privileged to have him as part of our pastoral team. Frank juggles a hundred different things too, but always finds time for others. He's the man I want beside me if we ever go to war.

Charlotte Engel is the unsung hero of Grace Church. Through most of our short history she has been the person working behind the scenes to make everything happen. Her life is not just spent in administrative matters, she's actually as pastoral as any of us. Her interest in people and concern for them surpasses even her commitment to keeping the paperwork in order. It would be difficult to imagine functioning without Charlotte. Thankfully we do not need to.