#50 And the 50th Church Is....

This concludes my blog entries of 50 churches.  I may continue to visit new (to me!) churches on a more "occasional" schedule.  Should I continue to write about them?  Let me know.  I know that I intend to worship in my "home" church for the next several weeks.  I do plan at least one more blog post that will be a summary of what I have seen and learned.  I'm not sure when I will post it.  I need some time to think about it and let it all "come together."  This has been one of the most rewarding projects I've tackled and I thank everyone who encouraged me, especially my husband, David.

Deb at her first church on Isle of  Palms, August, 2016

Deb in front of Steel Creek Presbyterian, her 50th church visit
July 16, 2017

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
Deciding on church #50 was a hard exercise.  Several folks thought it should be my "home" church, but I had already  written about Advent twice (once un-numbered).  There were truly about 50 possibilities, but I settled on Steele Creek Presbyterian.  As the second oldest church in the county, (Sugaw Creek Presbyterian is the oldest, both older than First Presbyterian.) Steele Creek is facing a merger with another congregation within the next three years.  Soon to be surrounded by a business park and the airport, they are losing their neighborhood to "progress".  The sanctuary and cemetery are on the historic registry so the original historic building will be preserved, though it may be re-purposed.  It will be bought by the Airport Authority and the city.  I felt that the window on visiting this church  may be closing.

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
Steele Creek Presbyterian is located at 7407 Steele Creek Road.  From the center city, it is easy to reach via West Blvd.  Worship is at 10:30 am.  Dress was church casual, and there is plenty of parking. 

Give yourself some time before or after the service to walk through the historic grave yard. Most or all of the graves have been cataloged and there is a map on 2 different kiosks. Bob Freeman, a member of the cemetery committee saw us wandering around before the service and greeted us. The church dates back to 1760 and the oldest "resident" of the graveyard was actually not a member of the church but an unlucky chap who fell off his horse while riding by and was buried there.  Billy Graham's parents are buried there along with many folks from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.  I asked Mr. Freeman if there was a slave graveyard and he did not know of one (and had obviously researched much of the history.).  He said that because of the airport expansion, the church has had to purchase a separate sound system to use outside during funerals to combat the airplane noise.  

Airplanes fly low over the cemetery.  We could read stones from the 1840's, but those in the 1700 were not legible.

MOOD
Meeting Mr. Freeman first, definitely set a friendly tone.  The bulletin was easy to follow and this church had solved the architectural dilemma of incorporating power point technology into the chancel area well.  They also did not reprint the songs in the bulletin, but just referred to hymnal pages and then used the projectors, a great saving of paper!  A beautiful very young girl served as the acolyte and the bulletin referred to the lighting and extinguishing of the candles as "Bringing in the Light of Christ" and "Taking the Light of Christ into the World."  They welcomed children and had "God's Word for Children" after which children from the 1st grade and younger left for Children's Church.

MUSIC
Walking in and seeing their magnificent pipe organ, I had high hopes for the music.  The music director used both the organ and 2 different pianos and both a praise choir and small chancel choir  sang.  Unfortunately, the grand piano overpowered the praise choir and they could not be heard very well.  They used at least one mic, perhaps the audio could be balanced better.  The congregation did sing "For the Beauty of the Earth" with gusto and it took me about half of a verse to recognize "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord"  I am used to hearing it with a contemporary arrangement, and the music director played it very slowly and traditionally with the organ.

MESSAGE
The director of Family Ministry, Lorie Lewis gave the children's message.  She equated the recent middle school mission trip that had just ended with Jesus washing the disciple's feet. She emphasized that when we become servants, we become closer to Jesus and often receive more than we give.  She showed a short video of the trip to Wilmington which included the youth painting and working in a clothing and food bank, planting an urban garden, and providing a VBS experience in the neighborhood.  One project I thought unique was they painted a large outdoor open air gathering space for the homeless to gather for worship.  She explained that often the homeless do not feel comfortable in a "closed" church with folks in their "Sunday best", so this gives them an alternative place to gather for worship.

Mr. Hunter Roddey, a a chaplain for Novant Health, supplied the sermon, while their pastor is on vacation. His message entitled Rested and Refreshed, used Matthew 11:25-30 as the main text.  In this familiar text Christ says, "Come to me all of you who are weary and with heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." He talked about how essential rest is for the body.  We need REM or dream sleep to charge our creativity and problem solving.  God uses dreams in the Bible to bring special messages (Jacob's ladder dream, Joseph and the Pharaoh, and Joseph, the carpenter's dream about the Virgin Mary).  Just as we need physical rest, we also need the Spiritual rest (prayer and/or meditation), that Jesus is offering us in Matthew for our spiritual health.  With prayer and meditation, we are able to make creative judgments and decisions to honor God.  God calls on us to BE in prayer so that we can later DO His work.  With prayer comes a peace and tranquility that lets us know that we are not alone as we "bear our heavy burdens."  It was a good message for recharging during vacation times and I hope it is one I can remember when I am in crisis and overwhelmed.

OUTREACH AND OBSERVATIONS

• Here are links to 2 articles from The Observer that alerted me to the dilemma Steele Creek is facing which will result in their ultimate move or merger with another church. The first one includes a 30 second video that gives you a sense of the noise they face from the airport expansion.  David and I both commented on the planes in the cemetery, but did not hear them in the sanctuary. 
•  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article151516217.html
• http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article151847397.html
• The bulletin offered 3 "in-reach" opportunities:  the congregation is organizing a "Tables of Eight" event so that folks can have fellowship with members in small groups during a meal in folks homes, and they are going to a Grizzly ballgame.  Folks were also encouraged to apply for "Ben Brown Scholarships" for post secondary education, based on need.
• They are collecting toys for Levine's Children's Hospital as part of a mission outreach in their summer VBS.
• This was one of the more organized churches I have visited.  I was especially impressed with they way they had updated their historical building to accommodate technology and they had one of the best websites I have seen, especially for visitors. 
• I hope as they find a new home, they will be able to take their sense of history with them.  And as God closes this window, another opportunity to grow in God's Grace will present itself.

Screen shot of their homepage.  The portals at the bottom made visiting easy.

The "New Here" Portal gave you even more information

They were able to add screens to the front without compromising the chancel area.

THIS WEEK'S EXTRA:

As we were leaving the cemetery to go into worship, Mr. Freeman encouraged us to read the following gravestone.  Death is a part of life, and shouldn't always be viewed as tragic.

THE BULLETIN: