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April 2009

As you walk in the front entrance to our church, you may notice the words on the cornerstone to your right:  “Behold, a new thing.”

The words are based on a passage from the prophet Isaiah and they were the theme of this congregation’s move in the late 1980s from its building on Madison Street near the UW Field House to an empty field at the edge of the developed area of Fitchburg.  A congregation that was aging and shrinking decided to take a bold step and create “a new thing” in a growing community that was attracting young families.

Twenty years ago this month, those bold members of Memorial UCC gathered in their new church building with representatives of other congregations from the area to dedicate this “new thing.”  Rev. Eugene Wehrli, the president of Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis marveled at the 15,000 hours of sweat equity that about 80 members of the congregation donated to make the building a reality. Rev. Jon Schultz, the pastor who helped lead the people from past to future, led the responsive dedication prayer.

It is the words of Rev. Frederick Trost, though, that I would like to highlight as we prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the dedication of our building.

Trost was the leader of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ at that time. He has a deep appreciation for the way the design of a building can express the beliefs of those who use it. He offered a challenge to this congregation even as he reveled in the beauty of our space.
 
“In the center of the community is this table where the bread and the cup will be shared for years and years to come. And this font, which in a sense the people of God are thrust into the world through the waters of baptism. And this pulpit, close to the center of things in your life together at Memorial church ...Word and sacrament and a grateful community gathered around it. May it always be so.”

And then he took note of our clear windows looking out beyond the sanctuary.

“You can look from this place where you gather around word and sacrament onto the world that God loves.  And our prayer ... is that as you gather around word and sacrament, you may never, ever forget that God has put you in this place so that you might move from here to there. And so this open window to the world serves as a reminder of your vocation and your ministry.”

We still look through those windows to the world around us. We enjoy the birds and squirrels, the occasional fox and the beauty of the earth.  But we also look out beyond our property line to the vast world that needs our care. Every Sunday morning, we gather to nurture our spirits and we leave with new resources to bring to that world.  We can take the new thing the people of Memorial began a generation ago and extend it far beyond the walls of this building.