Have there been persons in your life who have touched you deeply, even though your paths may have crossed ever-so-briefly? I have. There are places like that, too, I think—these are the places where I can think back and remember moments and feelings as if they were yesterday. Can you think of places like that? For me, these are places like the campgrounds on Lake Okoboji where I went to church camp for at least five years in a row; and the library at Dubuque Seminary; and the back seat of our Ford LTD on family vacations some 40 years ago. Vivid feelings, somewhat blurry on the details, but yet the moments feel as if it were yesterday.
Central Presbyterian Church in Des Moines, Iowa is a place like that for me. I only attended there regularly for a relatively short time—I was "recently divorced" at that time and years away from meeting Carolyn. But I remember the feeling of being welcomed, of belonging. I remember the adult Sunday school class; it was a discussion on social issues. I remember the Sunday school teachers who made sure my son John was included when they gave the second-graders Bibles during worship (even though we had been attending for only a month or two at the time). And I remember the music: the congregational singing, the choir, and especially the organ.
Funny, now that I think of it; I do not remember a single sermon. Not one.
You see, the indelible impression came from the people and the place and the “warmth” I felt there... and all of those things working together to work the miracle of feeling welcome, of feeling at home.
It wasn’t the preaching, it was the place.
It wasn’t the pastor, it was the people.
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