Wednesday Word: Water Always Wins
Friends -
There's quite a project underway outside the parish hall this week.
It started with noticing water damage on one of the new acoustic panels. We soon discovered some of the waterproofing outside the parish hall, where the wall is below ground level, had failed. After digging, we learned the whole wall was affected. In addition, a drain underground had shifted, so water was not draining properly.
To fix it, a crew dug a trench. They restored the wall and coated it with four coats of sealant. They will install two new drain pipes, one below to catch groundwater, and one above to catch downspout and rain water. All of this will connect to a complicated system of pipes under the parking lot and under the building that sends stormwater where it is supposed to go.
Obviously, this is an expensive job. Fortunately, we had funds available through your gifts to the Continuing Faithfulness Capital Fund last year. Thank you for helping us protect the building in this way.
While I am grateful we were prepared for this emergency, my real reason for telling this story is this: Water is powerful. It goes where it wants. It can create or destroy. Water always wins.
We will celebrate a baptism this Sunday at the 10:30 service. The water of Baptism is even more powerful than stormwater. The promises of Baptism unleash the power of God's Spirit in our lives to send us where God wants us to go and make us the people God wants us to be. In Baptism, God works through us to destroy the evil powers of this world and create a new community dedicated to spreading the love of God everywhere.
If there's still a ditch outside the parish hall on Sunday, let it remind you of your baptism and of the power of the Spirit at work in you!
Blessings,
Grace
