The Ole One Hundredth

Today was Heritage Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, Garland, Texas. We celebrated 119 years of a worshiping congregation in which Bill & I have been a member for 55 years. In 1988 we celebrated our 100th Anniversary and for that occcasion I wrote this poem which we sang to the tune, "Ole One Hundredth," and we have sang it on our anniversary each year.

Thank-ful we for the church of old.

That per-se-vered in faith fore-told.

A faith that still guides you and me,

Knowing tht we can con-fident be.

Through every day, in joy and sorrow,

We trust in You for each to-morrow.

Free from all worry, free from strife,

Your love and mercy gives us life.

Our joy abounds in Thy wondrous care.

We lift our hearts to You in prayer,

A song of praises we shall sing.

To Christ our Savior, Lord and King.

I was reminded again today that the church is not a building, but the CHILDREN OF GOD worshiping together.

When our children were small , as we traveled back to Indiana to visit our parents, we stopped at a different church in a different town each trip. We were always welcomed & made to feel a part of their church family. As Bill & I traveled to other states, particular California, we worshiped with different ethnic groups, different denominaations, different ways of worship, but we always felt His oneness.

When I was traveling, several occasions stand out: Once in East Germany , before the Berlin Wall came down, my tour group went to church.......yes, amid the communists. Christians still found a way to worship the Lord. I didn't understand what anyone was saying and the service was strange, but I felt a oneness in worshipping the Lord.

Another time in Hamburg, Germany my cousin and I went to a worship service where there was a different ethnic group in charge each week, yet we felt the Holy Spirit present bringing us all together.

Again in Greece , at the river Gattitas where Lydia was baptised, several groups of different denominations were gathered and we all sang "Bless Be The Tie That Binds." The oneness of Spirit was evident as we held hands and cried.

The family of God exists. We have only to be a member of the fellowship already established by His Holy Spirit.

Galations 3:26 ".....for now we are all children of God thru faith in Jesus Christ."