Pastor Tom Ott May 2015 Congregationalist

When is enough enough?  It’s a question I think about lately whenever I walk into the sanctuary and look up. All around the room I see ugly brown stains and crumbling plaster, the tell-tale signs of the need for a new roof. It breaks my heart to see the beauty of our sanctuary marred by the infiltration of rainwater.

It also challenges my confidence in our faith community. I wonder if we have the commitment we need to pay for the roof replacement, plaster repair and painting of the sanctuary ceiling. We’re still getting estimates, but the cost is likely to be around $150,000. That is a lot of money.  Especially when we are struggling to cover our operating costs.

I know the deep sense of relief we all felt earlier this spring when we finally paid off our mortgage from the 6.5 million dollar renovation that we undertook 17 years ago to transform our church space. During the three capital campaigns to pay off that building debt, many of our members transferred significant assets to the church that took a lifetime to save and grow. Others made sacrifices in their household spending in order to dedicate a portion of their annual income towards one or more of the campaign pledges.

We were a much bigger congregation 17 years ago when we undertook the major renovation to our space. Today we are a small church with fewer members to help carry the financial load.  I suspect that many of us are asking, “When is enough enough?”

• I then think about the significance of everything that happens under the dome of our sanctuary.
• I think about lives that are transformed.
• I think about all of the faithful people who have gathered for worship under the dome every Sunday since the doors of the building were first opened 107 years ago in 1908.
• I think about all of the songs of praise lifted to God, the silent and spoken prayers of thanksgiving, the pleads of intercession, the reading of sacred texts, the inspirational sermons. 
• I think about the hands stretching for offering plates to share gifts in support of the ministries of our church and the arms opening to embrace one another in fellowship. 
• I think about our fifty year members who have gathered under the dome of our sanctuary practically every week of their lives. 
• I think about grandparents celebrating their children’s and their children’s children baptisms, initiating them into a community of believers stretching all the way back to the first followers of Jesus. 
• I think about the couples who commit their lives to each other and the grieving families seeking comfort and solace under the dome of our sanctuary.
• I think of the miracle of Koinonia, a new community that Emily Joye and Tom have gathered under our dome that is touching a generation that has largely given up on church but have found in our church a community that embraces them, supports them, challenges and connects them.
• I think of the hearts that have been lifted by the music performed under our dome: sacred anthems sung by choirs, organ recitals, Sunday Afternoon Live concerts, boys and girls choir concerts, community choir concerts, the choir camps and all city choir concerts. 
• I think about gatherings under our dome that transcend racial and gender divisions:  Freedom School’s commencement, choir concerts from historically black colleges, Bridges to Cultural Understanding programs, Center for Diversity and Innovation programs, Biblical Self-Defense training for LGBTQ people, Transgender Day of Remembrance celebrations, guest speakers and preachers who have inspired in the work of racial equity and gender inclusivity.

Mostly, I think about the people I look forward to being with whenever I take my place under the dome of our sanctuary, and when I do I know I can never get enough: never enough of their encouragement, never enough of their support, never enough of their inspiration, never enough of their love.

Enough is never enough for me here at First Congregational Church.