“The church is more than a building”
While Father Don remained calm and strong and resolute in front of the television cameras, I cried my way through my Palm Sunday sermon that year.
As my subscribers know by now, I am blogging for the Reformed Journal on Sundays during Lent. Here is my post for Palm Sunday…
On March 18, 2002, the sanctuary of the St. Michael Catholic Church was destroyed by fire. St. Michael is a Roman Catholic church in Wheaton, Illinois, within easy walking distance of the Presbyterian church where I once served as pastor.
The fire at St. Michael occurred early in the week, set by an arsonist on Sunday night, and the following Sunday was Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I called Father Don on Monday morning, after the fire department had finally put out the fire. I expressed my concern and offered the use of my own church to his congregation.
I didn’t know exactly what I was doing or what my offer really meant. We already had three services on Sunday mornings, and I have no idea how we could have accommodated the six or seven masses that St. Michael offered each weekend.