In a typical year, maintenance includes what you might expect in an old church building: changing filters, mopping floors, ensuring anything broken is replaced, and triaging emergencies that pop up. But 2020 wasn’t a typical year.
Church Street Maintenance Supervisor Keith Bailey, who has been at Church Street for almost six years, says the time without in-person meetings has allowed for both long-overdue and pop-up projects to be finished easily.
There’s a plethora of projects that Bailey and the maintenance team have worked on during the shutdown, but there are a few that members are sure to notice once they return to the church this month.
Welcome Center water damage
Wainscotting off the wall following water intrustion.
At the beginning of 2020, water damage in the basement of the church created what has easily been the biggest building project in the past year.
Rainwater gathered on the roof of the church, before overpowering the infrastructure of the ground below it and opening between the courtyard and building. The influx of water caused the back wall to buckle, and the wainscotting was removed from the wall.
After rerouting the water to avoid any further damage, the floor was stripped and waxed, and the wall was patched before attaching new wood paneling.
Basement wainscotting following repairs.
New look for preschool, children’s classrooms
A new coat of paint, ceiling tiles and lights have created a brighter atmosphere for classrooms in the preschool and children’s classrooms.
Parents, kids and teachers alike will remember the ceilings of the classrooms prior to their recent renovation and won’t be able to miss the new shine each room has.
In addition to new paint, preschool classrooms also received new toilets and sinks, and the floors in the hallways and classrooms were stripped and waxed. A camera system has been added to the front door of the preschool, as well, to help add security.
First floor cleaning in 10+ years
It’s been over 10 years since the floors of Church Street were last completely stripped and waxed.
Waxing the floors is a time-consuming process, as you use a large floor machine to strip away existing wax before applying a new coat. If you haven’t removed the previous wax completely, the wax will build up.
Members will notice a difference in the shine of the floors, especially on the third floor where every space has been stripped and waxed. With typical foot traffic, the floors are mopped regularly.
Pop-up projects
There are several other projects that have taken the time and dedication of Bailey and the maintenance team, which includes Jeffery Rose, Robin Crain, Kevin Bailey and Jacob Jenne.
The elevator entrance in the breezeway and elevator doors have all been painted, and repairs have been made to stained glass in the doors on the Henley Street side of the church.
Additional lights and cameras have been placed outside to ensure security and protect the church, while also providing a glow on the church at night.
Throughout the month of March, we are telling the stories of the Church Street Connectors, those in the church body who have exemplified “being the church” since the Covid-19 pandemic first hit in March 2020. When the church building closed, their ministries continued in new and thriving ways. Stay tuned for more stories all month and throughout the year.
All are welcome at Church Street! We believe every person is of sacred worth and created in God’s image. We welcome and celebrate the gifts God has given to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. We respect diversity of opinion and expressions of Christian faith. We believe God loves everyone unconditionally! As God loves us, so let us love and serve in the name of Christ.
Does Jesus Still Reign 2000 Years Later?
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Wednesday, March 10
By Keith Biggers, March 11, 2018
Does Jesus Still Reign 2000 Years Later?
Read: John 21:15-17
It is a hot summer day in Atlanta and my truck is loaded with a couple hundred sack lunches. I park under a shade tree near several tenement apartments. Soon, I am surrounded by throngs of children. One little boy in particular likes to sit on the tailgate beside me as I pass out a simple lunch bag with a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a bag of chips and a milk. He looks at me and says, “I missed you yesterday, Mr. Biggers.” I realize I may be the only male role model in this child’s life at this moment.
Like hundreds of others throughout the city, I am a volunteer for M.U.S.T. Ministries, which stands for Ministries United in Service and Training. I started volunteering for M.U.S.T. to find something to do with my spare time after retirement, but I have found so much more. It is probably one of the best and most professionally run humanitarian operations in the country. What I learned from that operation, I have tried to apply on a small scale as Benevolence Team Leader at Church Street.
I am sometimes asked, “Do we really change people’s lives, or do we just enable a lifestyle?”That is a question I don’t ask myself anymore. Jesus said, “Feed my Sheep.” So, in answer to the question, “Does Jesus still reign after all these years”, I say, “Yes, but it is through us, His Church.”
Prayer
Sing Prayerfully…
“Jesus shall reign where’er the sun, does his successive journeys run; His kingdom spread from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more. Amen.” (By Isaacs Watts)
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Life After a COVID-19 Vaccine – New Guidelines!
Featured, Parish Health MinistryThe CDC has issued new guidelines for people who have been fully vaccinated. You are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after the second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or 2 weeks after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
If you are fully vaccinated:
Precautions have not changed for other situations!
Much has been learned but questions like those below still remain. Real world vaccine studies should continue to provide answers that will allow more updates to CDC recommendations.
Some people who had a COVID-19 infection became re-infected after 90 days. Scientists feel protection from the vaccines will last longer because of how they work but more time is needed to determine.
Viruses survive by mutating. Early data show vaccines may be effective against some mutations, or variants, but not others. Vaccines can easily be modified if needed to create a new version to be effective.
It is possible you could be exposed to the virus and not become ill from it because of protection from the vaccine but you could unknowingly spread it to someone else. Early results show vaccines may help prevent this type of spread.
Herd immunity is achieved when enough people are vaccinated or have adequate antibody levels from a previous infection to then limit spread. This threshold is different for different diseases. For example, with measles the threshold is 95% of the population.
Clinical trials are generally conducted in healthy adult volunteers with stable pre-existing conditions. This is especially true when answers are needed quickly. Trials are now being conducted in children and use in real world environments will provide information for other conditions.
Until we know more about these questions, everyone should continue using basic prevention measures when in public or around others with unknown vaccination status or health conditions. We know these mitigation strategies work: wear a well-fitting mask that covers your nose and mouth, stay at least 6 feet away from others, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
Submitted by: Vicky Shelton, D.Ph.
Evening Prayer – March 9
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
March 9, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
For no one For no one can lay any foundation
other than what has been laid down.
That foundation is Jesus Christ.
(I Corinthians 3:11)
God of Wonder, we look upward in the ebbing day to perhaps glimpse the shadow of your face, and you do not fail us! You are there – high above in the cool wind that playfully shifts the evening clouds, peeping out behind the violet mist just below the mountaintop, in the glowing steadiness of Orion and the North Star. Ever-Changing, but always the same, Constant Being, your majesty is revealed to us only in brief moments of our day, but these fleeting fragments are enough to steep our souls in wonder.
Yet even in our wonder, when we turn our eyes to the state of our world and the crushing burdens many must carry, we confess our belief sometimes withers. Those old doubts begin to gnaw at the weak places in the foundation of our faith. Fill in those gaps, we pray, with the tenets that upheld the saints and martyrs of long ago, who suffered even unto death. Tightly cement the fissures with the unwavering trust we had as children. Make our foundation strong and sturdy again, Sustaining One, that it would withstand any adversity the world throws at us, and would bear the weight of all the burdens we are privileged to carry on behalf of the weak and overwhelmed.
As we endeavor to draw closer to you this Lenten Season, you meet us half-way, ever holding out to us the promise of renewal. You know our emptiness, our loneliness, and the personal detours that block our passage, so steady us once again, we pray, to confront our private concerns . . . . . . . . . . ; and we also seek guidance for your Church Street family, who have earnestly asked to be remembered:
Elusive One, we take our rest this night, still wrapped in the wonder of life itself and of the love that will never let us go. May your mercy lie with us, and all whom we cherish, that even in our dreams we will not wander beyond your reach.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Building projects ramp up during shutdown
connectorsIn a typical year, maintenance includes what you might expect in an old church building: changing filters, mopping floors, ensuring anything broken is replaced, and triaging emergencies that pop up. But 2020 wasn’t a typical year.
Church Street Maintenance Supervisor Keith Bailey, who has been at Church Street for almost six years, says the time without in-person meetings has allowed for both long-overdue and pop-up projects to be finished easily.
There’s a plethora of projects that Bailey and the maintenance team have worked on during the shutdown, but there are a few that members are sure to notice once they return to the church this month.
Welcome Center water damage
Wainscotting off the wall following water intrustion.
At the beginning of 2020, water damage in the basement of the church created what has easily been the biggest building project in the past year.
Rainwater gathered on the roof of the church, before overpowering the infrastructure of the ground below it and opening between the courtyard and building. The influx of water caused the back wall to buckle, and the wainscotting was removed from the wall.
After rerouting the water to avoid any further damage, the floor was stripped and waxed, and the wall was patched before attaching new wood paneling.
Basement wainscotting following repairs.
New look for preschool, children’s classrooms
A new coat of paint, ceiling tiles and lights have created a brighter atmosphere for classrooms in the preschool and children’s classrooms.
Parents, kids and teachers alike will remember the ceilings of the classrooms prior to their recent renovation and won’t be able to miss the new shine each room has.
In addition to new paint, preschool classrooms also received new toilets and sinks, and the floors in the hallways and classrooms were stripped and waxed. A camera system has been added to the front door of the preschool, as well, to help add security.
First floor cleaning in 10+ years
It’s been over 10 years since the floors of Church Street were last completely stripped and waxed.
Waxing the floors is a time-consuming process, as you use a large floor machine to strip away existing wax before applying a new coat. If you haven’t removed the previous wax completely, the wax will build up.
Members will notice a difference in the shine of the floors, especially on the third floor where every space has been stripped and waxed. With typical foot traffic, the floors are mopped regularly.
Pop-up projects
There are several other projects that have taken the time and dedication of Bailey and the maintenance team, which includes Jeffery Rose, Robin Crain, Kevin Bailey and Jacob Jenne.
The elevator entrance in the breezeway and elevator doors have all been painted, and repairs have been made to stained glass in the doors on the Henley Street side of the church.
Additional lights and cameras have been placed outside to ensure security and protect the church, while also providing a glow on the church at night.
Throughout the month of March, we are telling the stories of the Church Street Connectors, those in the church body who have exemplified “being the church” since the Covid-19 pandemic first hit in March 2020. When the church building closed, their ministries continued in new and thriving ways. Stay tuned for more stories all month and throughout the year.
Compassion to Serve
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Tuesday, March 9
By Louise Zirkle, March 19, 1979
Compassion to Serve
Read: Matthew 25:40
“Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
These words mean much to me because they epitomize the Christian obligation to reach out in sympathy and compassion to serve one’s fellowman.
Our Christian compassion and service to others is a direct obligation stemming from the two great commandments to love God supremely and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Our place in the kingdom of God at all times depends on our caring and outgoing concern for those in need. No matter whether it be to feed the hungry or minister to the sick, this we should do in Christ’s name.
Recently, the Lord gave me an opportunity to serve Him when I offered a poor and very ill woman a ride as she prepared to call a taxi to take her home from a doctor’s office. I just happened to be walking by the telephone booth at that time. I knew she couldn’t afford a taxi and I could see she was ill. Something made me turn around and offer to take her home. Looking at me with almost disbelief, she willingly accepted the ride. Upon arriving at her home, which was several miles away, she asked me what she owed me. I assured her that she owed me nothing and that it was my pleasure to bring her home. With tears in her eyes and with a grateful heart, she smiled and said, “God bless you!” What more reward could anyone want! I drove away feeling ten feet tall and praising the Lord for letting me serve Him this way. What I had done seemed so little and yet it meant so much to this stranger in need.
Prayer
Help us, our Father, not only in this Lenten season, but always, to see that there are lonely hearts to cherish and people to help as the days go by, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.
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Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Evening Prayer – March 8
prayer for todayBINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
March 8, 2021
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
We lift our evening song to you, Creator of the Day and the Night. The voice of spring is thick in the air and you are busy planting seeds of hope and joy. You are providing all the elements that could bring reality all that you envision for us. Give us the prudence to treasure these lengthening days you are bringing, to use them to ponder our relationship with you, to travel that extra mile to meet you afresh as Easter approaches. On that blessed day may we be found worthy to dance in the light of your grace.
It remains a holy mystery that your Son chose to share our lives, opting to reside among us in the everydayness of our existence, to suffer rejection and brokenness that we might become whole. Such outpouring we may never fully understand, yet we remember Jesus’ humility and service, and long to be counted among those who carry his legacy of selfless love. So much of the time we fail in our commitment, but we hold onto the certainty that you have planted seeds of compassion deep within us; and you use even our the tiniest of sprouts to help heal our hurting world.
Aware of your mercy and in awe of your grace, we kneel in gratitude for all the ways you continue to bless us, Gracious One, especially in these particular ways . . . . . . . . . . and also offer these prayers from the hearts of your people of Church Street:
Make a place for us, and all whom we love, this night in your haven of rest, where you cradle all who are worn and weary. We leave our cares in your hands, Tender Keeper, assured that your touch will bring wholeness in time to come.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
How Far Does Our Love Go?
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Monday, March 8
By Martha Holt, April 9, 1979
How Far Does Our Love Go?
Read: Matthew 7:24
Jesus Christ said, “Whosoever beareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock . . .”
Easter reminds us how far love will go for the beloved. What response will we make to Love Himself?
We read in the Gospels of Jesus Christ’s ministry of healing; of teaching men how to live a satisfying life; of forgiveness; of reclaiming those who had been given up by others as beyond redemption. What an example of love in action!
He said that those who had seen Him had seen God, and thus from His life we know the character of His Father.
What a mind-boggling thought that His Father would allow Him to give His life for creatures as undeserving and as wayward as ourselves!
What an inspiring and humbling thought that Jesus Christ would care enough about us to carry out His Father’s will to save us!
After such a sacrifice it is inconceivable that we do not praise the Lord continuously, and in responsive love obey Him continually, trusting Him explicitly in all things.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, in this Easter season let us begin to “know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly” by faithfully studying our Bibles and conversing with you daily as a first object in our lives. In Jesus’ name we ask this. Amen.
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Tuned to Receive
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Sunday, March 7, Evening
By Nelle Kroll, March 22, 1976
Tuned to Receive
Read Psalm 46:10-11
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
As a member of the Radio Amateur Service, I’ve become especially conscious of the need in this technical area for a good receiver. No matter how great the output of a transmitter, to get the best reception I must have a directional antenna and receiver capable of precise tuning to a frequency which will receive that signal, cutting out as much of the interference as possible.
This has a message for me. There is a constant challenge to receive that distant signal which may be available to me at this instant. And yes, there is a signal there at this very moment! I am the receiver, capable of accurate tuning. I only need to set my senses Godward, attune myself to the proper frequency and “Be still . . .” and listen. He is transmitting. He has given me the license to operate through Jesus Christ and a receiver capable of picking up His most distant signal without interference. My message: Make all of the adjustments to being properly tuned. Be sure you’re on the right Frequency. Sit back and listen. Give Him a call. He is there!
Prayer
Father, help me be still and listen so that I will be attuned to your spiritual messages and can apply them to the forwarding of your kingdom here on earth. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
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A Program for Spiritual Growth
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Sunday, March 7, Morning
By Col. Joe R. Shepherd, March 2, 1979
A Program for Spiritual Growth
Read Psalm 100:1-5
“My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2
In our world today most of mankind’s endeavors are based on a program of some kind. There are business programs built into elaborate computer systems, athletic programs, and individual success programs. Our church has a program for growth and development which was devised by the Council of Ministries and approved by the Administrative Board. Successful programs are based on goals and objectives supported by well conceived plans and a lot of hard work.
If our goal in life includes a meaningful relationship with GOD, then we would do well to consider a personal program for spiritual growth. For a time, my life was without such a program. Having been born in a Christian family where going to church and reciting our prayers at bedtime was the accepted way of doing things, I felt pretty comfortable about my spiritual situation. However, this changed early in my military career, when I found myself directly responsible for the lives of many other young men who were assigned to military organizations under my command. During critical situations, I found the need for reinforcement from outside my own resources. When I turned to GOD for help there was no meaningful response. My arrangements with Him had been too superficial to support a viable communication relation between us.
With the help of a chaplain friend, I developed a spiritual growth program. The goal of my program was to find a meaningful relationship with GOD. The supporting plans basically consisted of rededication to the Christian principles that I had learned earlier, but had neglected to practice. This was not a story of instant success, however, there was the immediate feeling that this was the right direction and the realization was there that with faith and work, my goal could be reached.
Prayer
Father, we pray that during the Lenten season, many of us will re-evaluate our spiritual lives and consider rededication and renewal programs to strengthen our spiritual growth and development. Amen.
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Help Who You Can
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Saturday, March 6
By Steve Roberts, March 5, 2017
Help Who You Can
Read: Proverbs 1:8-9
Like many fathers, mine shared with me the wisdom of his life hoping it would influence my life. While a natural story teller, or parables in ecumenical terms, the ones I remember were not parables but aphorisms – short, catchy phrases that are easy to remember. I hate to think how many I’ve forgotten; I’m certain the few I remember are the wisest and the ones I’m sure he would have chosen for me to remember. I am also certain that they are his creations and not transgenerational tradition. “You give what you have and you help who you can,” and “Put one foot in front of the other, and if you can’t do that, stand still” immediately come to mind. But the one that seems to be the most thematically theological is “if you have to choose who to save, save the first one you come to.”
I have thought about “save the first one you come to” some over the years but only in the past two or three have I realized that I have heard the same message all of my life. It is the heart of every parable Jesus told, the heart of our faith. He did not decide who was most worthy or had the greatest need. He had no priority list, no minimum qualifications. He “took” everyone. As my father told me, so He told us, “you save the first one you come to.”
Prayer
Creator God, guide us to give what we have and help who we can, right where we are. Amen.
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