Slow going

It has been one of the wettest years we have had in a long time.  This month was particularly wet.  As a result the roof that we thought we would have on for Christmas is not.  The Dean says that God's perfect plan is being worked out somewhere for someone and so we should thank God for the rain.  But that is a spiritual maturity that I am yet to reach.  So I like many of God's children, am a little impatient right now but what can we do?  The skies have been relatively clear these past few days.  Here's hoping that it will last into the New Year when work resumes.

Restore! Renew! Revive!

The Year of Restoration was launched today with a moving service.  It was orginally to be held on the lawn of the Deanery but our Heavenly Father wanted us closer together and herded us inside the Cultural Centre through the use of some early morning showers.  All the Parish Churches were there, Bethel, Good Shepherd, St. Andrew, St. Anthony, St. James and of course St. John. 

Restore! Renew! Revive!

The Gospel reading  (Luke 15: 13-32), the parable of the prodigal son and his brother was touching and the Bishop's sermon was laced with metaphors.  My favourite of which was one he borrowed from Bishop Desmond Tutu.  The church is much like an ochestra with each member playing his or her part.  Sometimes there is a member holding a triangle whose only part is to strike it once in the entire piece they are playing.  Yet if that one "ping" is not heard during that piece, that piece is incomplete.  This restoration of the church building and the church the body of Christ is greater than any of us can imagine.  Whatever part we play at whatever time, we must realise that like that triangle player we have a valuable and necessary part to play.

While this is the Year of Restoration, the restoration of the church building and the church the body of Christ will take years.  The latter the rest of our lives.  We must stay committed.

We Walk by Faith.....

 and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
 Fitting words to live by from blessed St. Paul.  They ring very true with this Restoration. 

Here is our progress to date.  As you will see with the last picture, the first kingposts are up.  Rafters will start going up next week.

East Gable Wall Part II

Great News!!!  The engineers have figured out a way to replace the beams without us having to demolish the wall.  The Dean is so relieved.  So am I.

There are two sets of beam trusses that are supporting the stones in that wall.  The wall will be propped up and then one wooden beam truss will be removed and replaced with a reinforced concrete beam.  Once that beam can support the weight of the stones then the other will be removed and replaced.  Work will begin shortly.

New Roof Trusses

Cross beams erected over south balcony

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Flat truss erected over north balcony

Twin towers

Post and beam structure viewed looking through the balcony floor into the foundations

Wall Beams

New wall beams in the Cathedral.

Restoration and Recession

Restorations are expensive, time consuming, risky and at times contentious projects.  And that is in the best of times.  What does one say in these times?   The times of, let's say it,  "The Global Economic Recession."

Why oh why Father did you choose this time to call us to restore your holy temple? It feels unfair at times.  Our Faith is being tested.  I have called this Restoration a sermon in a previous post.  I now see it as even more.  I now see it also as being a metaphor for our current lives.

The Cathedral these days is a far cry from its former glory.  No longer is it the awe inspiring building, the ship of souls my sister called it, the beautiful place where Psalms were chanted, sermons delivered and the Gospel proclaimed.  It is now an unsightly, messy and slightly dangerous construction site.  A place where some rotten pieces of wood have been replaced but we are waiting to install a great many more new pieces.  Our shipments have been delayed by hurricanes and tropical storms that have mercifully missed us.  We have a little less than half the roof on and will be starting the work on the the rest at the peak of the hurricane season.

The Cathedral looks battered and bruised and the feeling you get sometimes when you stand inside is, will it ever come back?

The Sanctuary before

The Sanctuary now

But aren't our lives much like that?  Weren't we just a few scant years ago, paying our bills, planning vacations and enjoying a few luxuries.  We all wanted more and while there was suffering and terror in the world, we were confident about our future.  Now how are we doing?  Cost of living is up.  Gasoline prices have gone through the roof.  Businesses are closing.  More and more people are out of work.  House foreclosures are spreading like a virus and car repo men are very, very busy.  And the news around the world is bleak.  The governments of major countries are reporting financial crises that threaten to affect the entire world. 

Our lives look battered and bruised and the feeling you get sometimes when you look at it is, will it ever come back?

The scariest notion for me about these two scenarios is, are our darkest days behind us?  I have been through a few hurricanes and the hardest thing to deal with while you are in the middle of the storm is wondering if the worst of the storm has come.  As the storm rages, and even as you survive its ravages, you cannot help but wonder, how much more you can endure. Are you just seconds from a catastrophe.  And the truth is, until the winds start to ever so slowly abate, until the timbers break and the roof peels away like the top of a sardine can, you will never ever know.  But when you look back and you look down you will see you made it through, you will see "one set of footprints in the sand" and you will know who carried you through.

I dream,  I hope, I believe and I know that one day this restoration will be over.  The awe inspiring glory of the Cathedral will come back.  Sermons will be preached, Psalms will be chanted and the Gospel will be proclaimed.  Economies will recover, new businesses will open, people will return to work and we will start looking forward to our future.  We will make it through and we will look down and see one set of footprints in the sand and we will know who carried us through.  Amen.