Dear Rose Park,
I grew up at Calvary Reformed Church in Holland Heights. Read that sentence again, because I don’t mean to communicate that I merely grew up attending Calvary Reformed Church, I truly mean I matured at Calvary. It was the place where I first heard the words of Jesus Loves Me. It was the place where I learned how to love my neighbor as myself. It was the place where I was prayed over. It was the place that sent me off to college and seminary. I attended worship and ministries at Calvary, but my growth went far beyond attendance.
“The congregation is the pastor’s place for developing vocational holiness. It goes without saying that it is the place of ministry: we preach the word and administer the sacraments, we give pastoral care and administer the community life, we teach and we give spiritual direction. But it is also the place in which we develop virtue, learn to love, advance in hope - become what we preach.” Under the Unpredictable Plant by Eugene Peterson.
Though Peterson is writing specifically to the pastor, this goes beyond the pastor as well. The church is more than just an address in a neighborhood, it is also a place where the seeds of Gospel truth are planted. The church is more than just a place where services are conducted, it is also a place where we are shaped into the mold of Jesus. The church is more than just a place where cards are dropped off and meetings occur, it is also a place where the pages of scripture intersect with the pages of our lives.
So, the next time you come to 14241 Rose Park Dr. perhaps your eyes and hearts might be open to the possibilities of what the Holy Spirit might do. Of course services, meetings, and meals will still occur at the church but what if in the midst of these things we were readily anticipating something greater as well? What if we were anticipating the process of being made holy? What if we embraced sanctification while also sharing a hot-dog on a Wednesday night or coffee on a Friday morning?
It’s my hope and prayer that Rose Park would be more than just the place of ministry, but also the place where we become what we believe.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark