Goodbye dear friend

(A blury photo of my old church taken in the summer of 2005)

Last Sunday my best friend called to tell me that the church we grew up in, and came to faith in was burning down. We knew that church intimately, every room, every nook & cranny:

• the crevice in choir closet that was big enough to squeeze into and deep enough to fit at least two people, possibly 3
• the closet in a closet that also led to a passageway underneath the stage in the sanctuary that was big enough to keep the street hockey equipment and also to hide in during "Spotlight"
• the sanctuary with wooden pews that would creak when you moved
• the kitchen where we spent many hours crafting (Ukrainian eggs, cake decorating, baking & cooking all sorts of things)
• the vestry where we met as a youth group

The church has been abandoned for several years, and (to be honest) when I received the call I wasn't as shaken up as my friend was because I was a little surprised the church was still standing. I had "said goodbye" about a year ago, the last time I visited the town, when I learned that it was going to be torn down to build condos (argh! you can see condo development encroaching on small town Nova Scotia now!).

Here are some photos. I can't take any credit for the photography. They were emailed to me by another friend:

ISAIAH 43:2
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.