THE BEACON – August, 2012 CALVARY UNITED METHODIST Located on the corner of W. Burke St. & Maple Ave. Martinsburg, WV 25401-3322 Phone: (304) 267-4542 E-mail: [email protected] Website: calvaryum.org Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 2 PM Calvary United Methodist Church’s vision: To be a beacon of God’s love! Our mission: To grow and show the love of ! ______From the Pastor’s Desk (or the Pastor’s Blog): Windows to God! [God said,] “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5b In 1895, during the presidency of Grover Cleveland, the Calvary congregation managed to raise enough resources to place stained glass windows in the sanctuary to replace the cut glass that graced it earlier. Under the leadership of Pastor David H. Shields, the congregation clearly sought community support as the Masonic and organizational emblems in some windows testify (Does anyone know what is Martinsburg Division 223, O. R. C. of A?). Individuals and groups took part as evidenced by dedications to and from families, groups within the church, and even the Berkeley County Graduation Exercises of 1895. In the 1980’s, a project was undertaken to reinforce these windows, and this July, our Church Council has authorized the removal and reassembly of the 3 windows at highest risk of deterioration, at a cost of about $40,000. Within the next decade, such work will need be done in all 19 of the sanctuary’s windows, at a present total cost of $271,144, which inflation will increase over time. Now, we can find ourselves in sacred space with the Lord anytime, anywhere, as Moses discovered in the verse quoted above. We don’t need a building. Yet, sanctuaries have been places set apart for such purpose, and the stained glass that often adorns them was meant both to close off outside distractions, and simultaneously reflect God’s presence by the designs embedded within. Calvary’s designs reflect both mosaic and painted glass, with the shards, now held together by lead, and soon to be replaced by a lead alloy which will provide a stronger, longer lasting bond than lead alone could do. We ourselves may hear the call to be sanctuaries: Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary; pure and holy; tried and true. With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you! So goes a camp chorus. While I don’t know any “stained glass saints, collectively, held together by the love of Jesus, just as the lead holds shards of glass, we are called to reflect the love of the Lord to the world (See our vision/mission statements above.). Unlike lead or lead alloys, the love of the Lord never breaks down, and we may be windows to God for each other or to someone else, despite our failings. May the Lord uplift us as we continue present ministries and at the same time undertake a maintenance labor of love in the Calvary sanctuary! Al Clipp