With demolition of the Trinity United Church’s hall and administration office slated for completion last week, the choir sang the “Hallelujah” chorus and “We Are the Church” as the congregation said goodbye on Tuesday morning.
The hall — where the congregation has been holding services since turning the former worship space into a thrift store — was irreparably damaged by fire on Sept. 22, and members were “suddenly reminded of our powerlessness, cast out of our building, moving from rootedness to a vulnerable transience,” said Rev. Paula Ashby.
“Much of our journey together since the fire has been about naming our core values and identity, about reclaiming our power, bringing order to unexpected chaos,” said Ashby. “The entire congregation, through the singing of the choir, was able to reclaim their space and their destiny and to do so in a joyful way, proclaiming new hope and new life.”
Students from Wildflower joined the congregation on Tuesday, and together they strung up balloons bearing words and phrases, “Love”, “Joy”, “Friendship” and “Bring on the Spirit” among them. The brightly-coloured balloons symbolize the work of the Holy Spirit; “spirit” in Greek is pneuma, meaning wind, air, or breath.
“As the wind continues to flutter the brightly coloured balloons, we have an opportunity to see the spirit and be reminded of the spirit’s great power to bring new life and joy to a deeply wounded heart,” said Ashby. “This is also reflected in our singing together, as we cannot sing without breath.”
More than half the congregation attended a recent visioning workshop, where a lot of creative ideas were brought up, and it became clear that they want to see the church rebuilt.
“Once the burnt portions of the building have been removed, a structural engineer will assess the viability of the foundation,” said Ashby. “If it is considered safe to support another building, we will be required to rebuild on the existing footprint. If the foundation is not structurally sound, we can rebuild wherever we want. Either way, the new building will be fully accessible and designed to serve our many existing and emerging ministries.”
Parishioners are looking to the future with excitement and hope, feeling much closer as a congregation than ever before
“Folks are realizing that church is more than a building; it is the people who form the church,” said Ashby. “Keeping our ministries going — like the Wednesday lunch — has also focused our attention on the importance of serving the wider community.”
Their feelings, she added were aptly summed up in the choir’s new lyrics to “We Are the Church”: “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together. See our church arising from the ashes! We are the church forever!”
