Saturday May 4, 2013

 

 

Community Festival

Part 1 of 3

Franconia Mennonite Church, Telford, Pennsylvania

Saturday, April 27

 

 

It was a glorious, spring morning as we traveled toward Telford in TFC’s Mobile Chapel #2.

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I feel like I have the best seat in the house when I sit high in a truck, enjoying my morning coffee, and traveling to another event where a TFC chapel is requested.

 

 

We arrived early, but could tell that something was going on in this large church parking lot.

 

 

We have to arrive early at these events because Cerwin needs a lot of space to maneuver this rig into place. 

 

 

This event was planned as a way to share the love of Christ with the community.

I knew by the emails I received from Doug (one of the organizers) that this was going to be a well-organized day.

 

 

After some major things were in place – about 11:30 a.m. – the organizers called us to prayer for the day.

 

 

Another reason for the success of the day was that WBYN – a local Christian Radio Station – took this on as a ministry project and announced this community day for the previous six weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we had the chapel set up, and Cerwin was available for early visitors, I walked across the lot looking for photo opportunities.

 

 

This is a beautiful old church that has been remodeled and enlarged since its early days.

 

 

 

The sanctuary looks similar to our home church, except we don’t have white ends to our benches.

 

 

Outside the long hallway is the old cemetery.

 

 

 

Two of the fellowship hall walls were lined with mission outreach leaders and contact people. Here the Gideons were handing out Bibles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I arrived at this table – closest to the camera…

 

 

 

…I met the pastor and his wife, Steve and Rosemary Landis.

When he saw my TFC lanyard, he asked a bit about the ministry and where we are from. Because he grew up in Lancaster County, we “played” the Mennonite Game until we found people that we both knew.

For us, our common people were Dick and Jeannie Stauffer. Jeannie do you remember Steve? I think he said he remembered you from high school.

When I joked that we did good in playing The Mennonite Game – and I’m not even Mennonite, he asked where we go to church. When I said, “White Oak Church of the Brethren”, he said, “I know where that is, because we went there to see your church’s layout when we were remodeling.” (Maybe that is why the sanctuary looked familiar.) It certainly is a small world.

 

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Part 2 tomorrow night.

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