"Built on a Rock, the Church Shall Stand..."

"...even when floors and ceilings are being torn up, and doors torn down, and a general mess is being made..."

Doesn't have quite the same ring to it as the original hymn, does it?

This past weekend, my church began the process of tearing up the Sunday School wing so that it could later begin the process of making it MUCH nicer. With the entire wing unusable, we had classes scattered all over the place. The Pre-K/Kindergarten class met where the high school kids usually are, the high schoolers were sent to the Parish Hall, the 1st-2nd graders met in my office, the 3rd graders were in the nursery, the 4th-5th graders took over the adult Sunday School room, the 6th-7th graders occupied a room that looks like a classroom but has been used mostly for storage, and the adults were banished to the pastor's office. I think we may end up switching the 4th-5th graders and the adults around (more adults showed up than anyone anticipated, and the 4th-5th grade class is kind of small), but other than that, things seemed to go relatively smoothly.

They're hoping to have things done in time for the big April 1st 75th Anniversary celebration (yes, that's right, April Fool's Day)...it's gonna be nice. New carpet replacing the very old tile floor, drywall instead of painted cinder block walls, a new heating/AC unit that will allow the kids to not have to wear their coats to class in the winter, and new doors and workstations in the classrooms with more storage space.

And the best part--unless it goes WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over budget...it's already paid for.

Now, to get back to the whole April Fools Day thing. Apparently, 75 years ago, this congregation's very first worship service was held on Palm Sunday. Well, thanks to the wonders of the movable church calendar, this year Palm Sunday falls on April 1st. So there you are, a bunch of what St. Paul described as "fools for Christ" throwing a big party the Sunday before Easter.

Personally, I"m looking forward to 2018, when Easter falls on April 1st. Talk about the best freakin' April Fools joke on sin and death:

Jesus: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack...

Sin: What the...

Death: #(*%&%!!!

Jesus: April fool!!!

Sin: What the...

Death: #(%&%!!!

LH