Her454
11-17-2003, 02:06 PM
In Heaven above or greater powers...............Dont knock it, just dont read it.
:)
The Tablecloth
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church in
suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited
about their opportunities. When they saw their church,
it was very run down and needed much work. They set a
goal to have everything done in time to have their
first service on Christmas Eve.
They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc. and on Dec, 18 were ahead of schedule and
just about finished. On Dec, 19th a terrible tempest -
a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two
days.
On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His
heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked,
causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8
feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just
behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The
pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not
knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas
Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed
that a local business was having a flea market type
sale for charity so he stopped in.
One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory
colored,crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine
colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It
was just the right size to cover up the hole in the
front wall. He bought it and headed back to the
church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman
running from the opposite direction was trying to
catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to
wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes
later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the
tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly
believe how beautiful it looked and it
covered up the entire problem area.
Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was white like a sheet. "Pastor," she
asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor
explained. The woman asked him to check the lower
right corner to see if the initials, EBG were
crocheted into it there.
They were. These were the initials of the woman, and
she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in
Austria.
The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told
how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman
explained that before the war she and her husband were
well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she
was forced to leave. Her husband was going to
follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to
prison and never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she
made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor
insisted on driving her home that was the least he
could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island
and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a
housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve.
The church was almost full. The music and the spirit
were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and
his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said
that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor
recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in
one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why
he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the
tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical
to one that his wife had made years ago
when they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced
his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed
to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a
prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all
the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him
for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to
the same house where the pastor had taken the woman
three days earlier. He helped the man climb
the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment,
knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid, who says
God does not work in mysterious ways.
:)
The Tablecloth
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church in
suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited
about their opportunities. When they saw their church,
it was very run down and needed much work. They set a
goal to have everything done in time to have their
first service on Christmas Eve.
They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc. and on Dec, 18 were ahead of schedule and
just about finished. On Dec, 19th a terrible tempest -
a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two
days.
On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His
heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked,
causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8
feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just
behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The
pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not
knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas
Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed
that a local business was having a flea market type
sale for charity so he stopped in.
One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory
colored,crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine
colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It
was just the right size to cover up the hole in the
front wall. He bought it and headed back to the
church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman
running from the opposite direction was trying to
catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to
wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes
later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the
tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly
believe how beautiful it looked and it
covered up the entire problem area.
Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was white like a sheet. "Pastor," she
asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor
explained. The woman asked him to check the lower
right corner to see if the initials, EBG were
crocheted into it there.
They were. These were the initials of the woman, and
she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in
Austria.
The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told
how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman
explained that before the war she and her husband were
well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she
was forced to leave. Her husband was going to
follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to
prison and never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she
made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor
insisted on driving her home that was the least he
could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island
and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a
housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve.
The church was almost full. The music and the spirit
were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and
his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said
that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor
recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in
one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why
he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the
tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical
to one that his wife had made years ago
when they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced
his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed
to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a
prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all
the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him
for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to
the same house where the pastor had taken the woman
three days earlier. He helped the man climb
the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment,
knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid, who says
God does not work in mysterious ways.