***OT*** The brand new pastor

[Guest guest]

Long but I think worth the read, nice touching story about faith.

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

December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 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 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. He 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..

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today,

to guide you and protect you as you go along your way.

His love is always with you,

His promises are true, and when we give Him all our

cares you know He will see us through .

So when the road you're traveling on seems

difficult at best.. Just remember I'm here

praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on

to those you want God to bless and don't forget

to send it back to the one who asked God to bless you first.

When there is nothing left but God, that is when

you find out that God is all you need. Take 60

seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply

say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

My dear, sweet Heavenly Father, I pray you bless all my friends and family

in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their

life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a

closer relationship with you. This I pray for in the precious name of your

Blessed Son, Jesus Christ...Amen.

Then send it on to five other people, including the

one who sent it to you. Within hours five people have

prayed for you and you caused a multitude of people

to pray for other people. Then sit back and watch the

power of God work in your life.

P. S. Five is good, but more is better

[Guest guest]

Thank you for this lovely story. Nothing is impossible, it seems when God is

involved.

Have a blessed holiday season.

Jan K

Patti wrote:

Long but I think worth the read, nice touching story about faith.

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

December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 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 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. He 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..

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today,

to guide you and protect you as you go along your way.

His love is always with you,

His promises are true, and when we give Him all our

cares you know He will see us through .

So when the road you're traveling on seems

difficult at best.. Just remember I'm here

praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on

to those you want God to bless and don't forget

to send it back to the one who asked God to bless you first.

When there is nothing left but God, that is when

you find out that God is all you need. Take 60

seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply

say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

My dear, sweet Heavenly Father, I pray you bless all my friends and family

in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their

life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a

closer relationship with you. This I pray for in the precious name of your

Blessed Son, Jesus Christ...Amen.

Then send it on to five other people, including the

one who sent it to you. Within hours five people have

prayed for you and you caused a multitude of people

to pray for other people. Then sit back and watch the

power of God work in your life.

P. S. Five is good, but more is better

[Guest guest]

Thank you for this lovely story. Nothing is impossible, it seems when God is

involved.

Have a blessed holiday season.

Jan K

Patti wrote:

Long but I think worth the read, nice touching story about faith.

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

December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 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 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. He 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..

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today,

to guide you and protect you as you go along your way.

His love is always with you,

His promises are true, and when we give Him all our

cares you know He will see us through .

So when the road you're traveling on seems

difficult at best.. Just remember I'm here

praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on

to those you want God to bless and don't forget

to send it back to the one who asked God to bless you first.

When there is nothing left but God, that is when

you find out that God is all you need. Take 60

seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply

say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

My dear, sweet Heavenly Father, I pray you bless all my friends and family

in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their

life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a

closer relationship with you. This I pray for in the precious name of your

Blessed Son, Jesus Christ...Amen.

Then send it on to five other people, including the

one who sent it to you. Within hours five people have

prayed for you and you caused a multitude of people

to pray for other people. Then sit back and watch the

power of God work in your life.

P. S. Five is good, but more is better