People gathered in the new narthex, out of the cold. Five minutes before we started, we walked to the cornerstone and stayed in the sun to stay warm. At 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 7, over the cornerstone, Eric Pearson prayed a prayer Barbara Sappenfield shared. Then Joleen Propst and Wool E. Bull held the ribbon before the front doors where Beth Miller and Mike Green cut the ribbon with a little help. After blessing the doors, the architect handed Pastor Ben Krey the keys, and then David Krebs opened the doors to the new addition at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Durham! Everyone followed the crucifer, Chloe Merritt, into the new entrance. The pastor blessed the elevator and the narthex before the choir sang us into the sanctuary with a trumpet duet. It was a great day!

When asked about her favorite part, Jeanne Moore said, “The reception was great! Everything went smoothly. The food was amazing. And people stayed for a really long time.” Tina Thompson said, “The food was tasty and abundant.” Ann Sundberg said, “Thanks to (the) congregational life (team) for the reception—it was magnificent!”

Jim Goodwin, Barb Trapp-Moen, and Faye Fredrick led the readings in the sanctuary. Then there was a lineup of speakers including the co-chairs of the renovation team, the architect, a video from the bishop, and community partners from Moretz Manor (Lutheran Services Carolinas’ Traumatic Brain Injury Group Home) and Lowe’s Grove Middle School. Pastor Ben said, “My favorite moment was unexpected. We weren’t expecting Claire from Lowe’s Grove Middle School PTA to speak. Then, very emotionally, she said ‘When I saw all that Christus Victor Lutheran Church did at my school, I was motivated to do more.’”

Christus Victor was thrilled to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the building project by dedicating the new addition to the glory of God and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When Beth Miller, co-chair of the renovation team, spoke, she said, “I have been a member for 44 years, and we’ve been talking about something like this ever since I’ve been here.”

The other co-chair of the renovation team, Mike Green, exclaimed, “The future is very bright … Thanks be to God, we did Phase 1, but we already have plans for future phases including renovating this sanctuary and getting new bathrooms and more space for ministry.”

Friends from Parkwood United Methodist Church, the neighborhood, and community partners made it clear that this building is not for us, but for all of us—all of God’s children. They went on to describe other future projects like an outdoor pavilion, chapel, and even a gymnasium—all for our neighbors, if the Lord wills it. These would complement the community garden and playground on Christus Victor’s campus that already blesses the neighbors. And the quilting ministry gives comfort to people around the world.

David Krebs, the president of the congregation, described various community ministries while pictures of the ministries were on the screen in the sanctuary. He also reminded us, “We love our neighbors and our community, but we are not called to be a social service agency with a side chapel. Jesus calls us to make disciples. We preach a gospel of grace for all people and teach the Word of God. One of our key goals for the next year is growing in discipleship.”

Beth Miller said, “It’s no accident that the phrase ‘give comfort’ is on the cornerstone. We were very intentional about giving comfort in the design, and we will be very intentional about accepting all others with the ministry we do both inside and outside this building. I also want to add that we would have never done this if we did not fearlessly trust God. In fact, without those words, we probably would have thrown in the towel long ago thinking this would be impossible.”

But with God, all things are possible.

Quoting Psalm 127 and 1 Peter 4, Pastor Ben said, “When I think about all that went into this—it was not one person. It was not even close to one person. But there are many people—a royal priesthood of living stones—which, if any one of them were not here, this structure would have crumbled. I am convinced, therefore, that this was not the work of a person. This was the work of the Lord. God built this house. There is not a doubt in my mind: God built this house. We did not labor in vain.”