A smiling face met me at the door.

“Greetings, Pastor. Thank you so much for being here,” he said as he welcomed me into the entryway. There were some ushers bustling around, chatting and smiling. I was early, but Sunday morning had already begun here at Lord of Life in Garner, North Carolina.

Anyone who follows national growth trends can tell you that the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina) is the 10th fastest-growing metro area in the nation, with an ever-expanding footprint moving south of the city. Garner, just south of Raleigh proper, is an area developing quickly as residents long to be close to the Triangle action while retaining some larger parcels of land.

Garner is a town in transition.

And the Lord of Life I walked into that Sunday morning almost two years ago was in the midst of some major transition; I was preaching what I hoped to be a good word in the midst of a liminal time. Between pastors and wondering when a candidate would discern that God was calling them there (and that they were called to a candidate!), Lord of Life was keeping the faith while wondering what was next.

In this way, they resembled many churches these days. It feels like the world has been non-stop transition since the pandemic ravaged all corners of humanity, and faith communities still reverberate with a feeling of uncertainty.

And yet that Sunday the faithful sang their praises with energy and gusto. The assisting ministers served the community with vigor and adaptability. “Now,” said the assisting minister that morning, “we normally serve communion like this, at the altar rail. But if you decide to do it differently, we’ll adapt. We’re glad you’re here.”

And then, after worship, they led me to the fellowship hall where there was not just a typical after-church coffee and sweets, but a full-blown lunch where most everyone joined in the meal and caught up with one another. I chatted with one person after another, the whole hall echoing with the joy that it was to be together.

“Pastor,” one parishioner asked me, “we’re taking some communion to some folks who couldn’t be with us this week, and we forgot to bless this bread with communion. Could you do it before you leave?”

Of course.

This community, even in the midst of transition, was remembering who and whose they were, not neglecting to do just what the early church did: remember the whole community of saints, even those not present.

In being with them I knew this was a community not only with potential but with a heart longing for God’s next big adventure for them. Sure, there was some doubt. Of course, there was some trepidation. Like all of our ancestors of the faith, liminal spaces come with both bouts of hope and bouts of despair.
Indeed, hope and despair sometimes hold hands in the hardest moments of our lives, vying for who will grip us harder.

But, Beloved, hope wins.

Fast forward to today.

Lord of Life, Garner is no longer in the midst of transition but has embraced full resurrection.

New life has been infused not just by a new pastor, but by embracing the growing community in which they find themselves. They continue to adapt. They continue to be nimble. They’ve sought and received a grant to upgrade their technology, helping parishioners to worship with stronger voice through the use of screens and projection. They’ve embraced their calling as a teaching parish, helping to form a deacon to embrace God’s direction as a minister of Word and Service.

They’ve trusted that God works in mysterious ways, uncovering resources they didn’t know they had, both monetary and volunteer, as God has continued to lead them through the wilderness of transition into an exciting season of growth and opportunity.

Worship at Lord of Life continues to be nimble and inviting. Their fellowship continues to be robust and inviting. They’ve welcomed so many new people as Garner has grown! They’ve adapted to newness as God has invited them into a different way of being.

But instead of just being glad that someone “is here,” they’re even more-so glad they’re here.

Because they are changing lives, by God.

Hope won.