Can we keep talking about the renovations at Calvary, or are you a little tired of construction updates? How about the response to the renovations? As I write this, my shoulders are still sore from moving couches into place as part of a blizzard of activity over the last few days, and I was only a bit player compared to the yeoman’s work of so many others. But my heart is full from days of celebrations and expressions of gratitude, my ears are full of hymns, and my belly is full of the produce of Calvary’s kitchen. So, you get one more reflection about this magnificent project from me.
Actually, allow me to share back to you some of your reflections:
Teary eyes upon seeing the murals restored and returned to place. Momentary confusion at how hallways connect. Delight at seeing from one corner of our campus to another. “Thank you” for cheese grits and more. The question over and over again, “where did this art, furniture, stained glass, sculpture, come from?” and over and over again, “it was always here.” And following the morning and evening liturgies, “I didn’t know how much I needed this.”
I don’t know exactly what this is for everyone who said that sentence or expressed something like it, but I think this is good news. I think this is joy. This is a sweet spot for your kiddo. I think this is surprise – the good kind. This is a ramp. I think this is connection to each other and to a place. I think this is song. This is a beautiful and inclusive image on the wall welcoming you. I think this is hope.
And thanks to one inspired and inspiring conversation with a parishioner, I also think this is a needed reminder that we can build things in a world that feels like it is being torn down. So much is breaking all around us. In our small lives, we are losing people we love as disease takes its devastating course and as relationships crumble. Our hearts are breaking at local injustice. And the news from the broader world is a constant stream of stories about norms being trampled, safety nets being ripped apart, and destructive impulses running amok.
“I didn’t know how much I needed this.”
Sacraments are outward signs of inward and spiritual graces. These past few days of celebrating a physical building have felt like a sacrament of inner grace to me. We may not have known how much we all needed to be reminded that God is a creator who stitches things together. We tell sacred stories about repair, about making all things new. We believe in resurrection, in life on the other side of death.
If you thought all the work was done, the (amazing) construction team is still here working on punch list items. There are still wires to run and places that need a little caulk. And we’re making mad preparations to receive the countless Memphians who will be just as beautifully disoriented as they come in for aspic and a sermon. The work continues. But it was good for my soul, it was good for our souls, to look around at the bricks and paint and the people who put them together and say thank you. And while the bricks, paint, and so much more the people are deserving of our appreciation, my deepest gratitude is for the tangible reminder that we are a people of hope who are loved by a God who, as an old prayer says, “creates and yet more wonderfully restores.”
I didn’t know how much I needed this reminder.
**Be sure to check out this recap video of our celebrations made by Noah Glenn of Perpetual Motion
I think you nailed it. There are little sacraments everywhere when we dare to see them as such, and it just so happens that at every moment, God is allowing the scales to fall from our eyes.
Thanks for reading, Emily! Little sacraments are everywhere indeed 🙂
Yes! Exactly this!
Thanks for reading, Christina!
Beautifully said, Katherine! A delightful commentary on an amazing week! Calvary is a blessing and a place of comfort and reassurance for ALL. Thank you!
We are so fortunate, Peggy!
I felt this with our renovation. It was so good to host y’all during this time and I can’t wait to see.
The Cathedral renovations are so beautiful! And y’all were gracious beyond telling to host us. I’d love to give you a tour soon 🙂
Oh Katherine I have needed all of these things over these last few months. Thank you for bringing the words of my (and many others) heart so beautifully into being. ♥️🙏🏼
Thank you for being one of the people who builds things!!
Dear Katherine,
This is so beautifully and articulately expressed. I felt so many of the same things last Sunday. It is such an exciting time for Calvary and its people. Thank you so much for your lovely and loving words.
Julie
Thanks for being a beautiful part of Calvary! It is such a wonderful time to be together.
You said this so well. The transformation has been almost miraculous. Every week things look more finished, more beautiful, shinier. The people who planned this project and those who have done the labor to bring it to fruition have been a blessing to all of us. The staff has been flexible and tolerant of all the chaos and extra work. Such a beautiful project. Such a beautiful reflection.
Amen to every wonderful word, Christy!
Bingo, Katherine! I cashiered at Waffle Shop today and so many (non-Calvary) people were just bowled over at the transformation. “Was this skylight always here?” “Where did the stained glass come from?”
I am just so grateful that I have been part of this journey, in the blessed company of so many faithful people. And I know that this community will carry us through whatever the future holds.
Bingo, Nancy! It’s so fun to watch people experience the new space! Thanks for being a joyful part!
Katherine, my daughter, Katy Leopard, shared this with me because she knew, I too needed this, way up in the small Village of Arnold Nebraska.
This is filled with renewal, restoration, and hope. Things that sometimes seem very hard to grasp these days.
I love Calvary and can’t wait to see the renovations and worship with you all next time I am there. In the meantime I am livestreaming the Lenten services, especially aware of my Katy’s hand in bringing this about.
I surely needed this. Kay
We can’t wait to see you back. And Katy has done FABULOUS work creating a wonderful series!
Thank you. Just want you to know your words impact far more people than you may realize. Katy shared this with her mother who in turn shared it with our coffee group in Nebraska. God bless 🫶🏼
Hello to Nebraska! Glad to share our celebrations and hopeful time with you! What a wonderful web of folks to be connected with 🙂
It’s so lovely to see Calvary’s space reflect who it is in the community… inviting, welcoming, inspiring and beautiful! Kudos to all who made the vision a reality!
Thanks, Anna 🙂