I want to say thank you to our staff for making the Elevator Dedication and Celebration such a success. If the dedication part of the service seemed a little too funny rather than all seriousness, please forgive me. My thinking was that the whole process took so long that we need some humor, laughter and joy to help remember the beautiful thing that was accomplished. We thought and gathered and planned for over a year on how we would celebrate with joy, thankfulness and laughter. Our beloved Donnie Almond is the best sport in the world. My son, Bryon, came up with the name for the elevator: “The Donnie Almond Tower of Terror”. It was perfect. It was the winner in my heart for two reasons. First, Donnie represents a lot of what is great about James Island Baptist. He and Kitty have served faithfully for many years. Donnie has also been the recipient of many of my jokes…and I many of his. I have loved every minute of it. The second reason I loved the name is because it included something from my happy place…Disney World. If you have never been, The Tower of Terror is a popular ride at one of Disney’s parks. It involves an Elevator with quite the surprise! We will, by God’s good grace have none of those surprises in this elevator! We will try to send out a letter with all eleven elevator names that were suggested and submitted. You will love many of them, laugh at most of them and be touched by several of them.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of the Elevator Dedication and Celebration for me was as follows. Most of the people who contributed so generously to have an elevator will possibly never need it. They did not give to something that they themselves needed. They gave to those who are in wheel chairs, who have heart issues, have hip, knee or foot issues, balance problems, or any of the many problems that make stairs difficult. Again, that is what I love about JIBC.
I try not to make asking for funds a major part of our Sunday worship. The reality is you cannot put an elevator in just because it is a nice thing to do. At the end of the day and at the end of all the construction, it cost $170,000. Because you give generously we can, by God’s good grace and blessings, even attempt something of this nature. The elevator cost about 1/3 of the entire Daring Faith Renovations. Was it worth it? Just watch the next senior adult take the ride; watch when our first wheel chair guest or member freely goes up and down. Yes, it is worth it. Even though most of us may never have to use it…it is there for those who need it! Hallelujah and Amen! We are, if my calculations are correct, still right at $100,000 away from totally completing all parts of the Daring Faith Renovations. Let’s see if 2019-2020 can be the year we complete all the renovations and pay off all our debt.
See you Sunday, good Lord willing!
Pastor Tom
