Less a Building by Rev Rob (Priest SMAA)
On Sunday, June 21st, we attended a worship service at All Souls in the 9th Ward. For us it was an opportunity not only to be with some of the people we serving this week, but it was also a chance to be reminded that the Church is less a building or a particular setting but the community of faith gathered as Christ’s body. We joined our hearts and voices with the parishioners of All Souls as well as other mission groups visiting from elsewhere in the country.
Following Holy Communion we had equally inspiring fellowship with members of the community who cooked and served us lunch. Many of them warmly and openly shared with us their experiences of Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. As many thanked us for our service it occurred to me how remarkable the easiness with which they embraced and blessed us. We saw with our own eyes and heard from their personal accounts the great challenges NOLA continues to face and yet what remains from their experience of the day are the abiding love of God and hope in him which their wonderful community shared richly with us.