You may have noticed that there is a renovation project going on at St. David’s. Every week we see something new and bright in the church basement. “To renovate” literally means to make new again. We are not just restoring the church hall to its 1953 state of being. We are making it new and more usable in our digital era.
Making all things new is not just about the building. The Church is always in a state of renewal. St. David’s itself was built in response to the new post—war boom and a new sense of optimism of the 1950’s. Now you again see renewal as you watch the children of the congregation. And so renewal is about adapting our programs to communicate the Gospel to a new generation.
And yet being made new is not just about keeping up with the changing culture. It is part of who we are as Christians. St. Paul says “So if anyone is in Christ there is a new creation: everything has become new! All this is from God who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, …entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.” (2 Cor. 5:17—19) So it seems that for us, renewal is a continuous process. It’s about being constantly aware that we are made whole in Christ, and that changes us to respond with love and service to the world. It is a process that can happen to us every day anew. Our world is in need of the message of healing and reconciliation, as much of a need as in Paul’s day or in King Edward Park of the 1950’s. As we watch our building being made new, and our congregation being made new, let’s also experience being made new ourselves, so that we can show that to the world in all of our interactions with the people we meet every day.
May you all be fully renovated, and work towards the renovation of our world.
~ The Ven. Kathy Bowman