My Little Church

Yesterday, Sunday May 8, was Mother's Day. I and my church family worshipped in our small, inner-city church. Well, it's not quite in the inner-city but close. It's on the edge of the inner city. We're a small congregation with a big heart for the people in our community. We have participated in a lot of community activities and held some outreach activities of our own like Christmas caroling in the neighborhood followed by hot chocolate and cookies in our fellowship hall. Our building is old but we replaced the carpet and repainted the walls a bright soft yellow. I love my church--building and people. While we sat in our bright building singing praises and listening to a sermon filled with great Bible teaching, someone unknown to us spray painted the letters AC AB on our front door. These letters are an acronym for a derogatory anti-police statement. On this particular Mother's Day protestors vandalized churches around the nation in response to the leaked Supreme Court report indicating the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. I do not know if the vandalism we experienced was related to that or just random. What I do know is that my sweet little church has been led by an incredible man for many years. Pastor Mark Janke is my pastor, friend, and one of my husband's best friends. Once when my husband and I were in the car on a long trip listening to oldies the '60's hit, "Dominique" came on. That song speaks about a man of God named Dominique. The refrain says, "On every road, in every place, he just talks about the Lord." As we heard those words repeated over and over my husband said, "That always makes me think of Mark." I knew he was referring to our pastor and friend. Mark is currently fighting for his life as he struggles with stage four pancreatic cancer. Our little church is struggling alongside him and his precious family ... and some insensitive person who knows nothing about our church chose this time to deface it. Revelation 1:20 calls churches lampstands. Jesus also called His church the "light of the world" in Matthew 5:14. Keep shining little churches of America! Keep shining your light though the darkness may press in on you. Keep shining!