This is one of those beautiful stories that HAS to be shared. Frapper
The Tablecloth
The brand new minister and his wife, newly assigned to their first
pastorate, to reopen a church in urban Brooklyn, arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very
run down and needed much work.
They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc. and on Dec. 18 were ahead of schedule and just about
finished.
On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted
for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart
sank
when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
6
feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the
pulpit,beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the
floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve
service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type
sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
hand-made, ivory colored, crocheted table cloth with exquisite work, fine
colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right
size to cover up
the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the
opposite
direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her
to wait in the warm church
for the next bus 45 minutes later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder,
hangers, etc. to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could
hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem
area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was
like a sheet."Pastor," she asked, "Where did you get that tablecloth?" The
pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to
see
if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were.
These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35
years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before
the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the
Nazis
came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to
follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep
it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the
least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only
in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost
full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service,the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they
would return.
One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued
to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't
leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall
because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they
lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so
much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife
to
flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested
and put in a concentration camp. He never saw his wife or his home again
for all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a short ride.
They
drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the
woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs
to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest
Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
A true story, submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
-
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Subject: A Tablecloth
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The Tablecloth
The brand new minister and his wife, newly assigned to their first
pastorate, to reopen a church in urban Brooklyn, arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very
run down and needed much work.
They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc. and on Dec. 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted
for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank
when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 6
feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the
pulpit,beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the
floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve
service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type
sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
hand-made, ivory colored, crocheted table cloth with exquisite work, fine
colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right
size to cover up
the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the
opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church
for the next bus 45 minutes later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder,
hangers, etc. to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could
hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem
area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was
like a sheet."Pastor," she asked, "Where did you get that tablecloth?" The
pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see
if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were.
These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35
years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before
the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis
came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to
follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep
it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the
least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only
in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost
full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service,the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they
would return.
One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued
to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't
leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall
because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they
lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so
much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to
flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested
and put in a concentration camp. He never saw his wife or his home again
for all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a short ride.
They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken
the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest
Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
A true story, submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
>>
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Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 00:36:48 EST
Subject: A Tablecloth
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GOD IS SO AWESOME!!!!
The Tablecloth
The brand new minister and his wife, newly assigned to their first
pastorate, to reopen a church in urban Brooklyn, arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very
run down and needed much work.
They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc. and on Dec. 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted
for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank
when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 6
feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the
pulpit,beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the
floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve
service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type
sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
hand-made, ivory colored, crocheted table cloth with exquisite work, fine
colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right
size to cover up
the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite
direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her
to wait in the warm church
for the next bus 45 minutes later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder,
hangers, etc. to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could
hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem
area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was
like a sheet."Pastor," she asked, "Where did you get that tablecloth?" The
pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see
if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were.
These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35
years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before
the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis
came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to
follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep
it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the
least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only
in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost
full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service,the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they
would return.
One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued
to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't
leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall
because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they
lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so
much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to
flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested
and put in a concentration camp. He never saw his wife or his home again
for all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a short ride. They
drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the
woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs
to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest
Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
A true story, submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
--part1_7b.148d732.25d17512_boundary--
