Holy Ground
Remarks by The Rev. Beth Reed
Grace House dedication, April 7, 2011
I’m delighted to stand here today.
I’m standing on holy ground; we’re standing on holy ground.
The people of Grace Church pray on this street,
and we serve people in this neighborhood.
We’ve experienced God here in our neighbors, in our prayer, and in each other.
We are delighted this building will be a home for people who otherwise couldn’t afford one.
We are excited to meet our new neighbors. This is holy ground.
We’ve known this is holy ground for decades.
This building used to be the Sunday School,
where hundreds of parish children learned the basic prayers and habits of Christian faith.
When the parish changed and we no longer had hundreds of children to educate,
other work presented itself: AIDS Outreach.
We served more than 350 people living with HIV/AIDS each year
by providing wrap-around medical services in this building.
That went on for more than ten years.
When state and federal funding for AIDS Outreach ran out, that ministry had to close.
Think of all the love that has been poured out here.
Think of all the heartfelt prayers that have been made in this building.
This is holy ground.
And not just the building, but even the parking lot is holy ground.
For about ten years now, the people of Grace have gathered here for the Easter Vigil,
our most important night of the year.
We stand around a fire in the darkness of downtown Allentown,
and we proclaim that the light of Christ is stronger than any darkness of any death or despair.
Three years ago, death visited this parking lot in a horrific way:
20-year-old Jameel Clark was murdered here in gang-related violence.
The people of Grace held a vigil here for the neighborhood
to say that we still believe Christ’s light is stronger than any darkness,
and we are going to stay here and be that light, be that fire in the city.
This is holy ground.
Sometime around three years ago,
Bob Wilkins, the president of the board of New Bethany Ministries at the time,
remarked to Elizabeth House, the senior warden of Grace Church,
that New Bethany wanted to expand its services for homeless people into Allentown.
Mrs. House said that Grace Church had a building that might work for just that purpose.
Then came the zoning hearings, financing arrangements, donations, letters of agreement,
memos of understanding, architect’s drawings, building permits,
and the hard labor of construction workers. And here we are. It’s holy ground.
This is holy ground.
God is nurturing new life here, in the six people who will live in this house,
in our church, in this neighborhood.
We are eager to work with our partners at New Bethany and the Conference of Churches.
We look forward to welcoming our new neighbors,
and we look forward to sharing this holy ground.
Thank you.