October newsletter

“Built on a rock the Church shall stand,
Even when steeples are falling;
Crumbled have spires in every land,
Bells still are chiming and calling…”

I’ve been thinking about this hymn recently, and not just because of the work being done at Indherred! In this parish, we know that steeples are important—and bells, too. Between our four congregations, we have four beautiful buildings in a variety of styles, standing as a physical witness to the presence of God in our midst, inspiring us to lift our eyes and hearts up to the heavens. We also know that with beautiful church buildings comes the responsibility (and sometimes the burden) of keeping them in good shape! There is always something that needs to be done.

As important as our buildings are, though, Nicolai Grundtvig’s classic hymn “Built on a Rock” (LBW #365) reminds us of what is truly foundational to our life together—no other Rock than Jesus Christ himself! Every earthly building will eventually decay. Every earthly institution will sometimes fail. Every steeple will finally fall (though not, if we can help it, for a very, very long time). But Christ remains constant. Always.

And so where steeples crumble, bells still ring out to call us back to worship. And where bells are silent, we hear God’s Word proclaimed in the voices of worshipers singing, or the cry of a newly-baptized child, or the quiet rustle of pages of Bibles or hymn-books. And Christ is present, because he is faithful to his promise. And, wonder of wonders, in him there is hope—not just in some distant future, but also right here and right now, in this place and with these people, temporary as it is, fragile as we are.

As the hymn concludes with the words of Jesus Christ:

“My peace I leave with you. Amen.”

~Pastor Sarah