(Each Saturday, a faith leader offers a personal perspective in this space. To become part of this series, email religion@recorder.com)
By THE REV. MARGUERITE SHEEHAN
Harvest season is almost over, and I am still thinking about how seeds fall into the earth and, over time, some push up and become something new. The seed on my mind is a message I heard years ago about parking lots!
The message came in the form of a magazine article about the needs of homeless people who live many months out of the year in their cars (if they are lucky to have a car). The article talked about some urban churches who were “parking lot rich” and started inviting folks to park their cars in the church parking lots so that the nights might feel safer. These churches opened up bathrooms and kitchens and the sanctuary for prayer and quiet. But the main ministry was the parking lot itself. I read this story and tucked it away in my heart like you tuck a seed in the earth to wait and see.
About this same time, our church was gifted with some money to make needed improvements in our building and grounds. One of those improvements was repaving our parking lot. We were not asked to open up our newly paved lot to the homeless, but something was stirred up in us and soon the newly repaved parking lot started meeting other needs in our neighborhood.
The first idea we got to use our parking lot differently came when our town talked about building a new Senior Center close to our church. There was not a lot of space for parking for this proposed Senior Center and so our church leadership put out the consideration that we might share our lot with the seniors. Long story short, the Senior Center did not get built in the neighborhood, but the parking lot already started feeling more like a ministry than just a place to put our cars on Sundays and during the weekdays when other programs used our building.
Along came the Covid-19 pandemic. All around the world people shut their doors and hunkered down alone indoors. Indoor group activities including our church worship services were canceled or went online. People started going stir crazy and looked for outdoors spaces in the fresh air where they could hold small, physically distant yet socially connected groups. The parking lot seed started to push up.
First, we hosted a tai chi group that met in the back of the church parking lot. Yes! Then the Senior Center asked if they could host outdoor support groups. Yes! At the same time, the community parent-child playgroup that for many years has met in our building and could no longer use that indoor space, asked if they could have safe circles of children and parents meet on our lot and the surrounding grassy area. Yes!
Finally, in late August, we were ready to re-open our West County Community Meal. Instead of meeting in the downstairs fellowship hall (as we done for close to 30 years), we re-opened as a drive by/walk up/to-go meal in the parking lot outside our front door. Now, the parking lot seed is a real harvest. All are welcome. Every Friday night, fresh, hot food to-go from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Please spread the word. This is community at its best. A testimony is the emerging chalk art that is gracing the parking lot!
The pandemic is changing our world. We don’t know if we will need to serve outdoor meals in the deep of winter, but if so, we will try. We don’t know what might come forward as another manifestation of a parking lot ministry, but we are listening. What we do know is that when a seed is planted or falls to the ground, it is not always an ending. It just might be a beginning.
Our church is still closed. But we are not. We are opening to Spirit. And to our community.
Trinity Church is meeting for Sunday worship online via a YouTube service accessed on our church website, Facebook, and YouTube station. We incorporate singers from home (and are always looking for new voices) and a reader in the church along with our pastor and organist. We continue to meet every Tuesday at 11 a.m. for a contemplative reading of the upcoming Gospel (now on Zoom.) Our leadership team meets weekly and is always looking for input from our members and community. We also meet, greet and feed our neighbors with our much loved weekly free community meal, now served every Friday evening from 5:30 to 6 p.m. in a drive-up and to-go format. All are welcome to participate in any of these gatherings. Call the church at 413-625-2341 for more information.