By The Reverend Mrs. Silence DoGood
Dear Editor,
Within two weeks of my Church burning down I created the NCC which stands for the New Church Committee. I knew I needed community help in planning the rebuilding of the Church. It has five standing members. I wanted to keep it small so that we could easily schedule our meetings. I also knew that we could invite quests to attend when we needed specialized knowledge. I am the Chairman. My husband Willie is Vice Chairman or as is written is the minutes William A. DoGood Ph.D. Mrs. Helen Baxter is the Secretary; she takes minutes. Mr. Findlay Lyman Rogers, Esq. is the Church’s attorney. And finally Mr. Barney Sellman AIA is our retained architect.
I chose to be Chairman because as Senior Pastor the burden of rebuilding the Church rests on my shoulders. In truth it is also a blessing because I have the opportunity to build a structure that will welcome and inspire my congregation for generations.
My husband is Vice Chairman because I rely on his emotional and intellectual support in all that I do. But most particularly he is the Organist and Choir Master at the Church. He has a Ph.D. in liturgical music from Bellingshire University in Sussex, England and has been acclaimed for his original compositions for organ and choir.
Mrs. Helen Baxter is the Church’s most active volunteer. She has knowledge of all the Church’s activities and in one form or another has interfaced with most of its members. I wanted to make sure that the congregation had a standing member of the Committee even though I knew I would be asking other members of the congregation to attend on an as needed basis.
Mr. Findlay Lyman Rogers, Esq. has been the Church’s attorney for over a decade. He and his son have a practice in Hoaverston, our county seat. His wife is a member of our congregation.
And finally, Mr. Barney Sellman AIA is the architect we retained to design our new Church and to manage its construction. He practices in Brooklyn, New York City and within a 200 mile radius of the City. We first became aware of his work when he architecturally redesigned the River Creek Inn after Mr. and Mrs. Wintergrass from NYC bought it for their 21 year old son Allan. While his work at the Inn has intentionally turned it into a destination for the wealthy from NYC and New Jersey, we have also seen his inspiring and extraordinary work for museums, schools and a Jewish Synagogue. Because of his schedule we sometimes have to meet with him on line.
Our NCC meeting last week was very encouraging. Our attorney explained that both insurance payments for the total destruction of the Church by fire have been received. First the Church had its own insurance policy. Secondly, we were also named as a coinsured on the policy that US International had on the Church during their week long rental of it. We allowed them to film in it to produce a commercial for the perfume company promoting the scent Dioboliique.
We also were awarded a large settlement in the negligence civil suit that we brought against US International because it had been determined by the Fire Marshall that the fire was caused by one of their faulty smoke machines. So even in this inflationary building period we will have the funds needed to build a new Church.
Notwithstanding the availability of funds, I continue to struggle with the guilt of renting the Church in the first place. But we desperately needed a new roof and the rental fee would have paid for that. But memories of beautiful models in my artificially-smoke filled aisles to promote a perfume named Dioboliique continue to haunt me. But I am seeking the courage to move beyond guilt so I can overcome the fear of living my life. I am following the advice that I preach to my congregation which is that we can develope courage by the doing of bountiful good deeds.
Amen.
The Reverend Mrs. Silence DoGood
Senior Pastor
Executive Director
President
Chairman
Choir Master (part-time)
The First Church of God’s Love
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