The work of the Holy Spirit defies human expectations with constant surprise. The work of the Holy Spirit in the Federated Church in Millbury, Massachusetts is one of those gems of God’s glory easily missed. My first trip to this UCC/Methodist congregation in the center of an aging Mill city forgotten by time, reinforced every image of the tired historic church. Finding it inauspiciously wedged without property on the Main Street between commercial buildings, I parked next to the overflowing dumpsters in the back, and walked up the alley to find two doors. “Ring for WIC” one said, so I went for the other down into a dark hall to the pastor’s office where a modest leadership team in worn, overstuffed furniture and folding chairs was in prayer.
As we met, Pastor Cliff shared how he had once been very engaged with the work of denominational renewal, but now for the last 18 years, he had simply served this people faithfully with the love of Christ and the truth of the Bible. There was a room full of used clothes for those in need, a food pantry, the smell of AA meetings lingering in the lower hall, and a nursery school. We spoke of the annual short term God’s Builder mission trips he loved and the center city block party. The setting seemed so familiar I have to honestly confess I was not expecting the power of the Holy Spirit in such a disguise.
My first inkling of unusual Holy Spirit activity came when I walked in to lead the all church retreat at the UCC Conference Center in Framingham. There I found an amazingly diverse group from pony tailed men in their twenties, to sharp, mission focused women who could have been their grandmothers. Three generations in various styles meshed with unusual ease, mixing fluidly to form small groups for response and prayer. Praying came naturally. A passion for Jesus Christ was palpable. As I listened, I heard a common refrain. Each of these people had in some way found themselves on the edge of life and had been drawn by a sincere and unpretentious acceptance into a transformational experience of God’s love and power.
“People here really accepted and cared for my kids, and my kids convinced me to come and I’ve been here ever since,” one said. Another said, “They laid hands on me and I was healed, I mean healed of mental and physical illness. God met me here. This is my place.” Another observed, “A lot of people here seem to have been here once before, like when we were kids or something and we came back when our lives were a mess.” The very effective leader of the Alpha ministry came to the church because she needed the food pantry. As we worked through the VISION ONE Institute on discipleship it became clear that they knew where they had been when God found them, and who still lived in that place. They were hungry to know how to be the disciple makers Jesus wanted them to be.
Some weeks later I met with the core leadership team on a weeknight. What struck me was that they were not a committee by another name. In fact each person in the room had their own ministry team in the church. Inadvertently, humbly, in the course of conversation you learned that they were aware of their call and gift and each had a deep commitment to what God had given them to do. They owned their call and the people they worked with were precious to them.
When I stepped out into the hall to leave them to their business and prayer, music drew me upstairs to the sanctuary. There a band was rehearsing worship. Actually they were engaging in worship. This was no ordinary church praise team. You could tell almost immediately that the guitar licks and vocal style had been learned in secular venues. Their “O For a Thousand Tongues” had a real original hard rock edge even as their passion for Christ came across with power. They worked together seamlessly without the usual dynamics of rehearsals. They were listening to each other. Their vocal harmonization was moving. They were really good!
Finally I went back downstairs just in time for the final amen of the leadership team’s prayer. “Why didn’t you tell me about this group?” I asked. “They are truly amazing!”. “I’m glad they are doing well up there”, Pastor Cliff responded quietly, “That’s our backup band, and they’re on this Sunday.” “What else don’t I know?” I asked incredulously, but Pastor Cliff only smiled his sparkling eye smile while the team chuckled. As I pulled out of the alley , I noticed the group of young teens freely skateboarding up and down the wide stairway from the church door to the street in the warm spring night. Somehow I knew and they knew, they were allowed.
What’s next? Millbury Federated has unusual street cred in their city. They have relationships that web the community. They have a pastor who is trusted. With a growing awareness of the power the Holy Spirit has given them to make disciples more intentionally, and an awakened understanding of their gifts and opportunities, what will happen next? What is the Holy Spirit about to do that none of us expect?
(by David Runnion-Bareford)
