A faith filled worship service

You could feel the Holy Spirit moving through the sanctuary. As the music played, the people swayed and the Pastor spoke there was a sense that we were standing on hallowed ground. I wish more people from our congregation could have been there to experience it. Of course there weren't too many empty seats. With an Easter type crowd of over two hundred people on hand, Iglesia Buenas Nuevas celebrated their second anniversary.

The congregation began on April 1, 2006 with Pastor Daniel Martino of Primera Iglesia Hispana de New London blessing the church and claiming it as a sacred space for the new congregation. That was a great day with over sixty people present. In June of 2006 the congregation called Pastor Jorge Morales to lead them and he was installed in October of 2006. Last April the congregation celebrated their 1st anniersary and it was a nice day. In this last year the congregation has grown and now averages around eighty people each week.

A lot of us think of Buenas Nuevas as using space at the church and don't really make the connection as to what God is doing. During the service tonight they played a slide show showing some of the activities and events that took place over the last year and a half. I was moved to tears as I saw the photos of families, of an active youth ministry, of a pot-luck suppers and Christmas programs. This is church that is alive and bringing people to Christ week after week.

I thank God that he is allowing us to be a part of this ministry. This week a group from our congregation is traveling across the country to reach out to a community in Mexico with God's love. It struck me that week after week that same thing happens in our building through the members of Buenas Nuevas. This congregation is "good news" for Norwich.

Tonight the Pastor and Deacons of the congregation thanked me for allowing them to do ministry out of our building. I thank you for your generosity in making this building available for God to use in this way. Every single week there are now three languages spoken at 239 West West Main Street. A whole generation of young families are learning about the love of God and the salvation offered through Jesus Christ in English, Korean and Spanish. If you ever have the opportunity I hope you can stop in to worship with these two vital and growing congregations. And you don't need to know the language in order to feel the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here a few pictures from today's anniversary service.

Cal