For over two decades, Church of the Resurrection required a truck and a 24-foot trailer to cart all of its Sunday morning accoutrements from the ministry center to Glenbard West High school and back, every single week.
But not anymore. We are currently blessed with a building boasting all sorts of need-specific rooms we never had before – the sacristy with its own laundry room, children’s ministry rooms equipped with boxes of toys and supplies, a smaller chapel for morning and evening collects, a place to keep ceremonial robes, and even an artists’ studio.
We also have a huge storage space. Just take a moment to chew on this: think of all the resources that go into Holy Week, especially Easter Vigil! The storage area has more than enough room to hold supplies for Holy Week, Lunch with Staff, Christmas Festival, and other church events (at least for now!). Given that storage is where we keep supplies for Vigil, the most festive, imaginative event on our church calendar, you might half-expect to see magical creation scenes, colorful streamers, and Noah’s-ark creatures coming out of the woodwork. Maybe something a little “Night at the Museum” style. No such luck, though. Most of the interesting stuff, I imagine, is shut up in boxes. Except I did happen to notice when parking my bike inside that there IS this one random suit of armor… is there a #youknowyou’reatRezwhen hash tag?
Once we were settled in here at 935 W Avenue, the vestry had time to consider how we were going to keep our now-vacant trailer from becoming a 24-foot waste of space. On August 1, Resurrection gifted our fellow Wheaton church, Antioch, with our truck and trailer.
“Since we were a mobile church for many years, the Rez vestry wanted to bless another mobile church and we were aware that Antioch might have a need,” said Dan Easley, vestry chair member.
Resurrection’s business manager, Anne Kessler, offered Antioch the truck and trailer two months ago. The elders were in the middle of potentially landing a deal that could change Antioch’s status as a mobile church, so Anne explored giving the pair to a couple of other churches. When there still weren’t any takers, she decided to put the truck and trailer for sale on Craigslist.
“We were just getting ready to do it, and then I get a phone call from Chris Ott, one of Antioch’s head pastors,” Anne said. “He told me, ‘I’m almost embarrassed to even ask this because I’m sure you guys have already gotten rid of it, but our deal fell through…so we’re going to be mobile, and we could really use the truck and trailer.’ So I called him back and I said, “It’s quite obvious that the Lord wants you guys to have this truck and trailer, because we couldn’t give it away.”
Antioch formerly had a 12-foot trailer, and Antioch volunteer Tyler Ford said that only one man at the church knew how to pack it so that everything would fit. With twice the space they had before, it sounds like things at Antioch are working out fine. Resurrection staff received this thank you note in their inboxes soon after:
“Thank you so much! This is very helpful. Everything so far is working out just great and we are loving not having to play Tetris every time we load and unload. Your church has been a major blessing to us and we are extremely thankful for your generosity.” —Tyler