Opening the Chapel

on June 09, 2011 by Walt Dilg

Opening the Chapel

            Debbie and I got her mom’s small couch.  The couch, among some other furniture, we brought back to Ventura after the funeral.  There were a lot of couches in mom’s life of 80 some years, but this was the last, so we prize it…besides, we’re told it cost $7,000.  Could that be true?  A love seat for $7k?!  Amazing…

            What do you do with such a couch?  Well… I guess I say you sit in it and use it!  Yet, I will confess there are strong feelings about protecting it and keeping it looking really, really good, even if that means not using it much at all.  Don’t even talk to me about the challenge posed by the cat and dogs, up there in Ventura!

            I share these thoughts about Mary’s couch because I am feeling a bit of a similar dilemma with the use of our Chapel.  Our beautiful chapel is the centerpiece of our campus.  It also is a historical site in La Jolla that attracts attention.  The Chapel has become our icon.  It is a blessing to us that we want to make a blessing to the community.  Yet when we use it, we know we depreciate it and expose it to possible misuse or abuse.   

            Nevertheless, with the support of our Board of Trustees, we are going to open the doors of our Chapel daily, during office hours, allowing people to enjoy its ambiance, consider its unique history, or simply pause for moments of prayer.  It’s that last opportunity that means the most to me.  A church with an open door that encourages people to drop by and pray, to enter sacred space and connect with God – this sounds right.  What’s better than that?  What’s the church for really, other than that? 

            I anticipate pre-school parents, family and friends of patients in the facility down the street, neighbors looking for solace, kids exploring… all will find their way into our Chapel, and God willing, will encounter the Spirit of love that motivates our lives and leads us to open the doors.  Let us pray that God will use this refurbished “power station” to help people discover or connect better to God’s power, God’s redeeming power. 

Lord help us be faithful and good stewards of all your blessings.