Sermon: By Faith: A Cloud of Witnesses
Text: Hebrews 11:1-4, 7, 8-10, 17-20, 29-30, 32-33, 12:1-2
Date: November 7, 2004
Rev. Dee Eisenhauer, Eagle Harbor Congregational Church

Last Sunday we recalled these words of the prophet Habakkuk: "The righteous live by faith."  Those ancient words inspired the somewhat less ancient words of the writer of Hebrews, whose imagination was stirred to reflect on what it means to live by faith.  "Faith," he writes, "is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…By faith our ancestors received approval.  By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that were not visible." [Hebrews 11:1-3]

What is seen was made from things that were not visible.  That is absolutely true of the building up of a church.  We might get hung up on the visible, concrete elements of a church, especially at a time like this when we know our physical plant needs some refurbishing.  But what stands behind the things we can see--these dear, decaying walls and this lofty, leaky roof-what stands behind these structures is the faith of our ancestors.  And behind the faith of our ancestors the stands the everlasting love of God that called forth their faith. 

By faith Amrose and Amanda Grow, along with their children, sold their farm in Manhattan, Kansas and came in 1881 to Bainbridge Island, of whose beauties they had read in New York and Kansas newspapers.  By faith they staked a claim and homesteaded 160 acres along the waterfront here on Eagle Harbor.  Truth be told, I do not know specifics about the faith of the Grow family, but homesteading is all about faith in a bright future.  And they had only been here a year before they were charter members of the Eagle Harbor Congregational Church.  What's more, they, by faith, gave the land needed first for the parsonage and then for the church building out of their homestead acreage. 

By faith John Damon gave up the field of journalism in which he was employed in Port Townsend and entered the life of the clergy.  He traveled by canoe, horseback and foot all over this part of Washington territory, visiting the little settlements to offer pastoral services.  He became known as the "marrying parson" of Puget Sound; he'd come around and marry all the couples who had been waiting for his appearance in the little logging and fishing villages around here.  He helped gather up the pioneers in this neck of the woods to found this church in late 1882, one of three churches that were built under his leadership. 

By faith, Riley Hoskinson, Mary Hoskinson, Martha Finch, Hattie Lee Grow, Jessie F. Grow, Carrie M. Grow, Mary Taylor, Cecelia Fryberg, Harvey Thompson, Cora N. Finch, John A. Parfitt, and Edith Garrison joined with Ambrose and Amanda Grow to form this church.  There was nothing to start with except their faith and their desire to unite as Christians and stake a claim for Christian faith on this corner.  They met in the school house which was across the street where Winslow Green is now.  A community was being created by these pioneer families, and they were determined that worshiping God was going to have a vital place in this new town. 

By faith, charter members Hattie Lee Grow and John A. Parfitt married each other three months after the church was formed, over in the school house, with Rev. Damon presiding.  It was one of the first big events in the newly sprouted church-how fitting!  Marriages from that day to this are made and kept alive by faith, and are immeasurably strengthened when the marriage covenant is woven in the context of a covenant with God and a community of faith.  Countless marriages have been launched and supported by the covenant fellowship of this church.

By faith, the church members set out to raise money for a parsonage so their pastor could have a home.  The women of the church took the lead, offering to supply the sum needed.  The only problem: they didn't have any money.  So the Ladies Aid, as it was then called, assessed themselves five cents per meeting.  Then they held fundraisers galore: clam chowder dinners and chicken dinners, programs, recitations, dramas and song-fests.  They quilted quilts, they sewed and sold their wares.  Can't you see them, stirring the chowder, stitching the quilt square, by faith?  Finally, nickel by nickel, they earned $200 which they presented to the church officers to pay for the building materials for the parsonage.  And by faith, their pastors had a home for many decades to come.   

By faith, the Christians at Eagle Harbor Church responded to the needs of the community as they arose.  When someone was sick, the neighbors went to help the family with chores and getting food on the table.  When hard times struck, the church responded.  A Kitsap County history book tells about the teacher of the school discretely advising the Ladies Aid about families down on their luck, so they could respond with the food and goods they could share.  One Christmas a church lady was appointed by the others to go with the pastor in a horse-drawn buggy to deliver flour, rolled oats, sugar, coffee, and homemade candy to a family who had lost their home in a fire.  Much later EHCC was instrumental in collaborating with other churches to start Helpline House; Helpline had its genesis in our church's closets. 

By faith, tangible love has been passed through the hands of our church members for generations.

By faith, the members of the church set out to build a church building when it got too difficult to secure the use of the school for all the meetings of the church.  By faith, they petitioned the Church Building Society of the Congregational Church for a loan.  This is a great part of our church's history!  The money was there to loan because the Pilgrims had come to this country hundreds of years before by faith, and because Congregational churches had been formed all over the country, churches that were independent but still wise enough to know they needed each other so they covenanted together in a family of faith we call a denomination.  They shared their money so they could send out missionaries and aid pioneering ministries like the one here on Bainbridge. 

By faith, they gathered a pool of money specifically to loan for new churches.  Our UCC denomination still does that, nationally and locally.  In our conference we set aside a small percentage of our regional budget every year to loan to new churches and churches being revitalized, because we have faith that God is continuing to do a new thing. 

By faith, the Church Building Society loaned this family of faith money to supplement the money they had already raised, and the church was built for the budgeted $1,050 in 1896.  In return, the national church asked that annual donations would be made to the Society; and we continue to share our money with the regional and national church ($10,500 last year), in part because of that covenant made 108 years ago.  We share our money by faith, trusting God to work through our gifts to the larger church.

By faith, the members of the church sought to bring the community together whether people were members of the church or not.  In the early days, an annual Christmas celebration was held here for the whole town. A tall, beautiful evergreen would be brought in which was decorated with small candles, popcorn, cranberries and tinsel.  Everyone brought their presents to put around the tree, and went home for dinner.  Later in the evening, after the Christmas eve service, the candles were lit on the tree while the men stood by with buckets of water.  The presents were distributed along with candy and oranges for all.  The present part of the tradition was discontinued after all the presents were stolen one year when everyone went home for dinner, but the community Christmas tree continued to be here. 

Thousands of community gatherings have been held here since, as groups large and small, secular and spiritual, have enjoyed our hospitality.  By faith, we have continued to open our doors.  And a bit of karma has the church that used to be housed by the school now able to shelter a school, the lively Madrona community of some 80 students. 

   
By faith, the church has welcomed all kinds of people into its fellowship.  The Japanese community has long been welcomed in this church, both for their cultural gatherings and as fellow Christians and members.  Though we tend toward a single skin hue at present, we have a history of being a multiracial, multicultural church.  Since the 1940's (at least) our youth ministries have embraced young people from outside the church family.  People of every age and economic class have worshiped here, from the homeless wanderer to the wealthy business owner, from the newly born to the centenarian. 

By faith, we voted to welcome sexual minorities a few years ago, expanding on an inclusive tradition. 

By faith, the church has modified the building as the church has evolved, putting significant resources of time, ingenuity and money into keeping our shelter in good shape.  We've grown in stages, beginning with the addition of the Fellowship Hall and kitchen, then adding the old Temperance Hall that is now our nursery, then the Sunday school wing, then the Stephens House and garden.  By faith we have made repairs minor and major and labored at improvements: roof, foundation, furnaces, rest rooms, siding, landscaping, and so on.  And all this not only for ourselves but as stewards of a building that stands as a symbol of the island's long history, a symbol of decency and values and hospitality and faith in the heart of the town. 

By faith, we have taken on the hard work of preserving the legacy of this place for our sake and for the sake of our neighbors.   

By faith, we have reached out to the other religious communities on the island not as competitors but as colleagues.   We have offered hospitality to the Jewish community when these neighbors have needed a place to worship.  We have rented out and loaned space to other faith groups regularly.  We had an active role in the formation of the Inter-Parish Council and then the more inclusive Interfaith Council.  We have been leaders in community efforts like the CROP Walk and the Helpline Food Drives. 

By faith, we are collaborators, trusting God to speak through other religious communities as well as ours. 

You've heard the phrase, "If these walls could talk…" If these walls could talk, imagine the stories they might tell of heartfelt prayers uttered, of laughter echoing, of thoughtful and inspiring words spoken, of music soaring, of tears shed and dried, of hands clasped, of looks of love.  Feel the weight of the faith that has been inspired and expressed within these walls and in the daily life beyond these walls.  Can you sense the presence of the great cloud of witnesses, our forbears who birthed this church out of nothing but the love of God and their desire to keep the faith in this place?  Can you perceive the hope and conviction of those who have gone before us as they created, each in their generation, a visible church out of their invisible faith?

Hear again these words from Hebrews: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."  And to God give the glory.