Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 

Waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be. – John Ortberg

Yesterday and today (February 9-10) is the culmination of 18 months of work and waiting.  After a year and a half, 2^nd Mennonite Church in Philadelphia is finally getting a new roof. And it has been so worth the wait.

It began back in August of 2020 at our annual business meeting when the Bethany congregation unanimously voted to take ¾ of our yearly budget surplus and give it away. Under the direction of the elders, our mission team distributed funds to provide emergency COVID relief to ministries in Romania, Guatemala, India, Northern Africa, Haiti & Jamaica.

But a portion of the surplus was also designated towards domestic projects.  And since our church is a member of the Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Churches (AMEC), I contacted the executive director, Jonathan Yoder, to see if there were needs among any of our sister churches.  He connected us with 2^nd Mennonite Church in the Fairhill section of Philadelphia.  This church is located in one of the poorest sections of the city with a poverty rate of 61% and a median income of $18,722. Pastor Darryl Wallace and his lovely wife Barbara have served there for the last 24 years. But the church has been there since 1897 and still has its original slate roof. And after 125 years of wear the roof was crumbling.

We have a lot of professional construction expertise in our church and initially thought about assembling a volunteer crew to do the work. But the roof pitch was really steep and construction in the city of Philadelphia is notoriously difficult. So, we determined to pursue a contractor who was familiar with working in Philly. And that is where the challenges began.  It was hard to find a contractor who was willing to take on the project.  COVID was raging, many businesses were shut down, construction supply costs were soaring, and spring storms had damaged roofs all over the region.  There was an abundance of work, and no one seemed to want the headache of roofing a church in the city.  Our first contractor took a very long time to schedule us and then failed to pull the necessary permits. The crew foreman didn’t think we needed them and shifted the responsibility to coordinate logistics onto the church. Two pastors in charge of a construction project- what could possibly go wrong? 2^nd Mennonite stands on a very busy corner in a dense urban neighborhood. And with no authority, permits or standing with the city government, we were unable to clear cars around the worksite and close down sidewalks. After 3 failed attempts to move in a dumpster and deliver supplies throughout the spring and summer, our contractor quit and refunded the deposit. It was back to the drawing board.

After a couple of weeks of searching, the 2^nd Mennonite leadership team found another lead. The next contractor’s bid was significantly higher but was a much larger company. We specifically wrote into the contract that they would pull all necessary permits and coordinate logistics for the completion of the work. We met with the sales rep, signed the contract, and waited for a call back for the work to be scheduled. One month went by, two months, three months.  The work was scheduled, canceled, and rescheduled. When we inquired, first they were waiting on a building permit, then the supplies hadn’t arrived, and then we spent many weeks awaiting an elusive sidewalk permit. It wasn’t looking good.

In times of waiting, I sometimes (ok, many times) get discouraged.  Why is everything so hard? If God is God, then shouldn’t things go smoother?  And why is God’s timing always different from mine? Why all these false starts, disappointments and waiting? But in this case, I honestly think understand what God was doing.

Over the last many months so much good has emerged.  On a personal level, my relationship with Pastor Wallace has transformed from a one-time ministry partnership into a friendship.   We’ve hosted he and Barbara in our home for dinner and he has come to preach at Bethany for a Sunday.  We’ve spoken and texted every other week or so- praying together and sharing ministry burdens.  I’ve attended a funeral (via Zoom) of a dear saint at 2^nd and Pastor Wallace inquires about ways their church can pray for Bethany. In an age of racial polarization, I’ve found this sharing of life to be so refreshing.  I’ve come to deeply respect this godly man for his patience and perseverance as I’ve come to know the ministry challenges he faces.  Because of the many twists and turns of the project, I’ve made 3 additional trips down to the city and through that met several men in the church.  I’ve walked the streets and seen and heard firsthand about the complexity and hardship of urban ministry. It’s been a good education.  And I’ve had some amazing Puerto Rican food at Freddy & Tony’s Restaurant!

On a ministry level, I’ve been introduced to one of Pastor Wallace’s protégés, Pastor Juan Marrero, the executive director of Crossroads Community Center. I’ve seen their outstanding neighborhood outreach to children, youth, and families.  As a result, Bethany invested $10,000 from our 2021 budget surplus at Crossroads. Our church and in particular our Wednesday prayer team has been consistently praying, along with 2^nd Mennonite for the roofing project. We’ve engaged in prayer and occasional fasting which has deepened our faith and strengthened our resolve.   I hope that we have many more years of partnership together. It’s been very exciting!

When I look at the many ways my life and our church have been enriched, our faith bolstered, and ministry deepened, I am so thankful that things didn’t happen quickly. We would have missed an amazing opportunity.  I’ve found that God often grows me in the waiting. And when we recognize this, it can make waiting easier because we know he is maturing us in the process.  And sometimes, what happens while we are waiting is even more valuable than the desired end.