Groundbreaking Ceremonies For Cornerstone United Methodist Church Were Held Today Cornerstone Groundbreaking Photo Album Written by Douglas L. Dalton - June 10, 2001 - Just before 3:00 p.m. today, the congregation of Cornerstone United Methodist Church met to celebrate their first worship service together on the Church's property on Rim Road, next to E. E. Miller Elementary School. As the members of Cornerstone United Methodist Church left the parking lot and walked across the field to the site of the ceremony, they were greeted by the sight of a welcoming tent, chairs, and a table with refreshments. The tent, facing East, where the front of the new church
will be, quickly filled to capacity. All seats were soon filled, and as
the crowd continued to grow there was standing room only. The
membership of Cornerstone United Methodist Church was blessed with
several dignitaries who were there to participate in the groundbreaking
ceremony of worship and prayer. Among the dignitaries was Rudiegar R.
Minor, the Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Russia. Also in
attendance was the Rev. David Malloy, Fayetteville District Superintendent of the
United Methodist Church, and District
pastors, Marty Cauley, Mike Davis, Bryan Sexton and Donald and Pamela
Shields. As the congregation and dignitaries milled around and shared their joy in this moment, the Rev. Ben Sharpe walked to the area in front of the tent. As he stopped and turned to face us, you could see behind him that there were three shovels and one gardening hand spade. Each of their handles were tied with a red ribbon, their blades were of gold with red crosses on each of the blades, and they were planted in the ground so that their handles stood straight and tall, pointing towards heaven as though they were awaiting for God Himself to begin breaking ground. Shortly before the ceremony began we were quieted by the Rev. Ben Sharpe as he gave a wonderful description of the church we are building, pointing out the various projects proposed for the future and where they will sit on our property, and culminating with a grand description of our church after all projects are completed. The Rev. Sharpe stated that the actual construction on the Church is scheduled to begin on June 24, 2001, barring any delays. The first phase will be the site preparation and the construction of the pad and foundations of the new church building. The church itself is approximately 7200 square feet in area and will cost about $700,000.00 (including furnishings) when completed. Construction is scheduled to take 240 days. By the time Rev. Sharpe had completed his discourse on our new church, all believed they could see the buildings and grounds as they will be when done. Shortly after 3:00 p.m. our groundbreaking worship and prayer service began. The Rev. Ben Sharpe began by telling us what a special day this was, and that he knew that we were blessed by God Himself in this holy beginning. He said as he emphasized this point that "exactly seven years ago, June 10, 1995, the Bishop of the North Carolina Annual Conference appointed me as pastor to organize a new church in the Lake Rim area of Fayetteville, and it is this church, Cornerstone United Methodist Church, that we made together." As he said this he also explained that in the Bible the seventh year is a Holy year, it is the year of Jubilation. And as we are celebrating our groundbreaking this day, the first day of our "Year of Jubilation" there is no question that God is with us, and that He has blessed our Church Himself. The Rev. Sharpe then introduced Bishop Minor and the Rev. David Malloy. He then began our service by presenting the greeting as found in our bulletin. This was followed by a resounding rendition of the hymn "Come, thou Fount". As Dwight Harro played the guitar and lead us in song, it was noted by many that we sang here on our own church ground better than we had ever sung before. We surely gave to God a joyful noise as we begin our "Year of Jubilation" this day. At this point the Rev. Malloy offered the opening prayer. The Rev. Sharpe then read Isaiah 61 as our scripture lesson and spoke briefly of God's faithfulness to bring Cornerstone United Methodist Church to this point in her history. We then raised our voices in joyful song to God as we sang the hymn "We are standing on Holy Ground." Dwight Harro again provided wonderful music as he lead us in song with his guitar. This was followed by the Groundbreaking Ceremony itself. As the Rev. Ben Sharpe introduced Bishop Minor and announced the groundbreaking ceremony was to begin, the congregation and all the dignitaries clapped and shouted with joy. Bishop Minor then led the liturgy from the United Methodist Book of Worship. As the Bishop read the Liturgy we eagerly awaited the moment we would respond with "We break this ground today." And each time we made our response a different group of people would use the shovels to break ground. The first group of people to break ground consisted of the original study group, the current Building Leadership Team, and the Finance Team. As they broke the ground, they filled a can full of the first dirt that begins the construction of our new church. This earth, a piece of God's Holy Ground, will be kept as a memorial to today's blessed event in the history of our church. The next group to follow consisted of the first members of the church, members who have attended since the very first worship service they had together. The next group consisted of Rev. Ben Sharpe, and all the dignitaries that were present for this wonderful day. This group consisted of Bishop Minor, the Rev. David Malloy, and District pastors, Marty Cauley, Mike Davis, Bryan Sexton and Donald and Pamela Shields. And finally, with a sense of joy and anticipation for this congregations future in our new home, the whole membership of the congregation arose, and joined together in breaking ground. After the Groundbreaking Ceremony was completed the Rev. Malloy offered the closing prayers, which was immediately followed by all persons present giving praise to God by recitation of the Lord's Prayer. We then joined together and we sang the hymn, accompanied by Dwight Harro on his guitar, "How Firm a Foundation." As Bishop Minor stood, and walked forward to give the Dismissal with his Blessing, he was met by Bill Corey. At this time the Bishop was presented with the Garden Hand Spade by Bill Corey for the groundbreaking ceremony to take place in Russia this next Sunday. The Bishop stated that he would indeed use it for that purpose and accepted it with grace. The Rev. Ben Sharpe remarked to the Bishop that he would like to see the Bishop explain the Garden Hand Spade to customs, and at that remark all laughed appropriately. At this point Bishop Minor then gave the Dismissal with Blessing, first in Russian and then followed in English. It was during his blessing that all of us were made aware of God's presence and approval of our new church. For you see, something wonderful happened. As the Bishop faced us and gave his blessing, three doves arose from the ground directly behind the Bishop and flew across the field and into the heavens. At that moment there were no more doubts that God was with us and had blessed our new home. God had indeed participated in this, the first day of our "Year of Jubilation", and had Himself broke ground as witnessed by the three doves. After the dismissal and blessing the congregation and dignitaries remained. Wandering around, and talking in groups, sharing in the joy of today's experience. And each enjoyed the refreshments (Lemonade and cake) as we look forward to the coming year, always celebrating and waiting for the day in February 2002 when we hold our first worship service together in our new home. The pastor and congregation offer their heartfelt thanks to the Fayetteville District for their prayerful support through the years which has brought them to the beginning of this new step in the ministry of making disciples for Jesus Christ. |
