Yesterday I finally got around to organizing my computer – placing files where they go, changing their names etc. I came across the below nine-year-old video commemorating our (Landrys) ten year anniversary at Evangelical Baptist Church of Newton. Whew, what a trip down memory lane. (Sorry there are so many shots of yours truly.)
As if I needed it, watching was a reminder of the good people whom God brought together to ensure that the gospel would continue to be preached from 23 Chapel Street in Newton. So much talent entered that church. Many folks from good families, a lot of whom made their kids take music lessons! A congregation that listened to God’s Word: it was common for guest speakers to remark to me how closely the people tracked the sermon.
I said continue to be preached. In the video are a couple of photos of Virginia Viall, the widow of the founding pastor of EBC. Mrs. Viall herself was a hearty Vermonter with a heart for the down-and-out, and a constant encouragement to me in our early days at Newton. Her husband, Pastor John, remained in the EBC pulpit into his 80s. With very little financial support he and the congregation somehow managed to keep the doors open and the oil tank filled. I guess that somehow is called the grace of God!
When we ministered in Newton, I used to love to reflect on the point that Jesus made of what is always true in gospel ministry: “Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (John 4:38). We were simply the next in line. As often as I could remember, sometime during the month of October I’d read this quotation to the church:
“At the age of forty-two, [John] Eliot was ready for his first missionary experiment…In 1646 he visited the nearest Indian village, Nonantum, on the Newton bank of the Charles, opposite Watertown. It was a beautiful October day before the trees had been stripped of their gorgeous foliage by the autumn rains. Waban, the local sagamore, bade Eliot welcome. He preached a sermon of an hour and a quarter in the Indian language which his audience declared that they understood.” – “Builders of the Bay Colony” – Samuel Eliot Morrison
So many stories to be told from 16 years of ministry. So many scenes impressed in our memories. So many people came through the doors. I connect certain hymns to several of them. (Virginia, are you still singing “Beneath the Cross of Jesus”?)
Let this blog post be a shout of praise to God for his steadfast love to Abraham that presents in Newton MA. We are grateful for the little, disorganized part we had in the history of that congregation. It’s a great joy to love and be loved by a church. To pray and be prayed for. We are particularly grateful for the part this congregation had in the rearing of our children. For one thing, because of EBC, none of my kids is ever going to believe that following Christ is something only for rubes and philistines. Grateful for the many supporters that allowed us to arrive in Boston and “set up shop” for 16 years.
And for the fact that the Spirit still strives there: the ministry continues and thrives to the time of this writing. The current pastor, Andrew Belli, is a natural for the neighborhood: a native of MA, an Italian. He’s got a great wife, great family, and the all-important sticktoitiveness!
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