Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503080007
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The congregation of about 100 has moved at last to its brand-new building at 2101 Shadow Lake Road N.W. The church moved into the $500,000 building, set on 8 acres of scenic rolling land, Feb. 5.
Dedication is March 26, with festivities starting at 9:30 a.m. Everything will be open for public inspection the weekend of April 1. By then, finishing touches should be put on the kitchen and the landscaping.
In last Sunday's beautiful weather, the new nave was two-thirds filled for the 10:45 a.m. service that followed an earlier Sunday school. When I arrived at 10:30, adults and children were mingling in the spacious foyer, which is easy to reach for anyone who can't climb steps. Laura Gardner, a 10-year member of the congregation, told me this space can be used for small luncheons. It's a cheerful place to drink a cup of coffee and eat a muffin before worship begins.
Grace Covenant most recently held services at Alleghany Baptist Church, which these Presbyterians shared on Sunday mornings with the building's owners.
What struck me last week at Grace Covenant is the way a conservative congregation can integrate so many new worship practices into the Sunday morning service.
Laura Gardner's husband, Tom, a Virginia Tech English professor and one of three elders at Grace Covenant, said leaders of the congregation have struggled to make the program and facilities relevant and comfortable for Blacksburg's constantly changing church population.
The church is marked by many conservative characteristics, including male leadership, sermons that are lengthy and detailed in Bible exposition, the use of the "Trinity Hymnal" with its many traditional Protestant favorites, and a strong Calvinist emphasis on the sinfulness of the world and humankind.
But coupled with such old hymns as ``And Can It Be That I Should Gain?''- a 1738 Charles Wesley song with a difficult rhythm - are peppy renewal-style numbers flashed by projector on the wall and sung with enthusiasm by the predominantly young-adult congregation.
Like several other Blacksburg churches that adhere to conservative Bible teachings and support anti-abortion ministries, Grace Covenant has home fellowship groups which help members share their faith during the week. This is where much of the strength lies, Tom Gardner said.
Children older than 8 remain with their parents through the service. Those younger stay for the first 45 minutes and then recess to a big sunny room for their own worship.
I was sorry last week to miss the Rev. Gordon Woolard, who was away for the weekend visiting relatives.
Preaching for him was Hank Tarlton, a recent graduate of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, an evangelical Protestant school in Massachusetts. Tarlton spoke for 35 minutes on the vision of Ezekiel and its relationship to the atoning power of Jesus Christ. The water coming from the Old Testament prophet's visionary temple wall represents the living water to which Jesus refers in a passage from the Gospel of John, Tarlton said.
Despite the pastor's absence, the church's three elders - Gardner, Robert Rudd and Cal Ribbens - carried on the service without a hitch. They led prayers after members of the congregation expressed specific requests. Unlike the practice in most conservative churches, the pastor did not do all the praying.
There isn't a formal choir at Grace Covenant. A small instrumental group of guitar and flute players, accompanied by Alice Rennalls on piano, provided the music last week.
Rennalls is among the few members of retirement age at Grace Covenant. Laura Gardner said many members are graduate students with first babies who soon move on after they have been "discipled" into Christian living.
Rennalls - one of several members who give their talents as piano players - is a retired teacher and counselor from Detroit who moved to Blacksburg in November after reading about its pleasant living in an education magazine. She told me enthusiastically in the parking lot that she chose Grace Covenant for its members' "real Christian integrity" and their warmth in helping her feel at home.
Sojourner appears monthly in the New River Current. Its purpose is not to promote a particular point of view but to inform readers of a variety of worship styles.
by CNB