Hilltop Lutheran Church, gone but not forgotten

Today we'll be attending our final noon Advent/worship/lunch service at our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, UALC. I had a few minutes last Thursday and put my coat and purse down in a pew near the front and noticed something I hadn't seen before. Hymnals with a red stamp on the top edge from Hilltop Lutheran Church (west side of Columbus) that used to be part of UALC, but which is now Veritas Community Church. I walked between several pews and checked the hymnals and the memorial plates inside--each had been purchased and plated long ago. Those hymnals (green, Lutheran Book of Worship) came out about 1978. Some were dedicated to deceased parents, or an anniversary or a member of a women's circle. I didn't recognize any names. I saw Becki our congregational care staff member who also selects the hymns we use for worship and asked her about it. She said that so many of our hymnals were worn out that we used the LBW from that building when it was moved to another congregation. Sitting there I felt I'd been joined by a whole congregation that had never worshipped in our building.

Collecting My Thoughts: The long good-bye

Collecting My Thoughts  Hilltop Lutheran