Worshipping Above a Rummage Crypt

What do you worship on top of? Have you ever thought about what is beneath you when you are in church singing a hymn? What is the foundation of your church building?

I had never thought about this question until this past weekend after Trinity Church's annual rummage sale. Once a year the church puts on a sale to raise money for community outreach. They needed volunteers, and since I've had some experience with such sales thanks to my mom, I decide to pitch in. They put me in charge of the sports/pet supplies/medical table. I'm not the one to put in charge of a sports table. I thought a field hockey stick was a polo stick. And we didn't play lacrosse growing up in Texas. But I took it in stride and got rid of most of what was on my table. (But never did sell that package of Depends.) The sale ran all day Saturday and after church on Sunday.

The sale was great, but the most enlightening part was the cleanup. I boxed up what was left on my table and stuck around to help store unsold items for next year's rummage. The man in charge sent me with my boxes down the elevator ... to the church crypt. I've never worshipped in a church with a crypt before. At least we didn't call it that. A crypt. That should have cobwebs and bones and creepy stuff. Not at Trinity Church. The entire space underneath the chancel (where the choir and altar are located) and nave (where the pews and people are located) is filled with things for the rummage. Junk really. Not all of it, but a lot of it is junk. People's junk to become other people's junk. But ... all to raise money for community outreach, helping the poor and disadvantaged. Each Sunday I gather with my community whose foundation is literally an outreach project. I am uplifted going to a church where its value of ministry to the poor is so foundational.