A 60-Year-Old Prayer Answered

A 60-Year-Old Prayer Answered

By Pastor Ellis White
Senior Pastor 

This week I was looking through our archive when I found a vision flyer for the building of our original church building. As I read the words of that vision statement from our founding Pastor, the Reverend Paul Neel, I realized that over 60 years later the Lord had granted the people of Chapel Hill that vision. Here’s what Pastor Neel wrote:

We must build, not just for ourselves, but for generations we may never know in this life. Our Ministry will be to THE ENTIRE FAMILY. Let us make our Church an ACTIVE, SERVING. INSTRUMENT OF GOD! A House of Sincere Worship and Heartfelt Prayer: A Lighthouse from which the Light of the Gospel shines forth continuously: A Training Center to which seeking people come to learn of God’s Salvation and Love-then go forth to Serve Him: A Headquarters from which to spread the Inspiration of a Loving Savior: A Hospital for souls to be brought back to Spiritual Health and Happiness. 
 
(Read the original publication here.) 

And how the Lord answered their prayers! I don’t think they could have imagined what Chapel Hill would have become over the next 60 years.  

This Sunday is St Andrews Sunday, when we remember that heritage and legacy as a church. We trace this back not only to our Presbyterian forefathers in the 16th century who were chiefly Scottish, where the city of St Andrews lies, but also to those more recent forefathers who founded Chapel Hill in 1963. 

On Sunday November 17, 1963, at 4:00 pm, the very first service of Chapel Hill Church took place. The opening hymn was the same with which we opened our 9:00 am service last Sunday: The Church’s One Foundation. And the anthem was the same as the hymn with which we will open this Sunday’s service: For All the Saints. Both hymns speak to the reality of communion with the saints.  

Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, 
and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won. 

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; 
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. 

(See the order of worship here.) 

Because of our union with Christ, we are united together, not only with all those across the world today who know and love Jesus, but also with all those who have gone before us. As the author to the Hebrews says, “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” (Hebrews 12:1 ESV) As we battle through life as the Church Militant, we are united together with those in the Church Triumphant, where one day we too will find ourselves. 

This Sunday is our chance to reflect upon and remember those who find themselves right now in the Church Triumphant. To honor their lives and legacy, and to praise Jesus for the way he was at work in and through them as they “fought the good fight… finished the race… kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 ESV). 

As we think about their legacy, we also remember that we, too, leave behind a legacy. That’s why this Sunday, we will be kicking off a new 5-week series, entitled: Live the Vision. The Lord has called the people of Chapel Hill to care for our community, share the gospel, and prepare the next generation. Over the next five weeks, we will discover what it looks like for each one of us to live that out.  

And for the first week of that series, we are going to look back, before we look forward. We will hear how God was at work in the founding of Chapel Hill in the early 1960s in a remarkable way. And we will take some time to honor that founding pastor of Chapel Hill—Reverend Paul Neel— in a special and significant way.  

Following the service, we will have a lunch to help us think in more detail about the legacy we will leave behind, as we hear from some experts in biblically based estate planning. Whether you have an estate plan or not, this will provide you with some insightful information, and clear next steps to help you edit an existing estate plan, or craft one for the first time, that honors your priorities. The lunch begins in the Toone Gathering Place at 11:30 am. 

And remember, we only have one service tomorrow at 10:00 am. It will be a wonderful occasion, and I look forward to seeing many of you wearing your tartan (or plaid!) in honor of our Scottish Presbyterian heritage. 

Pastor Ellis