“One Stone Upon Another”

(Isaiah 65:17-25; Luke 21:5-19) JG White

10:30 am, Sun, Nov 16, 2025, FBC Amherst

Once upon a time, there was a Church. A Baptist Church. In a Nova Scotia town. Founded in 1819, the small group soon gained a little meeting house. Later, they erected quite a nice, white, steepled, 19th century Church building at a prominent crossroads in the town. They seemed to prosper with the usual ministries that Baptists had, back in that day, and with the good leadership they had. 

Then came the great fire of October, 1897. Most of the downtown burned up, more than four hundred buildings, including the Baptist Church. Well they, like so many other folks and businesses and churches, rebuilt. Did they ever rebuild! The new, 1898 Baptist Church was a huge wooden structure, painted shades of gray, with a very large steeple, huge stained glass windows, and the largest oval baptistry you’ve ever seen. The pews circled the sanctuary like we see here, as well as a balcony, with broad arches across the ceiling meeting overhead in an octagon. On one side of the pulpit and baptistry was the choir loft, with space for a huge Casavant pipe organ to be installed. On the other side, the huge wall would slide up into the attic, and open the Sunday school hall and rooms, downstairs and up. When all the doors were open, thirteen hundred people could be seated, and all have a view of the pulpit, if you craned your neck. 

This was Windsor Baptist. Where the late Rev. Keith Churchill’s father was Pastor, and one day Earnest dropped dead, at age 52, as he walked out the road to buy some eggs. Where the late Rev. John Boyd grew up in faith as a child, with his seven younger siblings. The Church where Sharon and I were married. 

By the time I had preached about 300 sermons there, the repairs were mounting on the grand building, now more than a century old. One day, the Trustees & Finance Committee decided to replace a window in the board room where they met, in the basement. The large church basement was a walk-out to the back parking lot. To make a long story short, when the window was removed, a lot of rot was found in that back wall of the building. Turns out that for decades, the kitchen sink and other drains upstairs were not piped into the septic system; they just emptied into the gravel under the Boardroom. One hundred thousand and some dollars later, the back wall - and the window - were replaced. 

In our time there, we started to wonder and worry, to dream and imagine our future. To simplify, I put it this way. Did we, the Church, want to stay in this grand building for another fifty years, or another five years? Whoah, that’s a hard decision. We hired a church consultant, who was quite helpful and truly inspiring. By the time I left for Digby, the discernment was still ongoing. 

It was in 2019 that the Congregation was ready to move. They sold the building. It so happened that a thirty-year-old church was for sale in the town, over by the ‘new’ high school. It was the former Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which I must admit brought me a bit of competitive pleasure. The Mormons closed, and the Baptist Christians took over. 

The next door neighbour to the gigantic 1898 building bought it. Within a couple years he died, so the old ‘church’ got sold again, to a developer for condominiums. This year I have driven by, from time to time, and the demolition slowly began. Pews were sold off. The grand stained glass windows were sold and became part of people’s homes. The peak of the steeple was removed by crane to the back parking lot. Then, on Sunday, October 19th, the structure was finally brought down in a heap.

Just a few minutes ago we heard of Jesus one day, while in the precincts of the Jerusalem Temple, saying "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." In His day, that second, rebuilt Temple had been renovated farther by King Herod. It was quite stunning. But as His disciples and others ooh and aah about the stonework and style, Jesus gets apocalyptic on them. ‘It’s all going to fall.’ 

Though we today are at a low point in Church life, we are at a pinnacle of the life of our building, this Grand Lady of Victoria Street. 130 years old now. It is in good shape. Are we just in the middle of this era? Will it stand here for 250 years? Or more? 

As we wander around these spaces, we see images from the past, pictures of the construction of this holy edifice. The photo of all the workmen amid the scaffolding and stone - it brings those moments close to us. We see pictures of Rev. Dr. Steele. He was at the point of retirement when this was built. He lived here for thirty more years, as Minister Emeritus, enjoying worship and fellowship in the new building. All this was well before we were born. Imagine what might go on here long after we are dead. We have many Bible moments that speak of new things. Like Isaiah chapter 65 today. I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. God doing something new, sometimes in each new century. What new life is being birthed by God now?

When Jesus spoke of the Jerusalem Temple being torn down, He was asked when? ‘What will be the signs that this is imminent?’ ‘Not right away,’ Jesus said. ‘Terrible things will happen in the world. Doesn’t mean the end is happening right then.’ 

So don’t fret when disasters strike. Don’t even fret when the stones come down. What goes up must come down. We know this building is temporary. (We know our own organic selves are temporary.) While we have 90 East Victoria Street - probably for the rest of our lives - it holds a gift, a responsibility, a calling, a privilege, an opportunity. 

We have the joy of getting together in Springhill this afternoon for worship and celebration with Baptists from all over the County. Some of us will sing. One of us from here will speak briefly. I will stand at the Communion Table - there in a different Baptist building. I was talking with one of the Springhill ministers the other day, and he said, yes, we are in an amazing location, here in Amherst. We have been making much of this in the downtown community for decades. It is a building that draws people to it, and draws us in. 

Have you ever noticed, all over Amherst, where you can see the spires of First Baptist? Coming down South Albion from my home, I can see them two kms away, especially if I am walking. These two stone turrets, like beacons in the heart of the town. We love to draw people in. We have moments we long to attract more, somehow. 

I will keep reminding us of the flip side of this coin. The coin we value and long for, of attracting people to Church. Into the building. The other side is giving, serving, blessing those all around us. These goals, this calling, are greater than the ‘attract them to Church’ goal. We have this amazing resource centre, in a great location. It is up to us, the whole people of God, to offer what we can in this place, from this command centre. Our imaginations have been filled with military operations of the past, as November 11th came and went. How are we deployed, dear Church? We can recite the amazing activities from this building of the past fifty years. What now? 

Our training must continue. I like what Windsor Baptist called their Board of CE. It was Training and Discipleship. Our training in Christ in the 2020s is for our actions, our service, our mission… for the living of these days. And this venue is our base of operations.

Thanks be to God for this grand old lady of Victoria Street!

This worship sanctuary.

This spiritual drill hall.

This family resource centre of Faith. 

This divine concert venue.

This holy creativity hub.

This Baptist meeting house. 

This life ritual celebration space. 

This blessed banquet room.

This coffee shop with Christ.

This prison ministry bunkhouse.

This Holy Spirit dance hall.

This Almighty art gallery.

            This retreat lodge.

This Christian meditation centre.

This spiritual health clinic.

This physical healing place.

This godly gymnasium.

This home away from home.

This welcome and hospitality centre.

This meeting place at the crossroads.

This listening post.

     This refuge and strength.

This house of prayer for all nations.