wfn.org | Eugenia Gamble Addresses Redevelopment Luncheon

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

GA99060 
23-June-1999 
 
         Eugenia Gamble Addresses Redevelopment Luncheon 
 
 
FORT WORTH-The Rev. Eugenia Gamble addressed the sold out luncheon of the 
Churchwide Redevelopment Training Network Tuesday. 
     Saying that she never set out to be a redevelopment pastor, Gamble 
likened redevelopment ministry to "turning the Queen Mary around in dry 
dock."  But, she said, redevelopment ministry is where God has taken her. 
     Gamble traced the history of First Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, 
Ala., where she is pastor, from its beginning as the oldest and largest in 
the city through its peak in the 1950s, the civil rights struggle of the 
1960s, the church's subsequent decline, and its redeveloping present. 
During its recent history, Old First had lost its sense of identity, she 
said, and was struggling with the pain of keeping a beautiful facility 
going with little money, people, and energy Now the church's budget 
deficits are shrinking, worship attendance is increasing, and the 
congregation has embarked on a capital campaign to buy an old hotel for a 
ministry center to house First Light, Inc, the church's ministry to the 
community. 
     Gamble said that reflection on what the congregation at Old First is 
learning has led her to five essentials for redevelopment: 
      *  A redeveloping congregation must be crystal clear about its 
identity in Christ Jesus; 
      *  They must give up their obsession with survival and place their 
hopes and dreams in God's arms; 
     *  They must find a meaningful reason beyond duty or tenacity to go on; 
     *  A redeveloping congregation must ask God to transform their 
relationships into relationships characterized by mutuality, fidelity, 
respect, and non-silencing; 
     *  They must never stop looking for ways to meet the needs of others, 
especially when there is little potential for return. 
 
"Don't ever," she said, "stop trying to make others feel better." 
 
Nancy Rodman 

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