When dear wife Ruth and I moved to McLean, Virginia, we lived about two miles from the T. C. Center. It was not much of a center although it consisted of a department store and several adjacent , smaller stores. It was sufficient, however, for dear wife's shopping needs. Its location was ideal as it was at the intersection of the Washington Beltway and Leesburg Pike.
Right in the middle of the Center was the Providence Baptist Church, with a congregation of about 400 people. As the T.C. developers had eyes on expansion, the church was inhibiting those plans. Can you guess what happened?
Right. The developers bought the church land, demolished the church building and built the congregation a brand new building, westward on the Leesburg Pike, about a quarter of a mile from our home. Rumor was that the deal was about one million dollars, plus a church building, built for free!!
Today, the P.B.C. and McLean Bible Church face each other at a major intersection on the Pike (the McLean story will be another blog).
Back to Tysons Corner: today it is a HUGH metroplex of stores and offices, and considered one of the premier shopping centers on the east coast. Much of its growth was brought about by a growing population that includes a very large international community.
More, later.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Our McLean neighborhood had a group of neighbors with varied backgrounds. Because our street was a closed-end street, we were able to know all of the families in a more personal way. On our nightly walks we usually met one or more of them for a short chat. Two of the neighbors were connected with foreign embassies and one was a highly-placed individual, in our government, so high that he commanded a chauffeur-driven car for transportation!!
The neighbors behind us were a middle-aged couple. He was a retired army colonel - a friendly and helpful guy. His wife was just the opposite. One never knew whether our friendly "hello" would elicit a response or be ignored.
The neighbors to our north were a young British couple with young children. We saw very little of them. Our southern neighbors were an elderly couple. F___ and I___ who were very southern and outgoing. He was an avid gardener while she spent her time as a leader in the Southern Baptist Women's Association.
The neighbors with whom we interacted the most were a Chinese family with three children. He was a physician (GP) and she was a homemaker. They had an outdoor pool which I was invited to use at any time, and which I did frequently, especially when my grandchildren came for a visit.
More, later.
The neighbors behind us were a middle-aged couple. He was a retired army colonel - a friendly and helpful guy. His wife was just the opposite. One never knew whether our friendly "hello" would elicit a response or be ignored.
The neighbors to our north were a young British couple with young children. We saw very little of them. Our southern neighbors were an elderly couple. F___ and I___ who were very southern and outgoing. He was an avid gardener while she spent her time as a leader in the Southern Baptist Women's Association.
The neighbors with whom we interacted the most were a Chinese family with three children. He was a physician (GP) and she was a homemaker. They had an outdoor pool which I was invited to use at any time, and which I did frequently, especially when my grandchildren came for a visit.
More, later.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
FAMILY GROWTH
By the time we had moved to McLean (see HOUSE HUNTING), our two adult children were gainfully employed. Dear daughter was a school teacher and dear son was in Christian work. Both of them have sustained their careers in distinguished fashion to the point that dear daughter is now enjoying retirement years, while dear son might be near that nirvana (I think). Dear daughter has remained single while her brother has done otherwise.
Dear son had just made a location change in Virginia, from Norfolk to Richmond, moving from one apartment to another. I mentioned to him that the price he was paying for apartment rental was enough to buy his own home. Sure enough, he followed through on that idea and soon became a proud home owner.
It was a pretty home, in a charming neighborhood; a well-built house, with a slate roof and a fenced-in back yard. Quaint Richmond has a lot of houses like that. Now he had plenty of rooms to fill, and all he needed was the right person for such a start (if you know what I mean).
Sure enough, he met that person while working in the western part of the state. Then he found out that they belonged to the same church in Richmond, and now you know the rest of the story.
More, later.
Dear son had just made a location change in Virginia, from Norfolk to Richmond, moving from one apartment to another. I mentioned to him that the price he was paying for apartment rental was enough to buy his own home. Sure enough, he followed through on that idea and soon became a proud home owner.
It was a pretty home, in a charming neighborhood; a well-built house, with a slate roof and a fenced-in back yard. Quaint Richmond has a lot of houses like that. Now he had plenty of rooms to fill, and all he needed was the right person for such a start (if you know what I mean).
Sure enough, he met that person while working in the western part of the state. Then he found out that they belonged to the same church in Richmond, and now you know the rest of the story.
More, later.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
FINDING A CHURCH
As was our custom, once settled into a home, it was time to find a place of worship. Following our usual procedure, we opened the wolley segap* and began listing those whose names had appeal; the next steps would be actual Sunday visits.
During our visits we would be analyzing the preaching, the order and completeness of the service, the warmth of the congregation toward visitors, the buzz, if any, of activity and the size of the buildings.
After several visits, we chose the McLean Bible Church as our new church home. It was located at the intersection of Georgetown Pike and the Washington Beltline, about a ten minute drive from our home. The church was six years old and had a congregation of about 400 people.
As our years of being "built-up in the faith" would prove, MBC was the right choice. We soon became engaged in areas of service including serving on the mission's committee, the childrens' ministry, a senior citizen's group and the elder board.
MBC was my first elder-ruled church and I was in complete agreement with its operation and doctrinal statement. In our fourth year there, I was nominated to be an elder, was elected, and served many years thereon. The years at MBC proved to be the years of most sporitual growth in my Christian life.
*yellow pages.
More, later.
During our visits we would be analyzing the preaching, the order and completeness of the service, the warmth of the congregation toward visitors, the buzz, if any, of activity and the size of the buildings.
After several visits, we chose the McLean Bible Church as our new church home. It was located at the intersection of Georgetown Pike and the Washington Beltline, about a ten minute drive from our home. The church was six years old and had a congregation of about 400 people.
As our years of being "built-up in the faith" would prove, MBC was the right choice. We soon became engaged in areas of service including serving on the mission's committee, the childrens' ministry, a senior citizen's group and the elder board.
MBC was my first elder-ruled church and I was in complete agreement with its operation and doctrinal statement. In our fourth year there, I was nominated to be an elder, was elected, and served many years thereon. The years at MBC proved to be the years of most sporitual growth in my Christian life.
*yellow pages.
More, later.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
HOME OFFICE ADVANTAGE
After some time into the job I began a program that involved our home office in St. Paul, Minnesota, and that was inviting and escorting groups of state government customers to our home office complex. It started with a flight from the customer's capitol location in one of our company planes for a two-day trip to inform, wine and dine them as our thanks for their business.
During the flight we would go over the program, thus giving them an opportunity to formulate questions about our products. The program consisted of a presentation of the Company's marketing philosophies, product demonstrations, conversations with Company executives and a visit to the Company store, to buy products at employee prices. That evening the wining and dining would take place.
One of these special places was a fantastically beautiful inn situated along a river bank and built with Scandinavian design. The inn had a special room for groups, a room whose walls were wood-carved in three dimensional mountain scene designs. Food and wine flowed generously into the night. Believe me when I tell you that this was always a special treat for me no matter how many times I made the visit. The next-day's meetings were scheduled for a late start for obvious reasons, then back home to the state capitol and normal routines
More, later.
During the flight we would go over the program, thus giving them an opportunity to formulate questions about our products. The program consisted of a presentation of the Company's marketing philosophies, product demonstrations, conversations with Company executives and a visit to the Company store, to buy products at employee prices. That evening the wining and dining would take place.
One of these special places was a fantastically beautiful inn situated along a river bank and built with Scandinavian design. The inn had a special room for groups, a room whose walls were wood-carved in three dimensional mountain scene designs. Food and wine flowed generously into the night. Believe me when I tell you that this was always a special treat for me no matter how many times I made the visit. The next-day's meetings were scheduled for a late start for obvious reasons, then back home to the state capitol and normal routines
More, later.
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