In the true spirit of Christian love, Pastor Clyde Thomas and his congregation at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lady Lake (Florida) agreed to rent their church to the Rev. Bill Wealand and his congregation at The United Church of Christ for worship services until the Church of Christ's new sanctuary is completed.

Wealand was very pleased to have a semi-permanent home for his congregation, which has been holding services at various places.

"First we met at the Hope Lutheran Church at 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoons, but with a growing congregation, that time slot wasn't the best. We continued to search for something more suitable," Wealand said.

Finally, one church member found space at the Skyline Conference Center. "We started worshipping there in February, but we learned we were inadvertently violating a city zoning code," Wealand said. "As our attendance increased, we had to search again, and when we heard the Baptist congregation had moved from their temporary space (in the Seventh-day Adventist sanctuary) to their new church, we called Pastor Thomas.

"We learned their services were held on Saturday, not on Sunday, so they very graciously invited us to come here, beginning the first Sunday in April, and we are delighted to be able to worship in a real church building, rather than a business facility," Wealand said.

In an interesting irony, more than 20 years ago Thomas was in the same situation in Michigan, nearly desperate to find space for his Seventh-day Adventist congregation.

Thomas said the pastor at a Church of the Nazarene helped him out of his plight then. "He told me that 20 years before that, he was in the same situation with the Church of the Nazarene. It was the Seventh-day Adventists who helped him find space, so he wanted to return the favor."

Now some 28 years later, Thomas returned the favor twice. First, for the Baptist church, as they awaited the building of their new church, and now for the United Church of Christ.

"I was helped when I needed it, so isn't that what Christianity is all about?" said Thomas.
"It is kind of a 'pay it forward' situation," Wealand said with a smile, while Thomas said, "The Lord works in mysterious ways."

(The original story was published by The Villages Daily Sun, The Villages, Florida/USA).