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The Citizen, 2016-02-11, Page 17THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016. PAGE 17. Royall continues to be amazed by Chapel, people Something quite remarkable happens one morning every week in Auburn that I don't think happens in many other communities, at least on the consistent basis it happens here. Every Sunday morning the population of the village of Auburn doubles. It happens as people come to church where I have the privilege to pastor. Last week I told you the favourite articles I write for the Auburn News are the ones about people. When I think of Huron Chapel I don't think of a building, I think of people and each of them have an interesting story. Every Sunday morning I am so grateful and wonderfully astonished to see these people come together from those babes who are carried in on the arms of their parents to the retired folks who smile and greet them. Part of my early Sunday morning ritual is to spend time going through the sanctuary where I put my hands on each chair and pray for the people who will be sitting there later in the morning. I try and do this before anyone else comes because I can imagine what some people might think if they walked into the sanctuary only to see their pastor touching and talking to chairs. They would probably figure it out. Praying for each person is important to me because I know every Sunday people with hopes, with struggles, with gratitude will come and sit in these chairs wanting to meet with God. Many of them tend to sit in the same place Sunday after Sunday, so I am able to pray for them by name. We have 270 chairs set up in the sanctuary. This past Sunday I was running late and as I went to pray over the people who would sit in these chairs, I thought about skipping the front row on the one side because people usually don't sit there on Sunday mornings. It is probably the same story at your church, right? People want a barrier between them and the guy preaching from the pulpit. I knew passing over them would save me time, however I fought off the temptation to skip praying for this row. In fact I decided to have faith, believing there would be people sitting there this morning. I prayed even more earnestly over these chairs in this particular row. I'm glad I did. As I was playing guitar and singing up front on the platform I saw a family come late from Sunday school. The church was full. They could find no place to sit. So... you guessed it. One of the ushers led the whole family... father, mother and kids down the centre aisle to the only available seats in the sanctuary, the seats in the front row, the same seats I almost skipped over praying for earlier that morning. God taught me a valuable lesson that day about not giving into the temptation of hurriedness when it comes to doing the important things. Of course Sunday morning is just a small part of the church. This past Wednesday evening I made it my mission to walk around the church building and notice the people who were there. I went into the church portable where the youth meet. I hadn't been there for a long time. I walked in and was confronted with youth... lots of youth sitting around the room listening to Angie Campbell teaching them. I saw youth workers there too. Meghan De Jager, Joel Scott, Duncan Sissing and Ginni Buttar are there to help Rob and to help those young lives navigate through their teenage years. I know how valuable these leaders are as I remember those who helped me, who spoke God's love and truth into my own life when I was their age. I looked around the room and began to discreetly count heads in such a way where others looking at me could not tell I was counting. My quick stealth numbering technique told me there were 40 youth present... plus the workers. Wow. What a blessing. What a privilege we have as a church. What a responsibility to represent God to these young minds and hearts. I left the portable and walked back towards the main church building. I could see through an outside classroom window where Steve Campbell was teaching a group of young children in our Heirborn program. He was smiling jubilantly as he pointed to a computer screen teaching the children about God. Once inside I looked down the hall where I could see my wife in another room doing what she loves, teaching others about God. Lynn Smith was there at the desk, standing guard watching and protecting. In the gym I heard noise. It was the noise happy kids make when they are having fun. They were running around the gym with their teachers, Laura Beacom, Sarah Westra and Leanne Gibbons. Upon exiting the gym the kids' faces were gleaming but the faces of the adults were flushed with exertion from all the `fun'. Then I came upstairs to go the sanctuary for worship practice. I met the young girls coming out of Diane Baan's class. These girls never walk, they run and they giggle. You can tell they are so glad to be here. As I walked further I could see how in the board room there was a group of adults meeting together. Their heads were bowed. This is our prayer group which meets faithfully on Wednesday nights to pray for others. I always tell people that the church, at least our church here in Auburn, is like a loving family. We are not without flaws, but we love one another. We want the best for one another. We are willing to serve one another. We are willing to give, to listen, to help and to be there for one another. Just like loving parents, sometimes we see one of our own go astray and it hurts deeply. Just like the people who make up a loving family, we may need to ask for your forgiveness at times. There will be times when we need your patience as we seek to grow in our faith. The first time I spoke at Huron Chapel as their pastor I came down off the platform and into the centre aisle and I said to them, "You are going to find out over time that I will make mistakes. You are going to find out I am not without flaws. However, I trust you will also come to know I love you and want the best God can give you. I am here to work to this end." For me, Huron Chapel is not a building sitting there in Auburn. We are not trying to build a monument here called the Huron Chapel Church. Rather, we are seeking to leave a legacy of people. They are people, both young and old, who can come and discover the amazing grace and the wonderful love their God has for them. FROM AUBURN See histories and historic photographs on the Huron History section of our website www.northhuron.on.ca N etworNetwortLASSIREI ADVERTISE ACROSS ONTARIO OR ACROSS THE COUNTRY! For more information contact your local newspaper. 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