"The Joy of Jordan"
Danny Hillis, who pioneered the conceptual design behind high-speed super computers, now recommends what he calls “a new aesthetic of slowness.” To illustrate what that might look like he told a story about how in the last decade Oxford University replaced the gigantic oak beams in the ceiling of one of its dining halls. When the beams began to show signs of rotting, university officials were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to find lumber large and strong enough to replace them. But the university’s forester explained to them that, when the dining hall was built 500 years ago, their predecessors had planted a grove of oak trees so that the university could replace the beams when the time came.
In many ways, we at Jordan Church have been benefited from the foresight of previous generations. In 2002, we celebrated our 250th Anniversary of ministry at our current location in South Whitehall Township (Allentown, Pennsylvania). We were blessed by that “great cloud of witnesses,” as Hebrews calls them, who have gone one before us and endowed us with 38 acres of land. Our shaded grove and its pavilion, our two stately homes, our well-maintained cemetery, our beautiful wedding gazebo, our lovely outdoor chapel, our ample paved parking lot, our education wing and social hall and our newly renovated church building, are part of the legacy of generosity and devotion we have been entrusted in our time. Jordan is a living tribute to those who have loved the Lord over the years, and have sought to worship God and follow Christ.
Dr. David Charles Smith, Pastor and Teacher |
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