Ellen Thress- From New York's Tallest Buildings

Ellen Thress- Northern Region

I want to tell you about my recent 
Saturday evening dinner guests. 

My story includes a wedding gift
 I received from a cousin almost 57 years ago. 
 It was a framed table prayer that reads:

O THOU WHO CLOTHEST THE LILIES

AND FEEDEST THE BIRDS OF THE SKY

WHO LEADEST THE LAMBS TO THE PASTURE

AND THE HART TO THE WATERSIDE

WHO HAST MULTIPLIED LOAVES AND FISHES

AND CONVERTED WATER INTO WINE

DO THOU COME TO OUR TABLE

AS GUEST AND GIVER TO DINE

The plaque has hung on my dining room wall 

in the 10 different places I've lived.  

I invited some neighbors
 in my apartment building for dinner.  
Three were Iranian graduate students 
from the University of Delaware and my other guest 
was an 87 year old neighbor who grew up attending
 a Lutheran church in NYC, 
married a man from Algeria 
and raised her family in Algeria.
  Even before moving from NYC, 
she had given up on religion.  

I want to digress a bit here to tell you about
 my childhood dream and my prayer
 before moving to my latest home- in Delaware. 
 As a child, I loved the hymn
 “From Greenland's Icy Mountains”
 and pictured myself going off 
to a far away land to share my faith. 
 It never happened.
 Then, several years ago at a Pastor's conference,
 we sang that hymn.
  The District President said he didn't like the hymn
 and explained why. 
 He told us that, "God is sending the people 

from other parts of the world to us, 

and the mission field is- right here." 

I went home 
and rewrote the words to that hymn. 

Here are the new words.    

New words for the hymn 
“From Greenland's Icy Mountains”

Ellen Thress 1999

Hymn of Kingdom Building     

“From New York’s Tallest Buildings”

From New York’s tallest buildings,  From Vegas’ golden strand,

From sea coasts where they gather  To lie on golden sand;  

From Mississippi Valley,  From mid-west amber plain,

They call us to deliver  Their land from error’s chain.

What though God’s awesome wonders   Produced a canyon grand;

What though the fields are blooming  And beauty’s in the land;

Though God gives of His mercy   To rich and to the poor, 

The children grow up quickly  And learn of God no more.

Can we whose souls are lighted  With wisdom from on high,

Can we to those be-nighted  The lamp of life deny?

Salvation! Oh, Salvation!  The joyful sound proclaim

Till each soul in our nation  Has learned Messiah’s name.

Waft, waft, ye winds, His story,  And you, ye waters, roll,

Till like a sea of glory  It spreads from soul to soul;

Till o’er our ransomed nature  The Lamb for sinners slain,

Redeemer, King, Creator,  In bliss returns to reign.

I am an 82 year old widow of a pastor. 

Before moving to the apartment
 here in Newark, Delaware,

 I prayed that God would give me a new adventure. 

I think He has done that in a BIG, BIG WAY.

  I'm overwhelmed by the wonderful people

 He has put into my life.  
The lady from Algeria has been attending
 a Bible study group here in our building-

 that another resident recently started. 

I met two of the men from Iran 
when they attended a Book Club meeting
 that I started in my apartment.
   When I invited them to dinner,
 they asked if they could include the third. 

God sent me a “mission field”

 that more than answers my prayer

 for another adventure.

Now back to the wall hanging.  

After dinner, one of the men took our picture together. 
 Then another one of the men asked
 if he could take a picture

 of the table prayer wall hanging.

I don't know what that means yet. 

In other conversations about their country 

they said that they did not actually practice 

the Muslim faith, but it was more their culture.  

The same applies to Olive's family.  

She did not practice a religion while in Algeria,

 also a Muslim country, 

but always celebrated Christmas.

I ask for your prayers for my new friends.

 and for this exciting adventure
 God has given me.

We give thanks for this story shared by Ellen Thress- 
serving as a deployed neighborhood missionary.
And for the beautiful words of a hymn 
that we need to be singing in our churches.
The Lord is Good.