We do not hear Ina Mae Duley Ogdon's hymn much these days. That sort of hymn has gone out of fashion. She wrote the words with Matthew 5:14-16 in mind and collaborated with her friend, Charles Gabriel, who wrote the music. The style is much like many hymns generated circa 1900. Many of the hymns of that period remain my favorites. Ina died in 1964 in Toledo, Ohio, but the song lives on. I have read that her words were intended to encourage us to serve the Lord in many different ways, to make the best of where we find ourselves. As I said, she was not writing about the Property Team, but she could have been.
Among the Property Team's ongoing goals are the various activities to literally brighten the corner where we are. The Thursday Group regularly tidies up things around the building, cleans glass doors and windows, keeps the kitchen under control ... that sort of thing. Recently we have undertaken a painting project in the Sanctuary to brighten the walls that have not been painted in a long time. As of this report, we have finished approximately half of the plaster walls and plan to complete the balance of the painting over the next few weeks. We are hopeful that some additional painting can be done in other areas of the building before the season changes and calls us to work outside again.
David Mercer, Property Team Lead