We’re posting a virtual tour of our church online. In English, that means we’re shooting a bunch of pictures around this magnificent campus and putting them on our Website, at www.mpumc.org. It’ll be there about the time you read this. You’ll be able to get to it from the home page.

I hope the photos touch the hearts of long-time members as well as newcomers. But what I’m hoping most is that they strike a chord with folks “visiting” Myers Park United Methodist Church via their computer. Perhaps someone is experiencing this church for the first time, alone, maybe in a city far away, staring into a screen in the darkness of a troubled night, searching.

This explains why the church camera and I have been spending so much time together lately. It also explains the epiphany.

The idea here was to let folks see our facilities, so I started taking pictures of the empty Sanctuary, the stonework outside, Jubilee Hall between events. Then it hit me. As lovely as this place is, it’s not really who we are. We are God’s house, filled with people working every day to be His hands and His feet in a troubled world. To tell the real truth, these photos need people praying, singing, studying, volunteering, eating, exercising, talking, laughing – bringing the bricks and mortar to life.

So, without disturbing faith at work, I started taking shots of people in worship. A Disciple Bible Study class. Folks enjoying fellowship at H.O.T. Wednesday in Jubilee Hall. Children at The Children’s Circle. Teens in the Youth Building, getting ready to mentor South Tryon children through CHAMP. Shoppers in Goodness Gracious!, where all sales support outreach. Guys shooting hoops in the gym. Church In The Round Singers rehearsing in Francis Chapel . I did get into hot water on that one with pastor Ellen Robison, who was trying to run a rehearsal while I chatted with a few of her friendly singers.

That last shot – singers talking to me instead of rehearsing – offers the most accurate picture of who we are and what we do. We sing God’s praises while offering a loving word.

To everyone who finds us online, especially the lonely and the hurting, may this virtual tour lead to peace.