Good Friday forenoon was a time for rest. I picked up My Joy at about two in the afternoon and we followed the Stations of the Cross in Greencroft’s Community Center. This was a new experience for me. We walked among eleven tables with excerpts from the gospels, classic paintings, and symbols that told the story of a particular event on the way to the cross. The tables were widely spaced so we could meditate alone.
Anniversary Marker
After the stations, My Joy and I explored some mysteries. Earlier we had spied some grave stones to the north of College Mennonite Church. After parking near the Gerig Surgical Associates offices we walked to a stone that said “Centennial Tree Planting – These flowering trees and shrubs were planted by Goshen College and the City of Goshen on September 10, 1994 to commemorate one hundred years of cooperation.” That’s an anniversary worth celebrating with blooms this spring that I will watch.
Near the Anniversary marker was another stone that identified the small cemetery. A placard told why it was named Dierdorff Cemetery. Click here for a link to the story that leads through the cemetery to Peter Decker, pastor, and Anthony Dierdorff, assistant pastor, of the first Brethren Congregation to come to America. (This is a family story that is not verified by historical research.)
original seminary chapel
Our inquisitiveness took us to the Mennonite Church Archives and the Newcomer Center. Between them is a structure that looks like a church. It had been the chapel for the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Now, I am told that it is difficult to find a good use for it. A middle-aged man told me that he went to some classes and occasional student dances in the old chapel. My Joy and I think it could be a “Friendship Chapel” if CMC decided to celebrate informal friendships such as ours.
Some modest spring flowers made their appearance next to the chapel foundation and warmed our hearts.
Inquisitiveness took us to a small Mexican restaurant in a small strip mall across the highway from the Everence headquarters. My Joy and I were the only customers so we got special attention from the owner and his 16 year old daughter who was our waitress.
