The Tablecloth

The Tablecloth

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry,
to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited
about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down
and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to
have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing
pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18 were ahead of
schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and
lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His
heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of
plaster about 20 feet by! 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary

just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up
the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the
Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local
business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in.
One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted
tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in

the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front
wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the
opposite direction was trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder,
hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could

hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem
area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was

like a sheet.. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to

see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were

the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before,

in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had

just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and

her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was

forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was

captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. The
pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it
for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least

he could do.. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in
Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost
full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they
would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the
neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor
wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the
tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife
had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could
there be two tablecloths so much alike. He told the pastor how the Nazis
came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to
follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.. He never saw his wife
or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride.
They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken

the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest

Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

Who says God does not work in mysterious ways.. hope springs eternal.

that's a touching story brotherbear. thank you for sharing it.

Very touching..Warms the cackles of ones heart..

Thank you so much for sharing it with us BB

Cheers
Roo

You aren't the brotherbear ..I know .. There are 2 brotherbears in the woods ..

Loved the story..thanks for sharing it

Nice story, but moved to the correct forum.

regards

admin

Lovely heartwarming story... thanks so much for sharing --