There is a war going on in our minds at Mt. Carmel CME Church

Yes, we have had our struggles at the church — thieves stealing generators and equipment, batteries, saws and other tools from the contractors working on the church.

After this happened for about a year, we could not get anyone to work on the church.

Thieves also broke into the preschool three times and stole two window air conditions, a TV, a VCR, a DVD player, children’s movies, food and toys.

When we deal with suffering, worry, doubt, confusion, depression, anger or condemnation, we are experiencing an attack on our minds. I believe that everything has a divine order. We must remember that positive minds produce positive lives. Negative minds produce negative lives. Positive thoughts are always full of faith and hope. Negative thoughts are always full of fear and doubt. We must learn to overcome negative feelings in order to have peace.

Rosemary Jones has been an angel to our church because she has enlisted contractors and others in the community to render their free services to help remodel our church so we can better serve the community and expand our community projects. Dr. Meadows, Roy Jeffcoat, Atty. Todd Davison, Boulevard Baptist Church, Welcome Baptist Church, Central Presbyterian Church, St. John Baptist Church, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, Rock Hill Baptist Church, River Street Baptist Church, Grace Episcopal Church and many others have given donations and time to this project.

Some members at the church are complaining about the slowness of the remodeling process. Yes, I admit the process is slow, but the contractors and others are doing all they can to help us.

Times are hard and the economic situation is not good. Therefore, the contractors are working for us in between their paying jobs. At this time, Hill’s Electric is donating labor and the fixtures at no cost. They are saving the church a lot of money. It reminds me of how the Israelites in the Bible displayed much stubbornness and rebellion during their years in the wildness, especially against their leader, Moses. That is what caused them to die out in the wilderness. They would not do what God told them to do!

We at Mt. Carmel CME Church are having the same problem. Many people have stepped in to help us with the remodeling project, but some members are acting like the children of Israel. They have begun to complain against the very people who are trying to help them. I believe the more we complain the longer we will be out of the facility. We seem to be turning against each other instead of putting our faith and trust in the Lord and working together.

Mt. Carmel has to remember that it is not our church, it is God’s Church. As the pastor of the church, I am asking the churches in the area to please pray for us. Please stop asking when we are going to move back into the church — this is God’s Project. God has a set time for this project. But we enlist your prayers and your donations. Thank you!

Gloria Fleming is pastor of Mt. Carmel CME Church in Anderson.