The parking lot at First Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan., was transformed into a construction zone May 4-9.

The sound of saws and hammering echoed throughout the neighborhood as wall panels (several 17 feet high) were assembled and set in place. Soon the skeleton of a house emerged.

Following a dedication service on May 11, the house was disassembled and the wall panels were loaded in a semi-truck and taken to Black Forest, Colo.

There in the week that followed, First Mennonite members unloaded and set the wall panels, set trusses, and sheeted the exterior walls and roof.

The building of this house became a powerful metaphor for the building of God’s kingdom of hope and love. The family who lost their home in the Black Forest fire in 2013 experienced transformation. First Mennonite and Casa Betania members who helped frame the house experienced transformation.

Additionally, the power of the Holy Spirit was present through the partnership in the Body of Christ as First Mennonite Church, Casa Betania, MDS Kansas, MDS Colorado, and Beth-El Mennonite Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., plus other local agencies built a home of hope.

First Mennonite is preparing to participate in the Partnership Home Program (build a new home from start to finish) through Mennonite Disaster Service in 2016.

This originally ran in WDC Seeds, a weekly communication for WDC churches announcing what’s new and good in Western District Conference.