"The Prodigal Plaque"
Finally Back HomeDo yourself a favor and read this short account written by Kathy (Paynter) Nofal. It will really bless you.
Those of you who ever attended Grove Community Church in Miami will remember the beautiful pulpit and communion table. What you may not know is that my Dad, Herb Paynter, built each of them as the church was beginning in 1959. Dad's best friend, Bill Weber, painstakingly crafted and produced the Eph. 2:8,9 insert to the front of communion table.
Bill got the idea for the look from a sign he saw years before in Philadelphia. It had weathered in a way that left the lettering standing out from the background. He used three layers of electrical tape to cover a piece of oak wood and then laid out the lettering with care to get all the spacing right.
Then, he actually used an exacto knife to cut out each letter (this took several days) and peeled away all the tape except where the letters were. Herb then took it to a sand blasting company where the wood was "blown away" from the background, leaving the letters at normal height. It turned out beautifully. The sand blasted plaque was then built into the front of the communion table for all of us to see.
Both the Pulpit and the communion table were well used over the years and when the church moved to the Hollywood campus in the early 70's, we lost track of both pieces. From time to time over the years we would inquire from various people whether they knew where either piece was but no one we talked to knew anything about them. Some told us they thought they had been destroyed.
About a year ago, I was talking with Fred Allen, who was attending Florida Bible Church, the church that "inherited" a lot of Grove's things. He told me he not only knew what I was talking about but had actually removed the Eph. 2:8,9 plaque from the communion table, refinished it and for a while it hung in the church office.
Now the search began in earnest! Fred thought a member of his church might have it but after several unsuccessful attempts to reach him, I was afraid we'd struck out again.
Almost a year later, while emailing my (almost) cousin, Gladys Williams, I mentioned this to her. Gladys' husband, Cliff, knows all about the physical buildings of Florida Bible Church. She said she thought Kathy Cunningham had it or maybe it was in the old Florida Bible College Hollywood campus. I was sure Kathy didn't have it since we'd been in touch regularly but, come to think of it, I'd never mentioned it to her.
Believe it or not, the next week Dad and Bill Weber and Bill's wife, Alice, were here, on their way to the mountains together. They were able to give me an exact description that I then passed along to Gladys. The very next day, Kathy wrote me that she had the plaque hanging in her hallway. She had gotten it from the very man I had tried to contact and when she was told it was from Old Grove, she kept it!
Three days later it was on our doorstep, just in time for Dad's and the Weber's return from the mountains. You can't possibly imagine the look of wonder and joy on their faces as they discovered what was in the parcel.I can tell you there were tears of joy in that room. Dad will keep the plaque in his apartment here for six months and then Bill and Alice will take it for the next six months. They're going to share it! The picture says it all!
We plan to have it for you see see up close at Reunion 2002. In fact, were gonna put it on the front of the communion table when we have the Lords Supper together.
And yes, Herb does plan on leading the singing again for us at Reunion 2002.
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