I was having a conversation today on the soccer field with a fellow UCC'er about the state of the United Church in Western Manitoba. We lamented the shortage of ministry personnell we are experiencing, the growing challenges we are facing, the increasing numbers of vacancies, and the condition of the facilities we call home throughout our Presbytery ...She commented on the condition of the little rural country church she attends, and noted that it isn't the prettiest building around, it isn't the fanciest, nor is it the most modern, but the people who called it home more than made up for the shortcomings of the physical space they occupied for worship and fellowship.
She then went on to note that a Catholic friend of her's once came to church with her and observed that the building didn't give you a sense of the sacred when you worshipped in it. It just seemed too mundane and plain.
The woman I spoke with said, "I rolled my eyes and said 'oh please, if you're worshipping properly, your eyes are closed half the time in prayer, and the other half of the time you shouldn't even be thinking about the building ...' "
I could add only a hearty - "AMEN to that !!"
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