What’s in a building?
I got the call the day after Easter. It was our church’s real estate agent saying that we were the owners of a new church building. What a delight, and relief, after years of looking for the right spot for our church. The last time St. Timothy’s was transitioning to a new worship space was when they broke ground at the 700 Hobson St. property in 1949. 75 years later, the church is ready to move again. There is a sense of excitement and momentum as we look toward the next chapter in the life of the church.
When we talk about ‘a church,’ we usually imagine a physical building, maybe with a steeple, and a pitched roof, and possibly some stained glass.
But maybe you’ve heard the adage that “the church is a people, not a building.” This teaching is based on biblical passages such as Jesus’ words to the disciple Peter at Caesarea Philippi when the Lord said, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt16:18).
The word Jesus used for ‘church’ was a compound word meaning those ‘called out’ of the world. It is a Greek word that references a congregation, not an edifice. So it is helpful, even during exciting times of buying and furnishing new places of worship, to remember that the core reality of ‘the church’ is a people that have turned from following the world’s values of power and independence, and have instead turned to learn from and follow Jesus instead. This is the church.
Then, is a building unimportant? The church can exist without a building, and in many places it does. In China, the vast majority of the tens of millions of Christians in the country meet in homes and private residences rather than designated places of worship. In our partner diocese in Uganda, so many thousands of followers of
Jesus gather for worship each Sunday they have to knock out cinderblock walls, and have people stand outside to hear the word of God proclaimed. But the reality of ‘church as a people’ is like a spring bulb, planted in the ground, that eventually blossoms and produces physical artifacts that honor God. A place of worship is a sacramental expression of the reality that God is at work in his people. It is a physical symbol that demonstrates an invisible spiritual grace.
When God is at work in a people, going all the way back to Adam and Eve, those people begin to “cultivate and take care” (Gen 2:15) of the land God has given them. This is sometimes called ‘the cultural mandate.’ The God of the bible is creative, protective, and active, and likewise, when his character is being developed in a people, they start to reflect some of his creativity, and stewardship. This means the church becomes a people that produce attractive churches. As well as creating productive businesses, thoughtful art, preservation of the planet, and attractive music. The church building then, is designed as a place that should express a set apart space, beautiful to see, helpful in focusing a person’s thoughts on God, and conducive to the sharing of
God’s word, and his sacraments.
The people of the church are the main thing. But, by God’s grace, they become the type of people that beautify, and take good care of God’s creation, and so they establish attractive churches. This is my heart’s desire for St. Timothy’s new home at 162 Sneden St. in Bishop. On April 14th, at 10:30am when we have our first service there, it might look a bit like a construction zone. But the church will be there. And they will be doing the work of the church, beautifying the space, and preparing it to be a space set apart for God. I, for one, am delighted to be a part of the process.
Together in the Journey,
Father Cam Lemons
(Father Cam Lemons serves at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church. Service is at 9 a.m. on Sunday at 700 Hobson St. in Bishop. He also serves at Trinity Memorial Anglican Church in Lone Pine. The service there is at noon at 220 N. Lakeview Road. For more information, go to StTimothysBishop.com.)