Space Matters

Space
matters.

Place
matters.

Presence matters.

Mindfulness matters.

St. Elizabeth’s reminds me of these things.

St. E’s is a beautiful, 100-year-old, formerly Catholic church in West Norwood. Her eight large stained glass windows, two rose windows, and two stained glass domes combine to let in a subtle natural light. Her disrepair—the water damage, the places where plaster has come off the walls exposing the brick underneath—only adds to her grandeur. Visitors are always moved by her beauty and brokenness and (perhaps) feel the presence of God when they enter.

I know I am reminded to be mindful when I enter St E’s. I become more aware of the presence, or at least the potential presence, of God. I slow down, try to remember, try to feel my bones, try to feel myself in my skin, try to be aware of my footsteps.

Try to listen. Listening is so critical, and I do it so badly.

I know the danger: By locating God in a particular place, one can start to worship the place instead of God. It is what we humans do. God is immense, huge, unfathomable, ineffable, utterly unexplainable. So we shrink God to fit ourselves, rather than expand ourselves, as best we can, to reach out to God.

In addition to feeling called by St. E’s, I am also attracted to the Vineyard Central community. Vineyard Central is not a congregation, but a collection of house churches. The community has many artists and musicians, and I am sure that is part of the attraction. I connect to those people. I hope that being part of the community will help me bring forth whatever gifts I have for art, music, and writing.

The age of the members of the community may be an issue as well. They are, for the most part, about half my age. I like that. I guess it is their sense of openness, of being still incomplete, that attracts me. I am not yet complete myself. I am still writing my story.

As yet Elaine and I have not found our place in the Vineyard Central community of house churches. We tried a couple but did not seem to find a fit. We stopped exploring house church options. We thought about leading our own, but chose not to. The season seemed wrong.

Our search continues, however. We continue to seek, to grow into who we are, what we stand for, and what we will stand against.

That is why, for me, mindfulness matters; presence matters; place matters; space matters.

Welcome to God’s Space

Last Monday night, after our first regularly scheduled meeting of the St. Elizabeth’s Community Restoration Team, when I came out of the building, I noticed three of the neighborhood kids sitting on the steps of St. Elizabeth’s, and I thought:

Cool.

I have never seen the kids at Sunday services, and I doubt they belong to any of the house churches, but it was great to see them around St. E’s.

Elaine contends that God is using St. E’s to draw people to Him. I think she’s right.

So, however you get here, and whoever you are, welcome. God accepts you.

We should, too.