There is a gorgeous field beside my house where the deer roam at night. They move down from the woods on top of the hill and come down to the salt lick I put out for them. Since I moved to my home five years ago, I love to spend my evenings out waiting for them.
They have even taken to coming out during the day often running down the hill for a drink of water. It is a wonderful peaceful existence.
On a warm summer night, you can watch the fireflies as they tickle the air, and the scent of honeysuckle envelopes you. I often watch the clouds as I lay in the grass until the clouds become stars and I feel my Maker close.
All of that is threatened to be destroyed. This pristine land, which was once part of a family farm, has been bought for the purpose of building yet ANOTHER church.
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| EVERY dot is a church |
It makes me furious. As one who experiences God through Nature, I feel like a church is being built on top of mine. Instead of deer walking up and down the field, there will be cars. Where the beauty of God was, there will be the ugliness of man.
And when that happens, I will mourn.
I agree completely. Speaking as a Christian, and prospective clergy at that, it seems to me that we are too quick to forget that unity does not mandate uniformity, and that by virtue of baptism, we are one with Christ, Therefore, it behooves us to stick together in our existing communities, living out our theology, and bearing a powerful witness to the rest of the world that when the going gets tough (as it inevitably will when two or three are gathered for ANY purpose!) the tough don't get going out the door. Church growth has to do with the hearts of those already there, not increasing the numbers within existing congregations or increasing the number of congregations. There IS a profound sacredness to be found in the natural world, and it seems to me that we would do well to remember that before barging ahead with yet another building.
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