Corporate Facilities, Inc.

Weird, weird, weird is all I have to say (okay, I really have more to say). I was walking through downtown Philly a week ago Tuesday morning when I went by this church. Or at least it used to house a church. But now...it is the home of "Corporate Facilities, Inc." I thought of that some more as I passed other church buildings clearly closed and locked up throughout the busiest parts of the week. I'm sure the only time you can walk in the doors of most of these places is on Sunday morning (when there is a lot less activity than usual).

I was in Philadelphia to meet with a group of congregations brought together by a group called Partners for Sacred Places. This group works with congregations mostly in urban communities (but not exclusively) like those ones I find myself walking past. Having been around this work for 20 years I have seen congregations in every city I have served (Evansville, Indianapolis, and South Bend) downsize and close.

It makes me appreciate the steadfastness of the congregations that remain. There is a stubborness; a holy stubborness to our presence in urban communities. That congregations remain in these places is truly a miracle. And in many cases not only remain but flourish. In each of the congregations I have been privileged to join in ministry -- there has been a real unique sharing of themselves in their local communities. There is something a whole lot more than social work going on if a place is going to hang on and hang around. There is a sense of life and vitality. There is a seeing with different eyes the life of the community around us.

I put this photo at the top of this in the hopes that it may be a talisman against other such places popping up. But is also makes me think about a discussion I had at Annual Conference with the fellow who is taking on the responsibility for New Church Starts and Redevelopment. When I asked him about urban church redevelopment he looked like a deer caught in the headlights...and immediately started trying to stumble around to find something intelligent to say. I had some sympathy with that. But I would have just been as happy to hear him say, "I don't know...what do you think?" What I did say to him is that perhaps we didn't need to think about more church buildings -- but that it was certainly sad to me that most of our neighborhoods in this city no longer have a United Methodist presence. Sad...not for the sake of numbers, but because I believe that we have something unique to offer. I asked him to think creatively about the options before him. I hope (and I should write and suggest this) that he should pop around the country and look in on some of the more creative things happening -- NOT so that we might imitate them (Lord, save us from that), but so that we might be inspired to see our own communities and congregations new in all their possibility.