The congregation I serve has a tremendous physical plant. It isn’t just that the Sanctuary is a work of art; the over 26,000 square feet of space is a great gift that we use in many ways. Our practice during my tenure has been to offer non-profit organizations that have missions similar to ours use of our space for whatever they can afford. We don’t charge rent – we ask people and groups to only contribute what they can afford. Too many churches are price-gouging other churches to the point that there’s no money left over for ministry. We share the building; we aren’t landlords. The one thing I say no to, though, is using our sanctuary for outside weddings. We aren’t a Las Vegas chapel – we are a living, breathing, active congregation.
Last week, though, I got a call from a young couple searching for a place to get married. They are both active in their congregations, but their buildings are newer and pretty plain. This trend is a legacy of the 1990’s “let’s not be too churchy so we don’t scare people off” movement, and it produced a lot of esthetically boring worship spaces. After some conversation, I agreed to meet them to talk about it. One provision was that I would lead the service with their pastor because it matters what happens in our space. I also asked them to speak with him about working with me; his congregation is very conservative, and he might not agree with our openness. They said he wouldn’t have a problem. Great. So, we met.
The first thing the bride asked was if we could cover the priceless carving of the Last Supper that is at the center of our altar. I admit that I was surprised by that, so I asked why. “It’s just so busy”, she said. Huh. “Well,” I replied, “we can’t do that. The altar is who we are.” The next question was, “Could you take the rainbow banner down that’s on the front of the church.” Ummm… “I don’t have a problem with it” she said, “I’m just thinking about pictures.” “No – that banner is part of who we are as a church as well.” She was obviously disappointed but seemed okay with it. We said our goodbyes and that was that. Until this morning at 6:10am when the groom texted me to say they had decided to have their service elsewhere. I don’t care that they moved the service, but texting at 6:10am? Rude.
I could say that no good deed goes unpunished, but honestly, this experience reminded me that the church should be used for the glory of God and the care of the community. Turning it into a rental facility might help the bottom line – although we weren’t charging this couple anything – but it also turns us into landlords and employees. This woman is obviously used to getting what she wants, which is good work if you can get it. I just don’t think the church is at its best when we secularize ourselves. We will still let families use our gathering spaces for birthday parties and other celebrations, and we will still welcome organizations in to hold meetings and use our space. But using us as a pretty backdrop? No thanks.
Prayer – God, we are so grateful to You and those who came before us for our amazing church buildings. We will use them for Your work every day. Amen.
This is the carving at the front of our altar. It was carved the legendary artist, Alois Lang from Oberammergau, Germany. As far as we know, it is one of two this size in existence.