A church made new
Take a careful look at the photo below. What, exactly, do you see? Obviously there are crisps and a drinks display cabinet, but what about the architecture? The chances are, it looks a little different to an average supermarket. A click on the picture below will reveal why.
CLICK for another view
When the former Methodist church opened as a supermarket in 2010, the tabloids were all over the story with headlines such as :
- Prophet exchanged for profit
- Some may say that shopping is the new religion
- Unholy conversion
Three years later, having read the stories at the time, I visited the shop whilst on a weekend away. I can’t deny that it was something of a shock to see the stained glass windows next to the cigarettes and the alcohol. To look in through the open main doors and see not pews but shelves brought me up short. Not only that, but the similarity of the building to my beloved Hertford Baptist Church, where I first started in ministry, made the impact even greater.That said, the work has been carried out in such a way that the building’s stonework, polished wood and stained glass are all allowed to shine.
So – is this sacrilege or sensitivity? Once the Methodist Church could no longer use the building, they had no control over the purpose to which it might be put by the new owners. Unlike other old churches, it has not been re-purposed as a night club, only open to some, nor a private residence open to none but its owners. Would God, I wonder, have been glorified by the needless demolition of a perfectly usable building? Maybe this is a moment when responsible earth-keeping must give way to religious sensibilities. I have grown to love many a church building – but perhaps it is possible to love them too much? Not only that, but when people see the view below whilst queuing to pay, maybe it gives them something to think about?
Would love to hear your comments on this…
