The Church is the People!

So here is the church I mentioned a couple of days ago in my blog.  Zion Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota.  The top picture was taken in 2005.  My sister Karen, brother-in-law Roy and my mom visited this church.  It was one of the highlights of my mom's later years.  She had always wanted to get back to this church.  I think she felt a connection to all of her family there.  The picture on the bottom is the exact same church at pretty much the same angle, taken in 1880.  Amazing isn't it?  It looks very much the same.  Isn't that a great comfort to know that some things DON'T change? However, this church is no more.  It has closed and I can't find out any other information about it.  So while the building might be there, it is no longer the church that these pictures represent.  I am thankful that my mom got to visit when it was still Zion Lutheran Church.  I am so glad that I have pictures from my mom's visit.

 

This picture is my sister Karen and my mom inside of that church.  You can't see very much in this picture, but it is amazing.  I love that the ceiling looks like the sky and clouds.  I remember my mom saying (when she was showing me these very pictures) that it was if you could see right up to heaven.  I just love thinking about both Karen and mom celebrating right now in heaven with Jesus. I know that my mom sat in the pew of that church and envisioned her dad there as a young boy.  He was actually baptized and confirmed at that altar.  And she was also thinking about her mother, who sat in those pews when she was ill and near the end of her life. My mom said that she remembered her sister Bea talking about going to that church during that time.  And she was also thinking about the many funerals that she had attended there over the years.  As we looked at these pictures I remember asking my mom if she wanted to be buried in that "family" cemetery.  She was so practical that she said it simply did not make sense to her.  My dad had been buried at a small cemetery in the suburbs of Minneapolis and that was fine with her.  

As I was writing this blog, I found I was humming a song.  It suddenly dawned on me exactly what I was humming!  Here it is......

I am the Church, you are the Church, we are the Church together.

All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the Church together.

 

The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple,

 the church is not a resting place, the church is the people.

 

I am the Church, you are the Church, we are the Church together.

All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the Church together.

 

We're many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces,

all colors and all ages, too, from all times and places.

 

I am the Church, you are the Church, we are the Church together.

All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the Church together

 

Okay, Jesus, I get your point!  Even as I am writing about this BUILDING, I am reminded that the building is not the important part.  I remember very clearly when Gwen learned this song in Sunday School when she was in first grade.  She sang this song over and over.  Yes, the point is that the building is not the church.  So, in spite of buildings closing and being torn down, the church is not destroyed.  I certainly experienced this first hand, on my trip to Africa.  I met many, many, wonderful people.  They were filled with the Holy Spirit, loved Jesus, they were committed to sharing the Gospel message, many times without any real building to speak of.  It was a powerful picture of the body of Christ, being the church.  Unfortunately, in the United States, it is often not like this.  The buildings become the most important thing!  Sometimes ministries are judged by how big and wonderful their actual buildings are.  Perhaps its time for us to step back and reevaluate what it means to "be the Church!"  Jesus never had a building.  He focused his attention on the people.   Seems like it would be wise for us to remember this song, and turn our attention to those around us.  And to let go of our buildings. 

 

Jesus, thank you for changing the direction of this post to remind me of what is really important.  Holy Spirit, help me to focus on the people that surround me and to know how to reach out to them with your love.  Jesus, thank you for providing these trigger photo's to help me hear more clearly what you are speaking to me.  Holy Spirit, would you remind me to see with the eyes of Jesus as I look around me.  Thank you for knowing exactly what we need each day.  Amen