The Things that Make for Peace - June 11
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38; PM Psalm 73; Ecclus. 45:6-16; 2 Cor. 12:11-21; Luke 19:41-48
Today’s Reflection
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. –Luke 19: 41-43
In our passage from Luke 19 today, we learn how Jesus “wept over” the city. We hear Jesus complaining how the people of God were hemmed in and how they could not recognize those “things that make for peace.” This passage reminds me of my experiences “Learning from London” three years ago, in a seminary travel course of that same name. The whole point of the experience was to learn from people in the Diocese of London who, like Jesus, had a heart for their city and, as a result, wanted to recognize and then interact with their parish neighborhoods in a way that would make for peace.
On home design shows, the designers and prospective home owners often talk about how they want to “open up the space” in the living area of the home being renovated. Watch just about any episode of Fixer Upper, for example, and you’ll hear Joanna and Chip Gaines working out plans for creating an “open concept” space in which the kitchen, dining, and living rooms all flow into one another. Often the rationale for doing this is not merely aesthetic but more so it is social: the parents want to be able to see from the kitchen what their children are doing in the living room, or the couple wants guests to be able to freely move amongst the spaces when invited over for dinner. In other words, the purpose for opening up the space is encouraging more opportunities for social interaction.
So, what would it mean for us, in the church, to think about renovating the way we think about “being church” and “doing church” such that we end up with a more open concept church, one that invites more opportunities for community interaction? Instead of writing off churches as outdated old buildings that no longer serve as “functional spaces” (to use another Fixer Upper-ism), I learned from the churches I spent time with in London how we can go about opening up church spaces so that they are more functional, more inviting, and more responsive to the needs of our respective communities.
Take for example St. James’ Piccadilly, a Christopher Wren-designed church located in an area of London where many people work but in which the residences are few. People do live there, but many of those who live there are homeless. In contrast, the people who work there are socioeconomically privileged. People use the narthex as a passageway from one street to another; rather than posting a sign discouraging people from cutting through the church property, the church is welcoming to those who pass through; bulletin boards feature colorful photos of church events and posters advertising upcoming ones.
Likewise, rather than trying to keep homeless people away from their church, several pews on one side of the historic worship space are set aside for these individuals to use as a place of rest. In rotation with other churches, other church space is offered for a night homeless shelter. The grounds are also very open concept, hosting the open-air Piccadilly Market (selling souvenirs and crafts) in the front church yard and a small Caffe Nero (similar to Starbucks) in the garden patio area, while a Counseling Caravan is parked in another corner of the garden. The historic, architecturally significant worship space, in addition to being the site for daily Morning Prayer and Sunday Eucharistic services, is used multiple times per month as a concert venue and lecture hall. Thirty-five years ago, this church was on the verge of closing. Today it is an extremely vibrant example of an open-concept church space: more inviting and more functional.
Other churches I visited may not be quite so multifaceted in their open concept, but are opening their spaces in ways that are equally appropriate to their respective contexts. For example, Holy Trinity in Sloane Square, a very posh district of London, hosts concerts and other cultural events often multiple times in the course of a week. They also see much foot traffic from curious tourists who just want to take a look around at their beautiful building, and have set up a tourist welcome table staffed by volunteers from the church.
Meanwhile, St. Peter’s in Bethnal Green, an increasingly gentrified neighborhood in East London, has found a community partner, SPEAR, that offers a job interviewing and training program for 18-25 year olds. St. Peter’s hosts the classes and the graduation programs in the church hall and classrooms; church staff have the chance to get to know the SPEAR students as they cross paths with them throughout the day.
The church’s back garden space, complete with wooden picnic tables and a multitude of roses, is opened for the wider community to visit for weekend garden pop-up cafes with free cakes, coffees, and teas. Inside, the pews of the church get moved around as need be to host everything from standard worship, meetings, and church events to World Cup viewing parties, repurposing the screen used to project readings and lyrics during Sunday worship for big-screen football viewing.
All of these are Fixer Upper-esque stories of churches who are opening up their existing spaces to be more connected to and responsive to their communities. We, too, at Saint Stephen’s are opening up our space and our hearts to encourage those things that make for peace, be it respite care and yoga classes at Saint John’s Chapel, or hosting recovery groups in our classrooms during the week, or helping make new spaces for community connection in Woodlawn and Avondale. How else might we imagine opening up the spaces of Saint Stephen’s and our own homes to promote peace in our community?
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
How else might we imagine opening up the spaces of Saint Stephen’s and our own homes to promote peace in our community?
Daily Challenge
Watch (or re-watch) our Sunday Forum conversations with Jason Fout who teaches the Learning from London travel course and with Adam Atkinson who is involved in mission and evangelism efforts in the Diocese of London.