The good folks at Get Religion alerted me to this story about old church buildings being converted into condos.

A great quote from the developer:

“I wanted to retain the spiritual integrity of the building,” she said. “I didn’t want people to come in and say, ‘What did it used to be?’ If it looked just like any other building down the block, what would be the point?

“I like to think of it still as a sacred place, with 100 years of sacred practice. You don’t disregard that.”

Should a church become a condo?  Be torn down?  Be renovated at tremendous cost?

For a very short period, Jake and I looked at buying an empty church in Ireland to turn into a home/retreat center.  It was in the middle of nowhere but made me feel like a Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.  Things never worked out and I’m glad we live here in Orange County, but it’s a beautiful place to remember.