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.

I still can’t help but read articles about “new” movements in evangelical Christianity.  This week: Church changes it’s name to be cool.  Goodbye First Baptist. Hello Mosaic.

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No, I’m not talking about Walt Disney.

The LA Times has this article about the new Billy Graham museum. The 40,000 square foot facility is a shrine to America’s most famous evangelist. Billy Graham packed stadiums with a simple message of salvation. The museum uses a talking cow to do the same trick. The $27-million
museum
also boasts
a splash of
Disney, and
that’s troubled some
of Graham’s admirers.The $27-million museum also boasts a splash of Disney, and that’s troubled some of Graham’s admirers.

While Graham gave his blessing once he was persuaded that the museum would serve as a “perpetual crusade,” many followers, including family members, are wondering if the facility should be a little less gimmicky.

The Times quotes Graham as saying, “I’m humbled that anyone would want to honor me in this way,” he said in an e-mail interview. He added that he’d instructed Franklin and other museum designers “to point people to Christ rather than to make it too much about me.”

This brings to mind the Holy Land theme park, “Where Jesus Walked” that made the news in 2005. I don’t know the status of the proposed development outside of Jerusalem, but I do remember wondering if there was a way to make Christianity any more commercial.

Despite Billy Graham’s blessing, I fear a talking cow isn’t the best way to spread the gospel. But then, I go to a church where the services haven’t changed in 1600 years.

Last Sunday, I introduced my daughter to the art of Frieda Kahlo and Enrique Grau. Mind you, she’s only eight months old, but I’ve now established she’s a big fan of mid-century Cuban art. We went from image to image, I would point out something of interest–at her age it’s more like a cat than example of cubism, but we’re starting young. She made her little noises and would reach for the paintings she particularly liked. She was engaged in the experience and thankfully wasn’t so loud that she interrupted the church service in the background. Read the rest of this entry »

“Of the 20 religions with the highest growth rates from 1990 to 2001, a pagan religion, Wiccan, had the highest growth rate, 1,575 percent. ” So reported this story on CBS Phoenix.

Click Here to read the story and watch a video from a ceremony.

Could the growth of this religion have to do with a search for the sacred not encountered in mini-mall religious services? I think so…

Mariners Church of Irvine (just down the street from my home) uses now has a “canine ministry.”

According to a LA Times article,  the dogs sit outside the church in order “to put people at ease and begin a process that could lead them to God.”

It may be true that animals can break down barriers, ostensibly making it easier for “secular man” to accept a sacred experience.  But honestly, doggy drool on the church steps seems more like a tactic to destroy the barrier between sacred and profane space than anything else.

There’s talk that the Pope may soon celebrate the traditional Latin Mass in St Peter’s Basilica. The suggested date is the first Sunday in Advent, December 2. If Pope Benedict XVI brings back the Tridentine Mass, many will wonder if other Vatican II reforms will be the next to undergo scrutiny.

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Most of my thoughts about living in between the sacred and the profane centers on the individual. Can one’s job require action that is against one’s beliefs? When should I share my love for modern art with my daughter? When choosing a political candidate to support, which are the most important criteria?

This essay in the New York Times offers insight into how that tension plays out when an individual encounters the sacred and profane vying for position within a nation.

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