What's left when a church closes
Some skills are God-given. Some are acquired through hard work. Through years of practice and hard work, I have learned to spot a garage sale sign at great distances. Driving through the city recently my eye caught a big one. Not only was it a going out of business sign, it was at a church. I drove to a big old church building that backed up to a high school in one of the older parts of the city. It was a mainline protestant church, and as I entered the old gym, the sights and smells were familiar. It looked and felt like almost every older church I have been in. Like my church, even. I wandered around the building some, and it had all the problems older buildings have. Dated decor, lots of stairs, and it was probably difficult to direct people in the maze of hallways. One table in the back had a picture of the congregation taken a few years back. The church shared little demographically with the high school you could see out the window. I talked to a few of the ladies work