Just a few thoughts about the church in the world. On a recent vacation, I went to a famous church in Scotland and had an interesting experience. After climbing the steps to the entrance of St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, I was met by a very kind host who said to me that they were “closed for worship.”
It was the first time that I had ever been met by that sort of greeting at a church, and it caught my attention. “We will open again at 1 p.m. this afternoon,” he said, “but if you would like to worship with us, then please come in, we are delighted you came.”
All of the churches that I have attended consider themselves open for worship, although the hidden truth is that it would be difficult if the whole world came. It is a challenge for every church to be the church in the world; to invite the world in out of loving concern for all its people, and to keep the world out with all its noise and distractions, so that it can be the gathering God has called it to be.
There is, of course, always a context. In St. Giles’ case, the building is somewhere in the range of 500-700 years old (The congregation itself is more than 900 years old.) and has beautiful gothic stone work and stained glass that has to be seen to be believed. Situated on the “Royal Mile” down the street from Edinburgh castle, it is in the middle of a historical district that is always crowded with people. Sightseers like to come in just to look at the inside of the building, which they are welcome to do any day, free of charge (donations are accepted), except on Sunday mornings when the building is closed to the sightseers and open for the worshippers, who are, of course, gladly welcomed.
While I was there, it was festival month in Edinburgh, and the world outside the church was filled up with people who came to town for every reason imaginable other than to see the inside of a historical church, or to actually worship. It was the church in the world, and the world in the church all at once.
And that is what every church is. Though the immediate context is different, the challenge is the same. There might not be crowds right outside the door with jugglers and magicians and storytellers and musicians, or with people coming just to see the artwork, but each congregation does give witness to its faith; in its generosity, in its prayers, in its ministries, in the times when the church closes out the world to be the church as church.
Most churches don’t have to deal with being the target of vacationers and sightseers looking for a sight to see; but some of the well-known cathedrals do, and they have to find a way to be a functioning congregation as well as a historical site, and discern how to bear witness to faith in Jesus Christ to people who only want to adore the architecture. All churches decide about how they present themselves and relate to the world around them.
At St. Giles, as a part of their witness, there is a brief worship service each day at noon, where scripture is read and prayer is offered. The people who are filing through to see the art and the history are invited to stay as long as they do so quietly, and they hear the prayers that are offered on their behalf and on the world’s behalf, as a way bearing witness to the faith that has kept the church in that place for 900 years. Just a few thoughts about the church in the world.
Dr. Mark Allison is pastor of the First Baptist Church in Delaware.
