October 29, 2006

 

The Unfinished Church

 

   For 400 years, people have worshipped in St. Peter’s Church, the oldest continually-used Protestant place of worship anywhere in the New World.  The stone structure in St. George’s, Bermuda, replaced a wooden one that was built in 1612 and destroyed by a hurricane a hundred years later.  Some original timbers were used in the rebuilding.

 

    Outside, the graves of slaves are separated by a wall from those of whites. Segregation was very real in life, too.  When blacks attended services, they had to sit in a raised gallery, out of sight.  But one of the most poignant features in the church is the baptismal registry from 1834.  After the date of August 1st, a line is drawn through the page.  Slavery in Bermuda was abolished that day.  Babies arriving afterwards were born free.   

 

   Just up the road is what locals call The Unfinished Church, begun in 1874 to replace St. Peter’s.  Designed to seat 650, the building was never completed because a split prompted some in the congregation to build another church nearby.  Undeterred, Anglican authorities earmarked money for the completion of The Unfinished Church, but those funds were diverted in 1884 to rebuild a magnificent cathedral that burned down in the city of Hamilton.

 

   Even so, the beleaguered project was almost completed a decade later, and a new roof was added in 1899.  But — after all that — the congregation decided to abandon the project and renovate the old St.Peter’s instead!  From then on, the building suffered from neglect, storms and erosion.  A hurricane in 1926 heavily damaged the west end of the church, then a row of internal support pillars toppled. Today, the property remains in ruins.  

 

   It seems to me this entire story is a metaphor for the church today.  Try as we might to hold onto the original church, the simple passage of time, different cultures and the devastating hurricane of human imperfection have flattened the first century church.  Thanks to the continuing work of the Holy Spirit and the preservation of his Word, we can still incorporate the original planks into our twenty-first century facsimile but much of the church’s current tone and character would be barely recognisable to the earliest Christians.  And that’s okay.

 

   The truth is, the original church was never perfect in its practise of the faith.  Like today, it was riven by racism, pride, greed and self-centredness.  Judging from how the gospel writers emphasise the essential teaching of grace, the first Christians had real trouble grasping it   But on resurrection day, a line was drawn down the page of human history.  Spiritual slavery was abolished that day and all of us born after it were born into freedom, if we  accept it.  In worship, work and the wait for final redemption, God will tolerate no wall of division.

 

   And yet, the church still fails to complete its mission to minister to the poor, the spiritually lame and legions of the unloved because it’s constantly hindered by division and inexcusable neglect.  In many ways, the Body of Christ is The Unfinished Church, hobbled by doctrinal discord that insists we define ourselves by what we stand against, not Who we stand with.  Rather than complete our work, valuable time, money and spiritual resources are diverted to repairing fierce, fiery devastation that results from division.  

 

   Rather than use God’s power to make the modern church a safe, relevant and loving place for all believers, the timid often retreat to an embrace of tradition.  When that kind of restoration comes at the expense of true inner renewal and cultural relevance, it topples the supporting pillars upon which the church is built:  each Christian’s confession that Jesus is Lord.

 

   God has called us to a life of love and service and it’s time to finish the job.  Either the church will be complete, or it will be finished.

 

By Rick Gamble.  Published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To subscribe to this free weekly article, send a note to Rick at sgamble@bfree.on.ca