Change

At the end of a day of meetings in Boston yesterday I walked by St. Paul's Cathedral on Tremont seat.  When I'd last been inside the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, the sanctuary was filled with box pews, evoking an 18th Century New England church.  But that changed back in 2015.  I knew the Diocese had run a campaign to revitalize the cathedral but didn't know what they'd actually done.
One addition to the church was a small chapel honoring the now-defunct St. John's on Bowdoin Street; I have rich memories of serving dinner to homeless neighbors on Beacon Hill at that church.  The new worship space was simple, but inviting, and strikes me as a great addition.  But what was most notable about the sanctuary wasn't so much the addition but the subtraction.  The pews were gone.  Every last one of them.  Instead, in the middle of the room were stacked chairs on carts, waiting to be set out for the next service or program.  A flexible worship space had been created.  And something new could be seen, too: a labyrinth on the floor.

Like many people, I like my spaces to remain familiar.  But even more so is that they remain vital.  What is true of buildings, I believe, is also true of our faith.  Sometimes, change is necessary.  Advent is a time to reflect on this.  After all, the birth of the baby Jesus was a big change, wasn't it?

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