Friday 6 November 2009

Have you ever wondered why it is that we drop our voices to a whisper when we enter a majestic building? Its not just churches where it happens, either. I've seen it happen in concert halls, stately homes and libraries too. Maybe its something to do with the scale. We feel dwarfed by all that grandeur and we drop our voices accordingly. Of course in churches it is often out of respect. This is a holy place, after all. And not only that, but there might be somebody else tucked away out of sight who wants to pray or do something religious, and we don't want to disturb them.

The other day I visited a church which was definitely not on the grand scale. It was very homely, quite ordinary, and unlikely to win any prizes for architectural beauty or merit. At least it was 'lived in' though - with lots of good things going on every day for different sections of the local community. Young and old seemed to find plenty to do here. The posters on the boards and the football scuff marks on the walls showed that this was a busy place. It was the banner above the door which caught my eye, though. Right above the doorway as people left the building, on a string of tacked-together pieces of A4, this is what it said in jaunty coloured writing:

Warning: you are now entering a place of worship.

At first I wondered whether they had actually got it right, and meant to put it over the entrance door instead. But no - it was quite deliberate. It was the world outside the church which was described as a place of worship. If worship means honouring God, then surely its best to do it more outside the church than in? People spend at most a few hours inside the church each week, but they spend days in their places of work, or study, or with their friends and families. The real place of worship is in the real world. Any fool can worship in a church, but it takes more faith to worship in a stressful workplace, or a benefit office, surely?

When the church first began it picked an unusual word for 'worship'. It was the word used to describe people who served in public office at their own expense. A city official or a harbour master who had their own private means was said to 'serve' or 'worship', since their service cost them. If we all saw worship that way, perhaps there would have been no need for the notice. If worship is something costly which benfits God and others, then it can take place anywhere.