USED TO BE & STILL IS
There it was, standing silently out of place and looking uncomfortable in its urban surroundings. Truth is, this building looked enough out of place to catch my eye as I drove by during our stay in Toronto. What made me really stop was the bronze historical plaque that was proudly displayed in front.
I don't know about you, but I love historical plaques. I love them enough to stop the car and turn around and investigate the story behind the structure. Before I'd even started reading, I knew that the building had to have either been a school or a church. It was a flagstone structure that still looked in pretty good condition from the outside. It didn't seem to have been empty for all that long, but there was still a sadness that filled my soul.
Perhaps it was because this was a building that had obviously been in its prime when this part of Toronto was rural Newtonbrook. Now, it was the only building on this residential street not cut out of a suburban cookie cutter. Toronto had swallowed up this community years before, but this lone building stands as a testimony to another community, another lifestyle, another time.
As it turned out, I was right on both accounts — the building had been a school first, then a church. In 1878, it served as the Newtonbrook Public School then in 1930, the building became the home for the Newtonbrook Gospel Mission. I couldn't help noticing the last line of text on the historical marker. "Many children received their first Christian teaching here." I tried to look past the overgrown grass and boarded up windows and see a thriving center for Christian life and teaching, but it was difficult. As I left the dirt parking lot, I said a prayer and felt a strange sadness that stayed with me for quite some time. I didn't know anyone who ever attended this church. A few minutes before stopping, I wasn't even aware that such a place as the Newtonbrook Gospel Mission existed! But, that didn't stop me from feeling a strange joy for it's existence and a sadness for it's extinction. Another light, another beacon of Good News had been swallowed up in the name of "progress".
Or had it? Is a closed church building always a sad thing? I don't think so. It could very well be that this particular congregation continues to worship somewhere else. But, even if that isn't the case, I don't believe you can kill a church that was, or is faithful to the messages and mission of the Gospel. Why? Because a changed life given to the Lord will continue to shine even if the place in which it first caught fire has long since gone. It may very well be that the Newtonbrook Gospel Mission continues to influence lives all over Toronto, Canada, and the world — even though the doors are locked and the windows boarded.
Look at it this way — a church is much like a star. We are told that many of the stars we see at night have actually died. All that we are seeing is the light they emitted long ago when they still had life. Well, some church buildings may now be closed, and some congregations disbanded, but their light, if they had any in the first place, continues to shine anyway! It shines in the hearts and lives of those who continue to walk in the light of our Lord.
It is good for us to look back to those brothers and sisters who have gone before us, just as it is good for us to look ahead to what might be. Why? Because in so doing, we see that the Church, the Kingdom, is more than you and me, and now. It is more than a collection of mortar and brick, more than even a community of people. The Church is a living, breathing life form that has and will continue to outlive our grandest failures and greatest dreams. The Church can never be closed or condemned because it's life, it's power, it's purpose is as never-ending as the love of our Heavenly Father!
Prayer
Lord, God, thank You for the testimony of those who have gone before us. Thank You also for the opportunities we have to testify today and tomorrow. Help us to always be aware of the fact that the Church is bigger than the four walls of our buildings, bigger than our lives, bigger than even the life of a community or civilization. Lord, Your Church cannot be destroyed and it's message cannot be silenced. Help us gain the strength and encouragement that we need from this unmovable truth. Amen!
