The other day I came across a fascinating article about a recent facility acquisition made by Audible, Inc., the Amazon subsidiary that provides audiobooks and other storytelling services on its well-designed app (of which I happen to be a frequent user). The company had purchased an old rundown building just down the street from its headquarters in Newark, NJ, believing it could be a center of innovation and development not only for the company’s products but also for their community. Your first thought is likely that what they purchased was a warehouse, a former storefront, or possibly an abandoned apartment building. What would you say if I told you what they purchased was a church? Yes, Audible, Inc. purchased what was formerly Newark’s Second Presbyterian Church. Having been constructed in 1933, the church at one time had as many as 10,000 members at its height in the middle of the 20th century. The church closed in 1995 due to declining membership and the space was used as a sc
"A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat As of this writing, the congregation that I serve has just experienced its 22nd week of no in-person gatherings for worship. We have however, worshiped virtually, and like with anything else you do with practice, we have continued to improve and diversify what we do and how we do it. Consequently, because of the virtual worship services (we have pre-recorded and posted them since Pentecost), I have now had my Sunday mornings free, and I have to say, I am starting to see why people may choose not to attend church on Sunday mornings! ( GASP ) For most Sunday mornings since I started my first paid-position in a congregation back in 2006, I have been obligated to be in a church building on Sunday mornings. There have been only a handful of absences due to vacation and any other misses were on account of doing something related to the church (mission trips, traveling to conferences, etc.). So over