Pulled Into the Church Without Walls
Lisa Allgood, Executive Presbyter
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“Nothing has ever been said about God that hasn’t already been said better by the wind in the pine trees.” – Thomas Merton

Recently I had the privilege of teaching at a Synod School, Wellspring, in a beautiful place – New Harmony Indiana. Historically, it’s the setting for not one but two attempted Utopias, back in the early 1800s, but – like all Utopias associated with humans – they both failed.  The village still has many beautiful historic buildings, and there is a definite spirit of “memory” pervading the place.

But what pulled me – and many others – back, over and over again, was the spirit embedded in a hidden modernist masterpiece by famed architect Philip Johnson, completed in 1960.  Called the Roofless Church, it certainly says something about how we expect our churches to have roofs (and walls, for that matter). In fact, it does sort of have a roof, and amazing folded walls of a sort. But the church is more than the edifice: it’s a city block-sized open space only partly enclosed by brick walls, and includes the huge open empty field outside the brick walls that it overlooks. 

The statue in the middle of the structure is a bronze sculpture of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Virgin Mary who, in an inverted rose bud (the original symbol of the first New Harmony, and echoing the shadow cast by the folded structure), opens to give birth to the Lamb below. It’s one of three original casts of the sculpture by Jewish artist Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973). Those of you who are spiritual travelers may recognize it from its other two locations: the Catholic Church of d’Assy (France) or the Ecumenical Abbey of Iona (Scotland).

Deliberately playful in form and joyfully non-denominational in spirit, this open-air parabola of a cathedral invites all faiths to worship under the only roof big enough to fit them all – the sky – and houses the Holy Spirit continuing to work, through re-birth, the Light of the world. Roof-less, open, wall-less, embracing all faiths, this amazing space is in fact a representation of what the Utopias were trying to create: unity and harmony.  And isn’t that also what God has encouraged us to continue creating, in His name?

And isn’t that, in fact, what we’re learning whenever we step out of the walls of our own church and become the hands and feet of the Christ in the world – that the walls of our church building can falsely bind us, keeping us in many ways too inside ourselves and less out in the world loving all of God’s people, doing the work we were called to do, invoking one of my (many) favorite pieces of Scripture: Micah 6:8. 

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

All these are so much easier, so much more giving, when we do them “outside the walls”: outside the walls of our church, and outside the walls of our own fear and pride.

Rise up, my friends.  The injustices, the evil, the horrors we see today will not be addressed unless we get outside the walls.  

God of all people, help us to be brave, to be bold, to stand up for all that You wish for in Your children. Give us the strength to stand up for justice when we see injustice. Give us the wisdom to speak Your Truth into the winds of untruth. Make us the harmony-bearers, the justice-keepers, the ones who sow dignity and kindness and equality. Let us be the light-bearers, the one who cast compassion and kindness on those around us, even when it may not be deserved. And may we remember that You are our King, our Lord, and that we are simply the ones who walk humbly with You with humility and reverence, recognizing our limitations and weaknesses are shadows in the light of Your greatness. Above all, let us be the ones who show gratitude and love to You always, giving You the glory and honor for all that we are and all that we are yet becoming. Teach us to welcome, to bless, and to remember that we are most like You when we honor the divine image in every human soul. Amen.