$Church$

"This Church doesn't run without money.  Someone has to pay for the lights, the heat and the air-conditioning ya know." 

This came from our parish youth minister over the weekend.  My daughter looked at me and I looked back; we both shook our heads and put our hands over our faces.  Wow.  How can people be so misguided? 

Many years ago (many many many), when I lived in South America, my soon-to-be husband and I would, on Sunday mornings, take a bus out of the city of La Paz and ride for 45 minutes to church.  We passed a lot of big fancy Catholic churches on the way, mind you, but there was one Church that we loved.  We would get off at a crossroads and walk another mile or so on a dusty road.  We would pass children digging through the garbage for something to eat or sell.  We would pass the homeless who were not very particular of where they went to the bathroom.  The smells were gut-punching.  Everything was dirty and depressing.

And then we would turn the corner and walk across this small grassy field to a gray cinder-block building.  It was tiny...maybe 10 or 15 people could sit comfortably, and it was bare. Not much to look at but the Cross.  There was no air-conditioning.  There were no lights and absolutely no heat...we would sit and freeze most days because it didn't have any glass in the windows.  We would sing.  And praise God.  And afterwards everyone would sit outside on the ground and share whatever they brought with them for lunch.  And anyone was invited. 

It was Church.