God's House

God’s House

 

 

some things from the past

live in memory forever,

like classic Chevrolets

and old churches.

 

i came upon an old church

while living in California

its windows were boarded up

fissures could be seen in the walls

and its foundation

wildflowers and leaves

littered the path to the concrete steps

 

but it was the steeple

that gave affirmation

to the antiquity that stood  before me,

that this was once God’s house

 

where every Sunday

a congregation would meet

with rosaries in hand

where a pipe organ could be heard

playing hymns of salvation,

giving praise to the Lord.

 

there i stood with my Starbuck’s in hand

on the very ground it was built, in 1897

now in severe decay awaiting demolition,

it was a pale configuration

of what used to be.

 

where a congregation would meet

every Sunday

“…in the name of the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit…”

 

where a steeple on high

gave firm affirmation

that this was God’s house.

 

 

Reviews

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

this is a moving elegy for a building. this place that once was so important to people's lives, now in ruins. it really makes us wonder where these people went. a community once thrived here, but now it is vacant. and what role did faith play in the people here? surely, it was something they could not live without for why else would a church be built? the persona meanwhile is merely passing by. a voyager who realises this is not a pit stop, it is or was a home for many people. this realisation comes as he enters God's house.
it is a thought-provoking piece with many unanswerable questions.

[Red Brick Keshner]

There are far more around the globe is such state of disrepair. Makes one wonder if it is a reflective symbol of what the current condition of people is like... much food for thought. Thanks for sharing.

[Kelly Scheppers]

So very much appreciate your visit, Red. Thank you!

[Marie]

A very poignant write. Old churches now a sign of the times since people realised that they have a direct line to God and don't need an inbetween to be in touch with him. Education has played a vital role, as ordinary people are now educated and don't need another to show them the way, they can get there themselves. They also realise that religion was created by man to control other human beings through fear (fear of the fires of hell, which never existed, etc), so it has all backfired on the churches once over crowded, now deserted. Nice to have seen the old church, beautifully depicted. I did enjoy reading very much and thank you for sharing, Kelly. Lovely work!

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you, Marie. I consider myself quite lucky to have preserved a part of religion that is no more. Your presence means much to me for acknowledging that!

[Marie]

Most welcome always, Kelly. Angel blessings your way...

[Robert Trakofler]

Pittsburgh has more bars per capita than any other city on the US and at one point we had the most churches per capita too but the last 20 years has seen a huge reduction of the amount of churches so many have been torn down or repurposed into condos or bed and breakfasts some into brewpubs and restaurants and despite this renaissance there are still so many abandoned churches littered all over the city and stop and think about the same things as you did all of the people that once congregated there the births weddings and deaths of some many parishioners all of the communions and hail Marys spoken and those mass intentions are they still floating about the stale musty air inside of them?

[Kelly Scheppers]

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? When did we become a nation that no longer needed churches?
Thank you, Robert. ( No more "Bad Bunny"? }

[Dave Brown]

And old Fords.........!!!!

[Kelly Scheppers]

Absolutely, Dave! Thank you so much!

[red93]

Love this one Kelly, poignant and reflective, and it is true that many have gone away from God. And look at the World they have created instead. The Lord sees all, and bides His time.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Tony!! Much obliged, my friend. Hope the new year is treating you kind!

[red93]

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Miss Sharon]

So beautifully written. Brought a little tear of knowing to my heart. ~Sharon

[Kelly Scheppers]

It was indeed a sight to behold. Thank you, Sharon!

[emmajoygreen]

In time past it could take men years to build a church.. even more to build a cathedral. It became a drama day after day, deaths caused by falling from both in- and exteriors, skin scarred by the use of certain plasters etcetera, thousands of men worked their entire lives on such intricately created buildings.. The towers and steeples held their place over the lives of decades of families. There for many were when both fear and pleasure was taught from pulpit or/and where communities were clans who interacted for a lifetime.

Now we have bingo halls, dance halls or billiard rooms - some including a bar or two. Now we have less God and more gargling and gyrating. Times they are a'changing. How well if not unhappily you have described how the church has near enough become a bystander . steeples and towers nowhere near the height of high-rise money making industry or a five bathroom suite for one person to own because he or she can. The many windowed office blocks shimmer in the sunlight but create gloom in the storm. The houses of God were once the place where humans sheltered from the storm. Your words have raked words from my memory... when a teen wrote a poem, now dead and gone about a local church where the brownies and guides met every week, where music and small dramas were enacted, where girls and boys secretly looked at each other.. and a few actually stayed looking for a lifetime. Forgive my blather please, but a nudge is all one needs from a fine writer like you and your thoughtful sincerity ..

[Kelly Scheppers]

Dear Emma, your review gave great insight to my earnest words. Thank you for your kindness and compassion!

[m.s.early]

Churches, especially that old architecture... it's there anything more romantic?

The weddings, the christenings, the baptisms, the funerals, the homecoming, the revivals, the communions...

Alas, but are we leaving God behind nowadays... like empty buildings on empty streets

[Kelly Scheppers]

You know, I'll never forget the feeling it gave me, standing there before it. So glad I was able to capture it in poetry. Thank you, Matt! Good seeing you!

[Coyote Poetry]

A beautiful story for the Church dear Kelly. It is sad when once, places of worship, place of happy life become gone. Thank you dear friend for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote