Destruction of Sacred Place

Matthew Latham, On sacred space.

In Landscapes of the Sacred, Belden Lane starts out his journey of the sacred with an explanation of exactly what sacred place is. To Lane, it is not a building or obvious structure, but simply a place. I prefer to refer to the area that is sacred as space rather than place. Place refers to much to the features of an area. Space, on the other hand, is simply an area it cannot be bounded. Space is created, place is given. Lane makes many references to the works of Mircea Eliade while describing what sacred space is. To Eliade, "sacred place constitutes a break in the homogeneity of space; This break is symbolized by an opening by which passage from one cosmic region to another is made possible." Lane goes on to say, "sacred place becomes the point at which the wondrous power of the divine could be seen breaking into the world's alleged ordinariness." In short -The sacred is simple place, but in that simple place, a connection can be made to something greater.Sacred place cannot be destroyed, but it can be moved, moved to wherever it pleases. Take for example the curious case of the Warwick Baptist Church.

Thursday morning September 10, 2009 the Warwick Baptist Church burnt to the ground. As the fire raged members stood around watching firefighters risk their lives trying to save the building they loved so much. "At first it was a struggle to try and pray and seek God and what God is doing in this," sad the pastor of the church Robert Wilson." But as flames reduced their beloved place of worship to the ground Wilson began to realize that a building is exactly that, a building. "This is a church. It's a building. The true crux of it all is the membership." Wilson realized that what made the building special to him and his congregation was not the ascetics of the place, but the sanctity of the space, and that can never be destroyed. Chris Gill, an associate pastor for another congregation that also used the facility added, "God can do wonderful things out of it, so I'm at peace with it." The congregation will rebuild the church and create another sacred space, by practicing their faith, customs, rituals, and love.

Sacred space cannot be destroyed, it can only be reborn into something even more beautiful.

September 15, 2009

by, Matthew Latham

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/local_wavy_newportnews_church_fire_20090910