On this Fourth of July weekend, I’ve been reading a little bit of The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. This castle is a metaphor for our souls. St. Teresa writes,

Rarely do we reflect upon what gifts our souls may possess, Who dwells within them, or how extremely precious they are. Therefore we do little to preserve their beauty; all our care is concentrated on our bodies, which are but the coarse setting of the diamond, or the outer walls of the castle.

As I reflected on this, I thought of those who would whitewash the exterior of a deteriorating mansion in the name of upkeep. It doesn’t take much to look beyond the whitewash to see the decay, and beyond that, to get a sense of some of the beauty of yesterday year.

It made me think of our fascination with ‘Abandoned America’. I spent some time looking through the pictures of abandoned churches. I remember time I have spent on church vestries, at times as a treasurer or clerk, talking about how to keep these institutions financially stable, how to afford the upkeep of the buildings. I remember discussions about how the church needs to get outside of the building, think outside the box, and I see the struggles of trying to maintain a beautiful building, some of the history of the institution, while at the same time being a vibrant part of a community and not just a dying tradition.

I think of St. Francis being told to “go rebuild my Church, which you see is falling into ruins” and rebuilding the church at San Damiano, as well as the greater church.

I wondered about churches struggling in Connecticut. The Episcopal Church has some interesting Tables, Charts, and Research Reports. Using Studying Your Congregation and Community you can get historical data about members, attendance and income. This led me to look at churches for sale, which has plenty of listings.

It seems like there is some sort of allegory that could be written here, especially apt if we stop to wonder what it is that we are celebrating this weekend, what it is that makes our country great.