A parishioner sent me this after Christmas.
I see the same things from a different perspective than the author, but that's why we have discussions, not arguments. Here's my reply:
After a very busy Christmas, I'm hoping for a peaceful and prayerful new year. I'm familiar with this and similar articles. Apparently cathedrals make excellent recreation facilities and condos. Europe is about 40 years ahead of us. Canada is about 20 years. The trend lines are going downhill fast.
I did read a different but similar article over morning coffee this week (the only sane way to escape the noise and crowds of 2025/2026) that discusses the rise in house and non-traditional churches. We've been hearing such talk for years. It's not so simple. I think we're seeing churches moving to the edges of both ends of the spectrum, just as the culture continues to race away from a center. We see more huge churches and more tiny churches. The one common thread, as always, is money -- if you have it, you build a behemouth and worship your own income. If you don't have money, you meet in a yoga studio or park. It depends on the purpose of your faith and community. And your wallet.
If I were to make a prediction here in the last 1/3 of my lifetime, it's that people will become disenchanted with AI, computers, and tech. The holy will become quieter and more human. I think the church has a huge opportunity to promote itself as a last, best place for human-to-human contact, where a real pastor-type discusses real issues in conversation, person to person, without screens and microphones. And then they have a potluck. And then go serve in a soup kitchen and talk to different people.
I have a friend who did a thesis on the formative influence of architecture on faith; I think she's onto something. Add salaries and maintenance costs to the mix and see the reality. I once had a neighbor in a new church startup that met in a school gym, desperately raising money to build their own place; my advice - Don't. Rent, borrow, wander. Give me a cabin in the woods or a campfire on a beach at sunset. But then, my formative moments of faith were always strongest at church camps, so maybe that's just me. And church camps ain't cheap, either.
On the other hand, I attend a Saturday morning Zoom, led by a very unorthodox rabbi, Brian Mayer https://rotb.org/, with about 40 regulars from the US, Canada, Europe, and Native American nations. A lot of aging hippies and weirdoes. But they are kind, loving, and seeking faith sincerely. So maybe tech isn't the enemy and the medium doesn't have to be the message.
On yet a third hand, I write all this while temporarily pastoring a multi-staff, multi-building church with lovely people and a healthy budget. An income, a pension plan, and health care from the PCUSA is real good stuff. Talk is cheap, life is expensive, and pastors are always at least partially hypocritical.
Sigh. Happy New Year? Let's hope.
Be kind. And if you can't be kind, be quiet.
