Lenten Devotional – March 2, 2017—“Sanctuary: Safe Space, Brave Space”—by Debbie Clark
When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then God said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ –Exodus 3:4-5
When I was three, my family joined Emmaus United Church of Christ, which was a new church start in Vienna, Virginia. At first, we worshipped at an Episcopal Church, but when I was about five we built our first building. It was called the Fellowship Hall, and consisted of a large hall with a small kitchen and an office for the pastor. Plans were in the works for an Education Building and ultimately a Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary wasn’t built until long after I grew up and moved to Massachusetts. Worshipping for my entire childhood in a multi-purpose hall shaped my understanding of sacred space. On Saturdays, the custodians (I was one of them during my high school years) would sweep the floor and set up the chairs for worship. On Sunday afternoons, the chairs would put pushed to the side for other programs–dinners, youth group events, mission project
As children and teenagers, we often took off our shoes in that space, because the slick concrete floor was great for running and sliding in our socks. At the time, we didn’t think about God’s command to Moses to take off his shoes, since he was standing on holy ground.
Years later, I look back and realize we had taken off our shoes to slide not just on a slippery floor but on holy ground. Especially during my teenage years, the church was a refuge–a place where I could trust my friends, where there were adults who listened and cared, where I could ask hard questions and search for answers. The concrete floor was holy ground, because on it we could laugh and play and slide, knowing we were loved for who we we
We said that didn’t have a sanctuary yet, but in truth, we did.
Awaken us, O God, to the holy group on which we stand, on which we slide, on which we laugh and play and care for one another. Amen.