Abandoned Churches, Broken Communities

The Cincinnati Enquirer published an article about aging empty church buildings in Cincinnati. You can read the full article and see photos of some of the churches at:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110918/NEWS01/109180338

As someone who supports historic preservation, it was a difficult article for me to read. I was glad to see that some churches are in the process of being "repurposed", but unfortunately there are many that are falling apart and in danger of being condemned and eventually torn down.
I was reminded of the similar story City Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana. (see photo above) Once one of the flagship churches of Indiana Methodism, City Church is now a decaying skeleton. Located at 577 Washington St in downtown Gary, Indiana, City Methodist was built in the 1920's to hold a congregation that had grown alongside the newly built City of the Century, with U.S. Steel covering $385,000 of the construction costs. The sanctuary could hold 950 including a choir. The building also held a church school, a gymnasium and an auditorium - Seaman Hall - named for the pastor who helped raise the $1 million to pay for the construction. The auditorium was used for musical and dramatic presentations, community meetings, and various social and educational events.
In its heyday, City Methodist boasted a membership of 3,000, and the church was home to one of the largest Skinner organs in the state of Indiana. By 1970, Sunday attendance had dwindled down to about 100 as suburbanization and white flight emptied Gary of its working class population. In 1975, the church closed its doors for good and City Methodist Church began its long decent into disrepair. Over the decades, various proposals have been floated to resurrect the building, including a center for the performing arts. Those plans were crushed in the Great Gary Arson of 1997. More recently, it has been suggested that what's left of the building could be turned into a European-style ruins garden. In the meantime, the City of Gary owns the property, but lack of funds, if not will, have left the structure to crumble in the brutal Midwestern weather.
In many ways, what's left of City Church stands as a monument to white flight, racism, and the inability of the church to adapt to its surroundings. Like so many churches today, it is an empty shell that seems irrelevant to its neighbors who desperately need to know the love of Christ in their lives. In fact, I think one of the messages that a congregation sends to a neighborhood when it leaves its empty building behind is that it doesn't care about that neighborhood or its people.
I know that the people and not the building are the church. In fact, the church did just fine for the first three hundred years of its existence without church buildings. Those early Christians gathered in people's homes for worship and fellowship. At the same time, church buildings can be effective tools for ministry and a visible sign and symbol of the presence of the church in a community.
I'm not sure what the answer is. I wish more churches had the faith and vision to adapt to their changing neighborhood demographics. I wish change was easier for church members. I wish more church leaders would help their congregations boldly step out in faith to reach outside their comfort zones. I wish there was a way for the church to remember our first love - Jesus - and share his love with all the world. Maybe in that love-transformed church, there would be fewer broken neighborhoods and fewer abandoned church buildings.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!