Curious Christian

I was reading recently over at the Wild Hunt Blog that the Glastonbury Goddess Temple has acquired St. Benedict’s Church Hall from the Church of England to use for Goddess-oriented worship and rites of passage. It gave me pause.

There’s something about this shift that stirs a mixture of feelings in me. On one hand, I can’t help but feel a certain lament. That church hall was once a place where people gathered in the name of Christ, to hear the Word, to pray, and to do gather together. For generations, it stood as a witness to the gospel, a place set apart for a community of believers seeking to live faithfully. Now, it will be used for something else entirely, and that brings a sadness—perhaps even a grief for the passing of a space once dedicated to God’s work.

But at the same time, I find myself curious. What does this say about the changing spiritual landscape we’re living in? People are still seeking something sacred, something meaningful. Even if they’re not turning to the church in the ways they used to, there’s a longing for connection, for a sense of the divine. It makes me wonder: where has the church fallen short? Why are so many drawn to these new forms of worship, and what might we learn from that?

In the Anabaptist tradition, we’ve always valued simplicity, community, and a life of discipleship over grand buildings or institutions. Maybe this is a reminder that sacredness isn’t confined to a structure, and perhaps our focus should be on the living stones—the people—rather than the bricks and mortar. Yet, there’s still a bittersweetness here, watching spaces that were once vibrant with Christian witness take on new, unfamiliar purposes.

It leaves me with questions more than answers. How do we, as followers of Jesus, bear witness in a world that’s seeking new spiritual paths? And how do we carry the light of Christ into spaces that might be changing all around us?