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| The mountains of "sacred clutter" are growing... |
If you did a quick search right now on Amazon, you would discover that some of the top non-fiction books have to do with the concept of "de-cluttering" your home, life, schedule, etc. Those who oversee church buildings could benefit from some of that advice.
In my experience, one of the commonalities of a church in decline or a church that has recently closed is the fact that the building is filled with useless clutter. Cabinets, rooms, hallways, and even the sanctuary contain relics of a time when there was life and activity in the church, but for years, things haven't been purged once they've exceeded their usefulness.
The truth is, once something is brought into a church building, it can become challenging to get rid of it. Everything seems to become sentimental. Either we remember the person who donated it, favorite events that it was used for, someone special that may have used it, etc.
At present, we are clearing out the clutter in the church at West Conshohocken. We have been going through the building and moving just about everything that isn't nailed down to the downstairs rooms. The "throwaway" pile is becoming a mountain in the back room by the kitchen. The "keep" and "giveaway" piles are growing on the tables in the fellowship hall.
At some point soon, we will be ordering a dumpster, but in the meantime, let me know if you want to come and help yourself to anything we're giving or throwing away.
By the way, I have no mercy when it come to throwing things away. I don't care what it is or how sentimental it may be to someone. It doesn't bother my conscience in the least. If it isn't going to be useful to the work of getting a new church started in this place, it's my new "enemy" and it's getting in the way of the work we are trying to do. So come rescue some items that might be useful to you before they find their new home in the landfill.
We will be at the building between 2:00-9:00pm this Friday, July 8th.
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