We Said Goodbye Today
Goodbyes are hard, even when they are the right thing.
We said goodbye to our little church at the beach today.
The small church building sits just over the crest of a hill. At the top is a wooden bench that could use a new coat of stain, perfectly situated for watching the sunset. From there, you can see a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Leaving the church each Sunday, we would stop at the stop sign at the top of the hill and pause to reflect and check the sea’s mood. You can tell the ocean’s mood from its color — bright blue, deep green, or gray. Today the sea was a deep blue reflecting the blue of the sky, which contradicted the grayness of my mood.
“It’s the end of an era.” I heard someone say. And it is. We are not just leaving the church; we are closing the doors forever.
We weren’t surprised. Churches across the United States are struggling with declining numbers. According to Lifeway Research, 4500 churches closed in 2019. And that was before the pandemic, before the pandemic shuttered the doors of worship centers to churches already struggling with an aging population and younger generations who eschew organized…
