Our church went retro, and I’m okay with that

We go to a church that’s fairly up with the times. You may recall the Easter Mii invitation from about a half year ago. That was our church. We’ve historically met in industrial-like spaces with coffee tables and IKEA furniture lit up with candles and lamps. Recently, though, we moved into an older church building (with a Julia Morgan-style architecture), and there were some concerns among our congregation that the pews and old-style furnishings of the building might take away from the hip spirit of our church.

I have to disagree. Basically, some people thought our church was about the furniture, and a lot of us felt the church is about the people. Yes, the furniture is an expression of who we are as people. Nevertheless, we are still the same people if we worship in pews in an older building. Well, now that we’ve actually made the move, and I’ve actually experienced worship in our new (or old, depending on how you look at it) building, I have to say I like this better. We did manage to move around some pews and put some coffee tables in. We also brought in our sound system and projector. But there’s a homey quality to the old building that appeals to me, and having younger folks inhabiting the older space gives it a fresh feel that doesn’t remind me of the church I was in growing up (which was mainly populated by older folks like my parents).

I have nothing against old folks and will probably be one in a few decades. I just want to feel young while I still am, and it’s great to be in an old building with a bunch of young people. I’m digging the retro.