I'm reposting a piece I wrote shortly after my move to Milwaukee, so impressed was I with the many beckoning spires on the south side.***
My eye caught the spark of beauty leaping from the horizon of downtown Milwaukee, a gladdening distraction from the torn-up roads in the construction zone. Polished, churchly spires gleamed against their gray and ghetto-like surroundings, testifying to a time when people did not settle for “whatever works,” but invested those solid piles of masonry with consideration for God’s glory and for posterity. Truly, a wise man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.
Today, most congregations question the wisdom of building something so permanent when a cheap wooden building would do, but Milwaukee’s first settlers took the trouble to build not for their time but for the future. We see in abundance the structures built by pragmatism. Our society “lives for the moment,” and it produces art and architecture that will soon be cast away and forgotten. We mourn the lost aesthetic of beauty and extravagance, of high art poured out to the glory of God.
The soaring spires on Milwaukee’s skyline, as long as they stand, will never cease to signify the glory that is above and within them, and I believe their aesthetic will be reborn in my time. The consuming beauty of holiness is a call to worship, and we answer with our art.
“Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thine House, and the place where Thine honor dwelleth.”
8-29-07
1 comment:
Jeff and I are always commenting that it's sad that newer buildings (churches or otherwise) are so boring! It's like anything else in our culture...we don't dress up for anything anymore, and our buildings are functional, too. Sad!
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