December, 1981 $2.00 - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

30 December, 1981
Some thoughts on our spiritual homes.
CHURCH
There is a world of difference
between the adobe of the old
church at Chimayo and the
concrete of the Chapel of The Holy
Cross near Sedona. The forest of spires
at Temple Square in Salt Lake City,
Utah, is, if you will pardon a sort of
contradiction, equally unique. What
they have in common is that they are
all churches, places of God, and they
are all in the Southwest. When thinking
of the churches of the Southwest,
the word hallowed comes to mind first.
It is close to both halo and hollow, and
what these words imply.
They are our homes, more so than
our houses will ever be; places of sanctuary
and respite; where no anger will
cast us out or bar the door. When we
are away from home they still welcome
us. They are the stage for some of the
deep and lasting moments of our lives:
baptism, marriage, death. They are
the connection, place and symbol of
the mystery that is our lives. We have
made them this way—and so we try to
make them strong and solid (in our
minds at least, regardless of the realities
of time and weather and the decay
of materials). These are the physical
foundations of our spiritual lives. Since
by Stephen Simpson
we believe that the soul will stand
forever, we build the house of the soul
to stand forever. Most of them seem to
have been here since long before we
arrived. Look at those in our communities.
Most of them are older than our
memories.
They are art too; wondrous studies
in texture, line and color, designed to
exalt the spirit rather than comfort the
body. They are all steps and walls and
high ceilings and rows of benches. The
floors are hard and cool and the
windows always bright.
Most, though not all, of the
churches in the Southwest have
crosses, evidence of the Christian influence.
Most, though not all, are old.
Their roots are in the history of these
lands and the lands that built them.
They would be perfect subject matter
for the anthropological/historical/social
histories of James Michener—the dust
and adobe and the dark and dirty faces
that built them.
We offer the few shown here as testimony
to the beauty of the Southwest.
We have a combined religious and
architectural heritage to match any in
the world. May you find peace and
pride in this.