
DATE: Saturday, August 16, 1997             TAG: 9708150105

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Issues of Faith 

SOURCE: Betsy Wright

                                            LENGTH:   88 lines

HOUSES OF FAITH SHOULD BE OPEN WHENEVER POSSIBLE

A number of years ago, I went through a gut-wrenching experience involving money (or, rather, my lack of it), a house I had sold (or, rather, one I thought I'd sold) and some buyers who moved in before closing and then got very cold feet. Though I knew I'd been entirely ethical, and the buyers felt they'd been the same, one of us was going to get burned and it was definitely going to be me. Every penny I had was riding on the sale of that house and the sale was falling apart.

At 9 p.m. on the night the deal became defunct, I desperately needed to be in church. Praying in my bedroom just wouldn't do it.

I needed to pray before the altar of God.

Luckily, I was the youth director for my church at the time and had a key to the sanctuary. I let myself in, prayed and cried for an hour, and then traveled home, solaced by having been in ``The House of the Lord.'' My impromptu trip to church had brought me both comfort and peace. It was exactly what I needed to get through the rough days ahead.

What if, however, I hadn't been on staff at a local house of faith? What then would have been my chances of finding an open sanctuary at that hour of the night? Slim to none.

And what about finding a quiet sanctuary in which to pray and meditate during the lunch hour? The numbers are a bit higher here, but the pickin's are still sparse.

Why is it that houses of faith aren't open 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Should they make themselves vulnerable to theft or vandalism by leaving open their sanctuaries for those who need a place to talk to God?

These are tough questions. On the surface, it's easy to say, ``Heck, yeah. Leave all the doors open!'' Having visited all sorts of houses of faith, I can honestly say that one of the saddest things is seeing a locked-tight, bolted-up sanctuary. ``Inhospitable'' is the word that comes to mind. I've often thought that the message of that locked door is this: ``Go away. We don't care about your soul.''

Like most issues of faith, however, it's not that simple. Having been a member of more than one struggling church in my life, I've seen the dilemma.

In the real world, when a house of faith leaves its doors open, bad stuff often happens. Theft - of everything from offering plates to sound equipment - is a big problem. Vandalism is another. I've known congregations in high crime areas that have been hit repeatedly, forcing up the cost of insurance, not to mention the hassle factor of having to replace or fix the stuff that was stolen or vandalized. When this happens, it's the people in the pews who pay. Higher insurance premiums force congregations to dip into funds they once pegged for worthy programs. Everyone loses.

Then, too, houses of faith are obligated to provide a safe workplace for employees. Often, church/temple secretaries - almost exclusively female - must work alone. It isn't fair to ask them to work in a building that isn't secure.

So what's a congregation to do?

This is where you come in. If you belong to a house of faith that has successfully dealt with this problem, tell us your solution next week. Also, I'd love to run a listing of area churches and synagogues that are open at odd hours for prayer and meditation.

What do I think is the best solution? Well, the ideal answer to me is not to further shut up a house of faith, but to further open it.

I believe that every inch of a congregation's space should be used whenever possible. I'd like to see more congregations open their doors for pre-schools, before- and-after school programs, senior citizen groups, day care for the physically and mentally handicapped, homeless shelters, literacy programs, a youth hangout, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, AA and Al-Anon and other 12-step programs, and even child-care programs for graveyard shift employees. The list is endless.

An acquaintance of mine suggested leaving sanctuaries open during the day, and have senior citizens as ``Sanctuary Sitters'' to discourage theft and vandalism. I went to one church that had several prayer warriors - volunteers who donated two or three hours of prayer - in its sanctuary around the clock, every day and night of the week.

With all this activity, a congregation could literally have its doors open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, safely and securely . . . and all to the glory and service of God. MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her

opinion column. Send responses to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,

921 N. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake, Va. 23320; call 446-2273; FAX

(804) 436-2798; or send computer message via bmw(AT)pilotonline.com.

Deadline is Tuesday prior to publication. Must include name, city and

phone number. ILLUSTRATION: FAITH DISCUSSION GROUP

The next meeting will be Wednesday, 6 to 10 p.m., at The

Virginian-Pilot office, Conference Room, 150 W. Brambleton Ave. in

Norfolk. ``The Color of Fear,'' a film about racism, will be shown,

with discussion to follow.