Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, December 2, 2023
A few weeks ago Shelley and I took a pleasant day trip to the town of Gig Harbor, Washington. While checking out a couple of bookstores, we discovered this beautiful church.
As I pointed my smartphone camera at its steeple, I thought nostalgically about how on Sunday mornings its venerable old bell might still ring the faithful to worship. But then I studied the steeple more closely, and discovered that, instead of a bell, it now contains a set of powerful loudspeakers.
At first I was nostalgic about the bell—where was it? Had it been melted down into something that wouldn’t ring?
But then I remembered to keep in mind the main point. That point is that this church wants to announce things to the town, and in the old days (this church was built 110 years ago) the bell was a major way they did it. But now, though the bell is gone, the replacement speakers can broadcast not only recorded chimes but anything else it wants to. Some churches use such speakers to broadcast tasteful Christmas music if and when the town allows it. And this particular church has a website too, featuring beautiful photos, plus a QR code you can snap with your smartphone which puts you on a weekly email newsletter list.
So progress happens. And as long as what happens increases reach and effectiveness, we’ve got to move forward.
Speaking of “new,” the Bible is all about making things new. Check out the texts at this link: