Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, December 14, 2024
These days, the conventional wisdom is that shopping malls are on the way out. The large “anchor stores” such as Sears and JC Penney, which often were located at one end of the mall or the other, are starting to shrivel. This past Thursday I drove past such a mall, which formerly contained several stores, big and small. Everything’s been torn down, and all that’s left is a wide flat-scraped surface several blocks square.
But there are exceptions to this mall-demise, and the sign you see in the photo is one of the success stories. Crossroads Mall is located a little over a mile east of the church I pastor, and every time I’ve been there it’s a throbbing hub of activity.
Several reasons: For one thing, there are several gigantic apartment complexes just across the street. Also, the mall contains a popular food court with restaurants of many ethnicities. A large grocery store is part of the mix, as well as a Joann Fabrics and a Michaels. There’s a HalfPrice Books and a Barnes and Noble within a hundred feet of each other.
But I believe that the main reason it’s thriving is what the above sign says. Its designers wanted to express their gratitude that you’ve spent time there, and that’s nice. But it’s the other meaning of “visiting” that is the true reason this mall isn’t going anywhere. Chairs and tables offer lots of opportunities for conversation. A chess set whose pieces are two and a half feet high draw players and kibitzers daily. Everywhere, people are relaxing, talking, settling down in the branch of the local library, getting their hair or nails done. Clubs and organizations, and groups of card-players, meet around the tables.
The quaint, King-Jamesy term for this is “fellowship.” I like to believe that my own congregation, while maybe not drawing quite the hordes of happy folks that Crossroads does, is a place where people can come and feel loved and supported by the Holy Spirit who is smiling and chuckling and listening and visiting through our members’ hearts.
Check out what the Bible says about these groups which Jesus founded:
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/church