July 14, 2006

Two Churches

There are two churches in the town of Insinger, Saskatchewan. One is near the post office, the other is a kilometer away on the other side of the road.

The town church came first, and a peeling sign proclaims it to be "The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit." It was once painted bright red and featured a well-burnished onion dome. The other, "The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Peter and Paul," came along several years later and has a recent coat of brilliant white paint to accent its grey metal dome.

Someone mows the weeds around the town church. Someone mows the vast fields of grass around the other.

The cemetery stones are hard to find beneath the weeds around the town church. The church across the road is overshadowed by a forest of white concrete crosses.

Once upon a time everyone in town attended the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit. Then there was an argument, a war among family members whose opinions were unchangeable and whose pride was unquenchable. So, half the town moved across the road and built a "better" church. Same Gospel. New dome.

No one was willing to be first with forgiveness and reconciliation, so the split has never healed.

I took a few photos and tried to learn why there were two churches. Wilma, a kindly woman in her 70's, was the only resident I could find. She told me the story - spread thick with bitterness.

"We only meet once a year in our church," she said, "and they only meet once a year on the other side of the road. We mow our weeds. They mow their grass. Nobody can remember what the argument was about. And nobody comes to church anymore. There's no reason to. Everybody either died or moved away and now there are only three of us who live in town. I'm leaving when the first snow comes. There's no reason to live here anymore."

For me, a traveler wandering across the plains, both churches looked inviting from the road, each promising hope and comfort in a crazy world. But the promise didn't match the truth.

As I drove away I was reminded of Jesus' words to people who get so caught up in their pride that they miss His gift of Grace. "Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I'll come right in and sit down to supper with you. [You] conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table!" Revelation 3: 20,21. The Message

The sounds of occasional lawn mowers could be replaced by the sounds of a party!

Dick Duerksen
Assistant Vice President
Mission Development
Florida Hospital