God's House

God’s House

 

 

some things from the past

live in memory forever,

like classic Chevrolets

and old churches.

 

i came upon an old church

while living in California

its windows were boarded up

fissures could be seen in the walls

and its foundation

wildflowers and leaves

littered the path to the concrete steps

 

but it was the steeple

that gave affirmation

to the antiquity that stood  before me,

that this was once God’s house

 

where every Sunday

a congregation would meet

with rosaries in hand

where a pipe organ could be heard

playing hymns of salvation,

giving praise to the Lord.

 

there i stood with my Starbuck’s in hand

on the very ground it was built, in 1897

now in severe decay awaiting demolition,

it was a pale configuration

of what used to be.

 

where a congregation would meet

every Sunday

“…in the name of the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit…”

 

where a steeple on high

gave firm affirmation

that this was God’s house.

 

 

Reviews

[red93]

Love this one Kelly, poignant and reflective, and it is true that many have gone away from God. And look at the World they have created instead. The Lord sees all, and bides His time.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Tony!! Much obliged, my friend. Hope the new year is treating you kind!

[red93]

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Miss Sharon]

So beautifully written. Brought a little tear of knowing to my heart. ~Sharon

[Kelly Scheppers]

It was indeed a sight to behold. Thank you, Sharon!

[emmajoygreen]

In time past it could take men years to build a church.. even more to build a cathedral. It became a drama day after day, deaths caused by falling from both in- and exteriors, skin scarred by the use of certain plasters etcetera, thousands of men worked their entire lives on such intricately created buildings.. The towers and steeples held their place over the lives of decades of families. There for many were when both fear and pleasure was taught from pulpit or/and where communities were clans who interacted for a lifetime.

Now we have bingo halls, dance halls or billiard rooms - some including a bar or two. Now we have less God and more gargling and gyrating. Times they are a'changing. How well if not unhappily you have described how the church has near enough become a bystander . steeples and towers nowhere near the height of high-rise money making industry or a five bathroom suite for one person to own because he or she can. The many windowed office blocks shimmer in the sunlight but create gloom in the storm. The houses of God were once the place where humans sheltered from the storm. Your words have raked words from my memory... when a teen wrote a poem, now dead and gone about a local church where the brownies and guides met every week, where music and small dramas were enacted, where girls and boys secretly looked at each other.. and a few actually stayed looking for a lifetime. Forgive my blather please, but a nudge is all one needs from a fine writer like you and your thoughtful sincerity ..

[Kelly Scheppers]

Dear Emma, your review gave great insight to my earnest words. Thank you for your kindness and compassion!

[m.s.early]

Churches, especially that old architecture... it's there anything more romantic?

The weddings, the christenings, the baptisms, the funerals, the homecoming, the revivals, the communions...

Alas, but are we leaving God behind nowadays... like empty buildings on empty streets

[Kelly Scheppers]

You know, I'll never forget the feeling it gave me, standing there before it. So glad I was able to capture it in poetry. Thank you, Matt! Good seeing you!

[Coyote Poetry]

A beautiful story for the Church dear Kelly. It is sad when once, places of worship, place of happy life become gone. Thank you dear friend for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[JessyJacob]

Happy holidays dear Kelly!! Hope you had great time with family for Christmas 🎄! I was sick couldn’t wish you ahead. Hope this New year brings many more surprises and success to you! A very happy new year 🎊🎆 2024! I think mine is the first wish for you new year and I’m sorry for any inconvenience so far caused but it is only love for family. Do you think I was wrong just a casual question like a elder one I am asking. But definitely you can handle that risk elegantly I have lot of hopes and trust on you. Everyone has a problem but the way they keep going makes difference and you are best at it and hope a little encouraging always helps to breathe a second in this fast choking environment where har koi chahtha hai and poke in, and try those f*****g means and never hesitate for their ways, but God always remains with those who really care and love ❤️ the family and home.
Thanks for reading
Regards,
Jessy Jacob!

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you most kindly, Jessy! Happy New Year!

[JessyJacob]

I love you ❤️!

[JessyJacob]

Hi dear Kelly,
Hope you are having good start of new year,
I have a news to share on pre announcement of my writers website, “WritersCastle”, hope you visit John the Baptist, his chapter Nothing, I shared the news there, hope you drop a review there, and please be my guest of honor to create your first login in my website which I am planning to release on Jan 31, 2024.
Love you dearest,

Thank you,
Jessy Jacob. ❤️😃.

[JessyJacob]

Hi Kelly, if time permits try to login anonymously, or browse my site on feb 14, www.writerscastle.com, a small token of love which i could afford to my family and love.

[1809 Black Plague Decem..]

Kelly Scheppers, Hellos, love this poem,
I love the fact that you love Churches,
and that it became a province (a place to keep) a haven,
then the prayer just made it perfect,
enjoyed it very much, :O) -----Maynard

[Kelly Scheppers]

Anything old or antique I simply gravitate to. Thank you Maynard! Best wishes for a happy new year!

[1809 Black Plague December]

Most Welcome Dear, I endulged. Sometimes the olden awakens an outward feeling or moment. Walking into something relicious, wins my greatest curiosity. :)

[C. M. Miller]

A steeple. Yes, we look up . . . or we use to. Now we look down and miss so much because we see more into our cell phones than we see of the world around us. Can we place our cell phone in a drawer for a day, and go for a walk? Can we then pause and look at this steeple and capture its significance, its history, in the shutter of our minds eye? Oh, goodness . . . and to think, it never needed batteries to tell its truth.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you, Charles. So sorry I'm late in wishing you a happy holiday season! Can you believe we're heading into 2024?

[C. M. Miller]

Absolutely, poet! "Late" is better than never, yeah? Your poet walk in 2024 is going to be fun to follow wherever your verses lead us. Wishing you well, as always.

[C. M. Miller]

Looking forward once again with my hungry eyes to feast upon your next meal of a poem . . . . yes, I know that sentence was entirely derivative but it's an early year and I've misplaced my thesaurus!

[C. M. Miller]

Where are you, dear poet? Wishing you well.

[An owl on the moon]

Truly moving... beautiful and bittersweet. I was born and raised in California... and I should add, born and raised in church... where everyone was considered family... and even in the little church, we had more than enough... and God was there watching over us.

[Kelly Scheppers]

As a child, it's hard to appreciate the importance a church community has to offer in your life. Looking back, I am most thankful my Mother raised me that way, and the significance it continues to bring to my life! Thank you, Craig!

[An owl on the moon]

Yes... it is true... for me, it was perhaps one of the few safe places... I was treated horribly in school... so I still look back and see the love of the people there. Glad your Mother raised you that way!

[Ken Simm.]

This is like a painting. Almost Andrew Wyeth in its realistic texture and Americanism.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you for a most kind comparison to Andrew Wyeth, Ken! I am flattered my words took you there!