On strip malls and spirituality

When the UU Church in Lafayette was searching for new space, Target moved into its new Super Target building, thus leaving available real estate at the corner of State Road 26 East and Hwy. 52. Some people were intrigued. Others said (and I paraphrase) it would be a cold day in non-existent hell before they would attend church services in a strip mall.

I confess, I was on board with that sentiment. Shopping for office supplies? OK. Spiritual awakening on Sunday morning? Nicht.

Yet, as we all have to do, I am evolving. We've been attending services at the UU Church in the Woodlands. The building is nestled in the woods, with tree tops visible through the very high windows in the A-frame sanctuary. There's a lovely garden in front where folks gather for coffee hour, complete with a pond and little bridge. It's relaxing and uplifting and a beautiful setting. The people are nice (I've joined a covenant gruup) and they have a very active high school group. But they have two services, with the better class for Alison during the second service, when there's no class for Maddie. The DRE just resigned and the minister is leaving at the end of the month.

All of this I could live with ... if it weren't a 40-minute drive.

Dedicated folks in Lafayette drove from Delphi, Frankfort and Crawfordsville to attend services. They were often very involved, coming to myriad meetings during the week. But it's hard for me to drive so far, what with small people at home and a husband who works late (not to mention my penchant for sleeping in on weekends!) Social events are never nearby; being involved requires a major committment.

So I figured we owed it to ourselves to at least check out the UU church nearest us. We chose the Woodlands first because it's bigger, appears more organized and was recommended by a friend in Lafayette (her friend from grad school goes there). We initially steered clear of the closer church because it's so much more fellowship-y — no minister, no DRE, no paid staff.

It's also only 20 minutes away. So, today we decided to have a look. We were non-committal, and first impressions weren't good. It's in a strip mall — ie, no windows in the interior rooms, and the space was a health club before; serious remnants remain. The schedule is funky, with RE following the service.

All doubts disappeared when we heard the service. Today was a guest minister from Austin; he must have a huge church there, as he was very dynamic and a great speaker. And the people — everyone was friendly and welcoming. It's a totally volunteer-run church, which apparently makes people closer. Lots of activities, lots of social events, lots of interest groups.

And people who live near us — two families live in our subdivision, and one family is building a house just up the street from us. We offered our three months of experience in Coles Crossing to help the new folks with their pool construction, swapped phone numbers (they have kids the same ages).

Alison and Maddie prefer Northwoods; Gary and I see advantages to both. Not a bad dilemma to have. For now, we'll be involved with both, revisit the situation at a later date.

So we're working on our issues with strip malls. At the very least, we have options. And that's always a good thing.