The Train Station
Picked up the wife and kids yeasterday at the King Street Station in Seattle. Good to have them home.
The Station was originally opened in 1906 and underwent some intensive "modernization" in 1965. See info and pics here. At the station, I could actually see the original ornate ceiling and walls in numerous places as the construction continues and one is led to ask: "What in the world were they thinking in 1965?!?!??! Hiding that beautiful and spacious ceiling with those drop tiles?"
Seriosuly, it is striking how the artistic beauty was covered up by 1960's Orwellian office decor.
Well it seemed like a good idea at the time I suppose, but in seeing both options in person the choice seems clear to me. It is good that we have taken an interest in the beauty we once hid and in many areas destoyed - more importantly we are actively seeking to restore...to return to the original train station.
Of course it is not hard to see the ecclesial analogy I derive from this. We "modernized" the Church and then realized: "Good Lord this drop ceiling is ugly! Look what lies underneath...in the past."
My blogging has been happily inhibited lately by my family's return, a sudden crescendo in home improvement work, and a very nice person contacting me with questions about Orthodoxy - a fellow sojourner who sees in the modernized church a base ugliness and is now looking for the original beauty that lies hidden beneath.
Keep digging...no need to reinvent or rebuild...the original is alive and well, albeit hidden behind our modernized presuppositions.
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