Inside Entrance

2 - Inside the main entrance ground level

We are now standing on holy ground, because this is the meeting place between God and the People of God. When Moses stood before the burning bush, the angel told him to take off his shoes, because he was standing on holy ground. Like Moses before the burning bush, maybe we should take off our shoes when we enter this building! The Moslems, in fact, have this custom. They take off their shoes before entering a mosque. It reminds them that they are coming before God to pray. Some Buddhists bow before the statue of Buddha and clap their hands loudly to wake up the gods in case they are sleeping so they will hear their prayer. We have our own reminders that this is a holy place. Our first clue is the special atmosphere created by our beautiful stained glass windows. Their soft light beckons us and invites to enter further into God's presence as we climb these stairs.

When we enter here, we enter into God's realm. We are on the threshold of the Kingdom of God. Perhaps a good custom for us when we enter the Church building would be to repeat the words from the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom come." When we gather here, we are very close to heaven.

The Kingdom of God was the central theme of Jesus' teaching. The Kingdom of God is not so much a geographical place as it is a condition in which God and people are at peace with one another. The Kingdom is God's dream for the universe. We believe that the Kingdom of God already exists to some extent in our midst. It has not, however, come to its fullness. Helping to build the Kingdom of God is our job, and that's what God expects us to do. As followers of Jesus, God expects us to dedicate our lives to building up the Kingdom of God, which is a condition of truth and life, holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace in this world. We believe that in God's time it will one day come to completion.

As Jesus described it, the Kingdom of God is inclusive. It is for everybody. It is like a dragnet that brings in all kinds of fish. It is like a tree, with plenty of room for the birds of the air to nest in its branches.

Since inclusively is a hallmark of the Kingdom, the elevator is an essential feature of our gathering space, as it provides easy, barrier-free access for all. You might be surprised at how many churches have installed elevators, but neglected to make them large enough to carry a casket. When we built this addition, we made sure to specify a large enough elevator. Our elevator is used often at every Mass, including weekdays.

Since the Kingdom of God is meant to be inclusive, it means we welcome everyone who comes here. Think of the hymn, "Gather Us In." - Gather us in, the lost and forsaken, the proud and the strong, the rich and the haughty, the blind and the lame. Think of the thousands of people who enter through these doors and climb these steps. They come from every walk of life. They are young and old. They are all children of God. They are part of our family, and we belong to them. For this reason, hospitality must be our trademark. Then we can honestly sing the hymn: "All Are Welcome In this Place."