Q: We plan on moving out of our Church for two months this summer in order to do some repairs on the ceiling and at the same time refurbish the pews and put in some new carpet and freshen the place up. Do you have any suggestions for a ritual for leaving a space and then reentering the space?
Thanks Paul for any insight or input you might have.
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A: We really don’t have a ritual as such, but I wonder what you think of offering a prayer of thanksgiving for the space, such as Book of Blessings 1979. There’s also one for travelers at 732.
One of those could work as a conclusion to the prayer of the faithful on the last Sunday – though it may need some tweaking.
If it’s a weekday, you could find readings in volume IV of the lectionary for the consecration of a church and the anniversary of that event. They’ll give you some good passages for reflecting on the purpose of the building.
I’d probably keep it simple, but you’re right to do something to say “see you later” to the building.