America's Newest Cathedral

Anyone who knows me even minimally knows how much I love pro football. Most especially, the New Orleans Saints. My grandfather and I bonded over our love of the Saints when I was quite young. Paw Paw took me to see my first Saints game at Tulane Stadium which is now an ancient memory, replaced by the world's largest indoor arena, the Louisiana Superdome.

As much as I love the Saints and consume every nugget of information about their current Training Camp being held in West Virginia, my love of God, Jesus Christ, the Church and faith in general far surpasses any devotion to football.

That's why I was so upset to read an article from the New York Times about a church being demolished in Atlanta to make way for the new Falcons stadium. In the interest of full disclosure, I feel it important to acknowledge my general loathing of the Atlanta Falcons as they are the biggest rivals of my New Orleans Saints. But, my personal feelings about the Falcons have nothing to do with how I feel about the information contained in the article, which you can read for yourself through this link: Atlanta Stadium Article.

Professional football has grown in my own lifetime to become such a money-making machine that it should come as no surprise to me that disregard for the historical significance of a church like Friendship Baptist is trumped by a desire for a new football cathedral. As the article points out, the Falcons' previous stadium, the Georgia Dome, was built in 1992. Meanwhile, a church which was founded by freed slaves 152 years ago gets quickly brushed aside. Apart from Friendship Baptist's historical significance, I'm saddened by the societal shifting of priorities from respecting gathering spaces of the faithful to gathering spaces for the fans. The communal nature of humans worshipping God has become less important than the communal nature of humans screaming for their favorite team.

I believe strongly in the power of God, good people and a hope-filled future for all of God's children. As St. Paul writes clearly in his Letter to the Romans: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Perhaps, St. Paul could have added to his list: "nor Falcons."