Digging St Saviour's, York

St Saviour’s in York is a typically meddled-with medieval church. It became redundant back in the fifties, and is now occupied by the York Archaeological Trust. They have turned it into an attraction called ‘Dig’, the purpose of which is to encourage children to develop an interest in history and archaeology. Of all the re-purposing of old churches, this is one of the most novel, and least obnoxious.

There is a sense in which the building’s original function is being maintained. I am not suggesting that churches are museums, though some undoubtedly fit this description. Rather, we are invited to come and dig, to unearth, to discover. It is not the decayed remains of the past we are called to summon up from the dust, but the ancient promises of God and their fulfilment in the Lord Jesus. From the very foundation of the world, the Son was 'the Lamb who was slain’, and He beheld the undeserving beneficiaries of His mission from afar, before they were even created. So come to church and open up a Bible; see the Lord of Creation find a way to readmit us to His Eden, how the God of Genesis invites people to His re-created heavens and earth of the Book of Revelation.

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, the deeds You did in their days, in days of old... Psalm 44:1