St Columba's Church, York

St Columba’s in York belongs to the United Reformed Church denomination, but was originally built by the city’s Presbyterians. It is a fine, high Victorian chapel which I was only able to view from without, but its large size bespeaks its founders’ success, numerical strength, and financial clout. It now claims to attract about forty, which is not bad for an English nonconformist chapel of unconservative theology.

Peculiarly, the pavement on Priory Street connects to the imposing front door by a staircase which serves as a bridge over the level below. It is a rather curious, though charming, design.

As Great Britain de-Christianises, God will continue to draw people to Himself but their foundational assumptions, upon arrival, will be different to our own. No longer raised on a diet of Sunday School, objective morality and a general, Judaeo-Christian world view, the gap, as it were, between the church entrance and the pavement, widens with each successive year. The task is ours to ensure that a sufficient bridge exists so the lost can come in. Although I feel that some ‘seeker friendly’ approaches are essentially sell-outs and dilutions of what church should be, neither should we erect barriers and obstacles to people coming in. The church’s message should not be altered, and neither should the essentials of worship, but the gap between the inside and the outside gets ever broader, and we are required to keep on minding it.