Chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary

I visited VTS recently. Well, this past week.

Details of the visit aside, the most striking thing physically speaking, is the site of the ruined chapel.

Before going there I knew this was a traumatic event for people attached to VTS. I know of one graduate who seemed particularly hurt and traumatized by it.

This is after all the space in which people gather every day for prayer, either Morning or Evening prayer, and/or Eucharist.

It is also the site for other events and ceremonies and things associated with the life of the seminary.

Seeing a religious place in ruin is hard. It goes up exponentially if you are attached to that place.
I can only imagine what it was like seeing that place burn in person.

I don't have anything really inspirational to offer other than that we all know it will be rebuilt. That is a given.

I would also add that it might be a lesson in not becoming overly attached to physical things.

I cannot fathom having to witness the church I was baptized and confirmed in (and hopefully ordained in) burn to the ground. It would devastate me.

But I also know God doesn't exist solely within the walls of a church. God is everywhere.

God is within you, within me. In fact, God is everywhere.

What I say isn't meant to distract from the hurt of losing things such as the chapel at VTS. If I had been a graduate at the time, well, I know I would have been distraught and shed some tears.

But we carry on as do the students, staff and faculty at VTS.

God is everywhere. Within us and around us.