We Forget Who We Are

A few years ago, I came across this article on the internet regarding the loss of (read: thrown out) sacramental artwork in churches due to drastic "renovations" and "updating." The article is written by Marek Czarnecki. At one point the article discusses the closing of churches. Czarnecki offers this profound insight ... "When a parish closes, that community of people disperses into other parishes. Without our physical sites and signs, however, we forget who we are, and we lose the material objects that link us to a very deep, historical communal identity. In American culture, we lose our personal and transpersonal depth when the sites that ground us in our history and spiritual ancestors disappear ... Instinctively, with the demolition of churches, its members sense that the institution and its dogma are less permanent, and in the hands of mercurial forces."

I don't know if I can add anything else to make Mr. Czarnecki's statement more profound.