November 4 2023
THE CASE FOR CAUTION.
My father was a successful businessman and entrepreneur, until he wasn’t. He failed to detect a radical change in his market, at the very time when he took on debt to finance an extensive home renovation.
His clientele were the small bakers, of which every village in North Netherlands had a number, and every street corner in the city also. Almost overnight, with the advent of automobile ownership, and the growth of supermarkets, this scenario drastically altered, and with it his market.
Geert Mak, one of the most celebrated authors in the Netherlands, pinpointed this event in his book, “How God disappeared from Jorwerd”, Jorwerd being a village in central Friesland, a location that could just as well have been any small settlement in rural Netherlands. It is the story of their retail merchants and the overpowering city influence, and also the overnight vanishing of the church and the loss of ‘faith’.
My youngest brother lived in such a place – he worked in the city. Once there, I counted 5 abandoned churches: no retail stores or active faith-community at all.
An identical phenomenon happened in Tweed, where I have lived since 1975. When I came, there were 4 hardware stores, a butcher, a baker, and a clothing store: nothing now. We do have one hardware store, large, on the South edge of town, too far out to walk to.
This year the Salvation Army revived its Thrift Shop, now thriving: its church closed, and so is the Anglican while my Presbyterian Church is fading slowly.
So, what holds the future? Will the automobile prevail? Will ‘faith’ return?
The automobile was not the only cause that killed both retail and church: The dying faith in community and in God, kept alive during the economic depression, 1929-39, and also endured during the 1939-45 World War II, collapsed soon after peace came, replaced by faith in technology.
Now that God vacuum, somewhat filled by the advent of the freedom-generating vehicle, is facing a major test: that idol, now our new deity, has become the very threat to our physical and spiritual survival. The latest Arctic News warns caused, ironically, by our so adored automobile and technology, that: “The climate is an angry beast and we are poking at it with sticks”. Can we tame that beast? That is the multi-trillion dollar question today.
The case for caution.
My father got burned when he failed to detect the onset of the new culture that killed his business. Now our entire self-driving mode is under attack, with the distinct possibility that a sudden and drastic rise in Global Heating will force governments to curtail the total use of gasoline-powered vehicles, while, replacing them with all-electric substitutes, will prove difficult, due to bottlenecks in material and affordability.
There is an additional case for caution because the Middle East holds the key to the oil supply and peace. A wrong turn there and the OPEC – the Oil Producing Exporting Countries – might close the tap, as they have a choke hold on our economies.
My father failed to read the signs of the times, and so lost his business.
The question today is much more complicated and all-consuming. Through my father’s failure I personally have learned a lesson, which has haunted me all my adult life.
I have learned one additional lesson: the church, as an organization, no longer has an answer, even though I still attend. Bonhoeffer taught me that a church, existing only for itself, is a failure: it HAS to be there for others. Miraculously, my dwindling church is as good as it gets, even though our Sunday services are, by and large, useless, because, in my experience, sermons are a waste of time, making preachers redundant. What I see as important, is the singing, the coffee hour and fellowship there. What I see as important is our Monday-noon free hot meal, attended by some 20-25 people. What I see as important is our church initiated communal Christmas Cantata. What I see as important is the Wednesday morning Coffee Hour. What I see as very important is the use of the churchyard to grow greens for the local food bank, demonstrating that “The Earth is the Lord’s and all it contains”, as Psalm 24 attests. What we do miss is a communal prayer gathering.
Fortunately, our church building is right across the Beer Store and the only Food store.
The Belgic Confession is very explicit, which, when asking, “How do we know God?” answers: “First of all through his creation, which, as a wonderful book, tells us about him through his miraculous works”. That Word is shouting today.
Unless a church community emphasizes deeds, including environmental ones – see the book of James – it will fail, as today so many churches already do.