Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Notre Dame in flames: grieving the cremation of holy place and divine connection

OpinionChristy S. Edwards  |  April 16, 2019

“Where are you from?”

“Um, … everywhere? Nowhere? I’m not sure. Do you want a list?”

This awkward exchange marked the beginning of most every first conversation I had in high school and college. How exactly is a military kid to answer? “Well, I was born in Virginia, I lived for a year in South Carolina, I went to several elementary schools …” Before I’m even to fifth grade, most potential friends have walked away, rubbing the glazed look from their eyes.

Years later, this was still the lens through which I filtered the question my Bible study leader asked at church on Sunday.

“What do you think about place? Does God reside in certain spaces? How about thin places?”

“It’s more than a mere building … more than destruction of wood and glass. It is a cremation of place and of connection.”

“No,” I responded. “I don’t think God lives in specific locations. That seems too exclusive, as if the people who live in those zip codes are always in the presence and the rest of the world is out of luck. I think God is a God of welcome, not exclusion. So, I just don’t see God as being bound by a place.”

Little more than 24 hours later, the tears in my eyes and the ache in my soul seemed incongruent with the words I had so confidently shared with my class. As flames devoured much of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, something more than a structure was being eaten away.

Having lived in the City of Lights for a year, I have been within the walls of Notre Dame on many occasions. Every time I walked beneath the gargoyles and entered the cavernous vault, it was the cool air that always caught my breath and was the first signal that I was in a special hollow. The ceilings were designed to draw the eye upward, and that they did magnificently. Reaching for the heavens, I felt so small as I quietly walked the perimeter of this grand building. Light filtered in through the kaleidoscope of stained glass, creating layers of light and shadow. I stood before the rows of candles, their tiny flames joining together to create a vision of prayer and hope.

The flames on the television screen on Monday had the opposite effect. Some 850 years of worship and pilgrimage, of ritual and blessing, collapsing into a heap of ash.

It’s more than a mere building, isn’t it? The hundreds of Parisians somberly singing Ave Maria while watching their beloved Notre Dame melt into bits is evidence that, yes, this loss is more than destruction of wood and glass. It is a cremation of place and of connection.

I live in an old house in a historic neighborhood, and sometimes I clean the wood floors on my hands and knees. I don’t do this because it’s easy or quick. I do so because when my hands scrub those rows of wood and brush up against the nails embedded in them, it gives me pause to reflect on the many other women and men who have scrubbed these floors over the past 139 years. I think about the hopes that have been both birthed and buried within these walls and I feel connected to those who came before me, knowing that if they navigated their way through this messy, joyous, painful life, then the odds are good that I will too. My feet against the cool hardwood floors remind me of hope. I find God in this space and in this connection to my fellow travelers.

I felt similar emotions in the halls of the Notre Dame cathedral. No matter the day of the week or month of the year, a quick survey of my companion tourists illustrated the width and breadth Notre Dame reached. Across the centuries, millions of people of varying skin tone, culture, ethnicity, religion and gender found their way into the beauty of this place. I love knowing that my feet walked the same concrete as women, men and children from Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, South America, and Europe. Within its walls, we were one: struck by the beauty and the gift of this sacred space.

Witnessing that space of connection to God and to God’s people suffer and collapse caused my skin to feel hot. It’s easy to get lost in all that is gone. But within the structure that remains is the hope of the millions who have gone before us, reminding us that hope is stubborn and connection runs deep.

When you turn on the TV or look at your smartphone, don’t let your grief over this catastrophic destruction be for nothing.

It turns out my Bible study teacher was on to something. God is in a place: the place of deep connection between God’s self and God’s people. Sometimes this happens in the breathtaking beauty of a cathedral. Sometimes it simply involves grabbing a mop to kneel on wooden floors. But it always involves welcoming in the tourist, the visitor, the one unlike ourselves and finding that common ground of connection.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:Notre Dame fireholy placeSacred SpaceNotre Dame Cathedral
More by
Christy S. Edwards
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Criticism of Andy Stanley is rooted in father wounds

      Opinion

    • This is why people are leaving the church

      Opinion

    • Ken and Angela Paxton do a little sidestep — while quoting Bible verses

      Opinion

    • Fear of dancing and the courage to be serious

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Riding a wave of converts, one group aims to fuse Orthodoxy with Southern values

      Riding a wave of converts, one group aims to fuse Orthodoxy with Southern values

    • Mormons (And People Of Faith In General) More Likely To Be Fraud Victims

      Mormons (And People Of Faith In General) More Likely To Be Fraud Victims

    • Senator Demands to Know if World Vision Is Funding Terrorism

      Senator Demands to Know if World Vision Is Funding Terrorism

    • Texas teacher reportedly fired after reading from Anne Frank’s diary to students

      Texas teacher reportedly fired after reading from Anne Frank’s diary to students

    Read Next:

    SBC Executive Committee won’t explain McLaurin’s resume lies, and new interim president backs out one day after being announced

    NewsMaina Mwaura and Mark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • The real religious crisis in America

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • U.S. urged to provide more support for persecuted faith groups in Myanmar

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • North Carolina children’s home trustees release scathing report on longtime president’s misuse of funds

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Fear of dancing and the courage to be serious

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Jen Hatmaker and Tyler Merrit find love and are taking their show on the road next week

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Ken and Angela Paxton do a little sidestep — while quoting Bible verses

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • This is why people are leaving the church

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Criticism of Andy Stanley is rooted in father wounds

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • What do we mean by ‘affirming’?

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • How long before a revolution?

      OpinionJamar A. Boyd II

    • Baylor settles sexual assault lawsuit

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • SBC Executive Committee won’t explain McLaurin’s resume lies, and new interim president backs out one day after being announced

      NewsMaina Mwaura and Mark Wingfield

    • It’s ‘Boycotts R Us’ for American Family Association

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • On death

      OpinionGlen Schmucker

    • Al Mohler vs. Andy Stanley: What’s really going on?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • More religion in public schools raises concerns about religious liberty

      OpinionBryan Kelley

    • Must we change our language to reach climate change deniers?

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • A surprising window into Black Jesus

      AnalysisKristen Thomason

    • In biblical truth-telling, we need to mind the gap between clergy and laity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Prior explores the origin of evangelicalism’s ‘empire mentality’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • A ‘sad day’ for America?

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • In the midst of history-engendered pessimism, don’t forget the hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Sometimes, ‘resignation’ isn’t the reason clergy walk away from their ministry callings

      OpinionMary Kate Deal

    • Upcoming BNG webinar guests: Matt Cook and Bill Wilson, Emily Smith, Amy Butler

      NewsBNG staff

    • U.S. urged to provide more support for persecuted faith groups in Myanmar

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • North Carolina children’s home trustees release scathing report on longtime president’s misuse of funds

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Jen Hatmaker and Tyler Merrit find love and are taking their show on the road next week

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Baylor settles sexual assault lawsuit

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • SBC Executive Committee won’t explain McLaurin’s resume lies, and new interim president backs out one day after being announced

      NewsMaina Mwaura and Mark Wingfield

    • It’s ‘Boycotts R Us’ for American Family Association

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Prior explores the origin of evangelicalism’s ‘empire mentality’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Upcoming BNG webinar guests: Matt Cook and Bill Wilson, Emily Smith, Amy Butler

      NewsBNG staff

    • Number of countries with blasphemy laws grows by 13%

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The SBC’s far-far right believes all members of a Cooperation Group should agree with their views

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Judge again rules DACA illegal; humanitarian advocates call for congressional response

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Kansas is latest state to fund anti-abortion groups that encourage women to give birth

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Growth of Christianity in China may have stalled but no one knows for sure

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 9-15-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC Executive Committee eliminates 20% of staff due to budget crisis

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At AWAB lecture, Susan Shaw lays out 10 lies Christians tell about queer people

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Evangelical leaders condemn DeSantis for politicizing state executions

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Fellowship Southwest’s first conference calls for advocacy and action

      NewsJeff Hampton

    • Two other venues also have declined to host Promise Keepers events

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • McRaney to file appeal and keep his case against NAMB alive

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Retired pastor’s book finds Methodist history ‘strangely lukewarm’ on confronting racism

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • What you haven’t been taught about Martin Luther King

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Together for Hope adds Delta region vice president

      NewsBNG staff

    • The real religious crisis in America

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • Fear of dancing and the courage to be serious

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Ken and Angela Paxton do a little sidestep — while quoting Bible verses

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • This is why people are leaving the church

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Criticism of Andy Stanley is rooted in father wounds

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • What do we mean by ‘affirming’?

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • How long before a revolution?

      OpinionJamar A. Boyd II

    • On death

      OpinionGlen Schmucker

    • Al Mohler vs. Andy Stanley: What’s really going on?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • More religion in public schools raises concerns about religious liberty

      OpinionBryan Kelley

    • In biblical truth-telling, we need to mind the gap between clergy and laity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • A ‘sad day’ for America?

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • In the midst of history-engendered pessimism, don’t forget the hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Sometimes, ‘resignation’ isn’t the reason clergy walk away from their ministry callings

      OpinionMary Kate Deal

    • Life lessons learned while pondering ‘that little man!’

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Reflecting upon a new opportunity to minister to senior adults

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Confronting our violent culture with an engaged spirituality

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • The Jesus Room

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Post-evangelical snapshots

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Do complementarian men do better? A response to Nancy Pearcey

      OpinionSheila Wray Gregoire and Joanna Sawatsky

    • An out-of-the-box lesson from Barbie

      OpinionJeremiah Bullock

    • Anthony, Aldean, Dylan and Guthrie

      OpinionRichard Conville

    • Four things the SBC Executive Committee should do right now to address clergy sex abuse

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • Bruce Springsteen is a fraud, and so are we

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Women crying out in the wilderness in Tennessee

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Riding a wave of converts, one group aims to fuse Orthodoxy with Southern values

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Mormons (And People Of Faith In General) More Likely To Be Fraud Victims

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Senator Demands to Know if World Vision Is Funding Terrorism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Texas teacher reportedly fired after reading from Anne Frank’s diary to students

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Trump Says On Rosh Hashanah That ‘Liberal Jews’ Voted To ‘Destroy America’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • African churches urge US Congress to reauthorize PEPFAR

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Lawsuit by Islamic rights group says US terror watchlist woes continue even after names are removed

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Bible debates, ancient and modern: Why did early church choose only four Gospels?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • March for Our Lives, faith leaders call on Florida lawmakers to ‘cease and desist’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Survivors Of The Birmingham Church Bombing Say GOP Culture War Bills Are Trying To Erase Their History

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Let’s Have A Look At Education And Religious Attendance

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Her plans to play the piano and sing with the choir were interrupted by the news that the nearby 16th Street Baptist Church had been bombed.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are times for soul-searching, but not on your own – community has always been at the heart of the Jewish High Holidays

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Wheaton College Releases Report on Its History of Racism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Catholics in Ukraine struggle as Pope Francis’ approval rating is at an all-time low

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope’s visit to France stirs debate over immigration, secularism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As Soccer Moses, Jars of Clay guitarist Stephen Mason finds unexpected joy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Saudi Reforms Soften Islam’s Role, But Kingdom Takes Hard Line Against Dissent

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Security experts urge Jewish communities to prepare for possible High Holidays bomb threats

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis and Bill Clinton set discussion on climate change at Clinton Global Initiative

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At Rosh Hashanah reception, Doug Emhoff and Kamala Harris talk about putting antisemitism plan ‘into action’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Christian lawmakers push battle over church and state after Roe

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • California school district must reinstate Christian club, court rules

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • New Yorkers Watch as Their Only Evangelical Colleges Close

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Saints Linebacker Demario Davis Places Spotlight On The Power Of Prayer After Daughter Suffers Seizure

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS