A tale of two Malls

Visit this morning to see faith communities in action, with a visit to the Mars Hill house building project. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity it was serious building, with a large number of bodies on site and a determined approach to get the job done they were… very busy. They had brought people in from all over the place, not many had had any training but were handling equipment like professionals. They said that they had also sent people to Britain but it’s hard to imagine them getting past health and safety let alone planning. It looked great and they suggested I get in touch with their British operation when I get home which I will. In the meantime have a look at their website. http://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/

On the way back we call at two Shopping Malls; the first a relatively new one is deserted and shows signs of closed shops and the turn down in the economy we have been to ld about. The second one has to be the most bizarre shopping centre I have ever been to. Laid out to resemble Holland, in a kind of Disneyish kind of a way, it had a Gap and Nike outlet and could have been anywhere in Europe apart from the Dutch stuff. Many of the units had yet to be filled and some showed signs of desertion. One of the units was opening as a church in a few weeks time so maybe it will be another Mars Hill. Business is bad except for the churches so it would seem.

Afternoon finds us back in Holland to experience their Street Market Day. Once a year the shops put stalls out in the street and sell sale items. They have street performers and a great party atmosphere which made us happy to spend money on things we probably wouldn’t have touched otherwise. We stayed for a few hours and sent money in local resaurants and shops. You can’t help thinking that the malls haven’t quite got it right, even the one with clogs, canals and a Dutch theme… come to think of it, especially the one with a Dutch theme… sometimes you can try too hard!
It was funny there was no church presence there, there are hundreds of them around I expected at least some sort of visible presence. The only hint that was a town dominated by religion was in the restaurant where on the table where you signed the guest book. A bible with: "If you haven't got one at home please take me!" written on it. Perhaps so many people here do have a bible at home and do go to church they don't feel the need to try...