The Church across the Street
Words and music by Timothy Mark
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She put the phone back in its cradle and she leaned against the wall
Devastating silence from a long awaited call
“Congratulations†had confirmed her deepest fear
As she gave herself the label Unwed Mother, 18 years
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And at the church across the street the band played on
And the choir sang another verse of another lovely song
But her world was crashing in apartment thirty-three
And she wondered if she would ever meet
Someone from the church across the street
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She left her apartment at a quarter after eight
Drove the mile to the clinic and walked inside the iron gate
She was greeted warmly with reassurance in his voice
A simple safe procedure but had she made the proper choice
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And at the church across the street the band played on
And the choir sang another verse of another lovely song
But her world was crashing as she paid the Doctor’s fee
And she wondered if she would ever meet
Someone from the church across the street
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Aching recollections she tries to forget
But the room where she had lived alone she shares with her regret
She sits by her window and longs for something more
As she listens to a baby cry in apartment thirty-four
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And at the church across the street the band played on
And the choir sang another verse of another lovely song
But her world was crashing in apartment thirty-three
And she wondered if she would ever meet
Someone from the church across the street
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And she wondered if she would ever meet
Someone who could help her with her need
Maybe someone from the church across the street
I was at church yesterday and our music minister sang this song because it went along with the message. I posted the lyrics above for you to read. While I was listening to this song, I really felt convicted and my heart just dropped. These lyrics, this story, is what goes on everyday with young unwed, pregnant women. We (myself included) as Christians should be the ones to open our arms, hearts, and lives to these women or anyone else who is sufferng. To many neighborhoods, our church is “The church across the street” and if we don’t reach out to those in need, who will. We are called by God to share His love, His story and Grace to our neighbors. While most of us do this, there are people who judge others and judge their lifestyle or choices they made instead of helping them. Christ says in Acts 10 “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” He shows us that we should not call any man impure or unclean, yet we still judge people and deam them “unclean” because of choices they have made. In Luke 14 Jesus tells the parable of the great feast and it’s about a certain man that prepared a great banquet and invited many guests but they all made excuses as to why they couldn’t come. He then told his servant to go out and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame so his house would be full. This story is an application of God’s word that insitsts that all people, in all walks of life will be invited to His table and His house. The moral of these ramblings are that as a church we should not be simply, “The church across the street” that people hear or pass by, but we should be a safe haven for people and a place they feel like they can come to and talk to someone. We need to do outreach in in the community and get involved with the unchurched. It’s sad to think that an abortion clinic is more open and friendly than a church.
