Double Entendre pt I

This building is on the corner of Bird and West on the Westside of Buffalo. At one time this was the meeting place for a thriving Church. In recent years, the people no longer worship God in the space. It is no longer an epicenter for relationship and purpose, but has found a new incarnation as a collection of storage units.

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This building is on the corner of Ferry and Elmwood in the Elmwood Village area of Buffalo. It too, was once a center of worship and community, but has been recently turned into a suite of offices and businesses. What once was a center for life is now a commercial center.

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This is the headquarters of Righteous Babe Records. It was once a center for worship. Now it is the headquarters and performance center for Ani DeFranco, a musical entertainer.

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There are buildings all over Buffalo that once held events to glorify God, but now are completely empty. They grow only weeds, and harbor only midnight drug users...

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Many decry the loss of churches in the Cities of America, and Buffalo in particular. Churches are closing down their buildings, selling them, acknowledging that the communities that own the buildings have long since abandoned any sense of mission to the surrounding neighborhood. They have, in fact, largely moved to the suburbs, and no longer live in the area, much less care for it.

But there is a much more insidious problem to attend to, and a much more important lesson to be learned here...