Where does the church belong?

A few days ago, I took part in a silly Facebook discussion about, among other things, the proper position of the altar in churches. That’s not so interesting, though it was great fun. What struck me was a side comment made by someone about how all of this didn’t matter too much, since the church was meant to be outside, serving the needs of the world.

I’ve heard plenty of people say this, and I never could quite figure out my discomfort. On the one hand, the last thing I’d want to do is defend any position suggesting that the church should cower inside buildings and shun the needs of the world. On the other hand, I don’t quite think it’s right to suggest that the church should be serving the needs of the world. Before you hit the outrage button, hear me out. Then feel free to tell me I’m nuts in the comments.

It seems to me that the church’s task is to gather its people around the altar so that we might offer our sacrifice of praise. It is then the task of the church to send people out into the world to serve the needs of the world in Christ’s name. There’s a reason the dismissal is so important. In the final words of the mass (which comes from the same Latin word as mission!), the deacon exhorts people to “love and serve the Lord” and so forth.