Ive always wanted to own a church. Or a warehouse. Or some giant space to live and work in. Last summer Rick and I, along with a friend, went to look at this church thats for sale in our neighborhood. We toured the entire place- the giant, beautiful, neglected church and the accompanying school/social hall. I loved it. We loved it. Between Rick and I we probably took over 200 photos of the place. It was a maze of rooms and secret spaces (like the duckpin bowling alley in the basement, complete with lanes and seating) and my imagination ran wild with what I could do with a building like that.
Of course, it carried a pretty hefty price tag and being in a primarily residential area limited what one could do with it. Eventually I sadly gave up on it, in a way, and was quietly grateful for getting to explore such a fabulous place at all. Until the other day, when I stumbled across it accidentally and learned that it was still for sale, and at a greatly reduced price. I assumed, last year, that some developer would snatch it up and chop it to bits and turn it into over-designed condos, but it appears as though that was not the case.
So now my brain is reeling again with thoughts of making this church a home for BRICKS, as well as my son and I, and maybe even a couple of other small organizations. I have daydreams of dumpsters overflowing with the garbage we'd have to haul out of it, and being covered in paint and dirt. I can see the old classrooms becoming my office, with their rows of coat hooks and massive chalk boards still on the walls. I cant, however, dream up a way to raise the $450,000 it would take to buy it, let alone the money it would need to renovate/clean/make it livable.
One thing Rick taught me about dreaming big, is that sometimes the dreams are enough. A person should always think big, dream wildly, and imagine the possibility in their dreams. And maybe, sometimes, one of those dreams might come true.
