A Specific Time and Place

"She felt that faith need not be connected to a presence at any time or place."
This is true, I think - to an extent. Someone washed ashore on a desert island does not become any less of a Christian because he or she cannot make it to church. Neither do people who live in areas of religious persecution or people have to work Sunday mornings to feed a family. Neither do people who have taken a Sunday off for a vacation at their lake cabin.
Neither do they grow - at least at the same rate. Certainly, introspection is an integral part of one's spirituality. But I think that exchange is, too. About a year and a half ago, my family and I began attending Jacob's Well, a church in South Minneapolis. The messages were not pretentious or preachy, but rather honest and relevant. I had considered myself to have a decent faith for some time, but hearing others discuss theirs solidified everything for me. It was in a way inspiring to share faith with others, and being a part of a community has been rewarding on many levels.
I wonder what would happen to somebody who had moderate faith but was placed in a community that had none or discouraged it - I think that the conformity could stifle it. And I think that a church community does the reverse.
So for me, Sunday, 10:30 A.M., 4645 4th Ave. S. - a specific time and place - is important.