Signs of St Augustine

I was a little amused when I called at the Roman Catholic Church of St Augustine situated on Burnley’s Lowerhouse Lane. A modern, barn-like construction, neatly tucked away, it evidently draws a congregation from the local area. Upon the gates to the modest carpark are the words:

THOU SHALT NOT

PARK IN FRONT OF

THESE GATES

AT ANY TIME

PRIVATE LAND

ACCESS REQUIRED

I wondered what events had warranted so uncompromising a sign with its hint of Mosaic authority and Sinaitic ferocity.

Upon the gates to the actual church building was another message, this time in Latin. Quite how many Latin readers exist in that part of Burnley I cannot be certain.

Christus Heri Hodie Semper

which translates:

Christ yesterday today always

- which refers to the Lord Jesus’ unchanging nature, character and existence -  a maxim to which I fully subscribe and which paraphrases Hebrews 13:8. I, of all people, have sympathy for churches with parking problems, and for those in tough, urban neighbourhoods for which the installation of steel gates is good practice. Yet the unchanging Jesus of the Bible need not be approached through intermediaries such as altars, priests, saints and even His own mother, for He Himself beckons us:

Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Now that is a message worth putting on a sign.