Notice I didn’t say “American flags.” However, my main concern here is about the prevalence of American flags in American Christian worship spaces. I recently visited a large Baptist church that not only had the American flag hanging on a pole on the platform (that’s what Baptists typically call the chancel area); it also had a large American flag hanging from the ceiling above the pulpit and communion table.
I’ve walked with several churches through the process of considering whether to remove the national flag from its sanctuary or worship space. Some have done it and others have not. Often there’s a gradual process of it being moved from the platform to a corner of the sanctuary (but always “up front”) and then possibly out of the worship space altogether and into the “fellowship hall” or vestibule. Other churches, of course, adamantly resist any such move.
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