Non-Church

Kanzo Uchimura (1861-1930)

"Non-church" is the church for those who have no church. It is the home for those who have no home, the orphanage for the orphan in spirit....

The true form of the church is non-church. There is no organized church in heaven. John says, "I saw no temple (church) within the city (heaven)" (Revelation 21:22). Bishops, deacons, preachers, and teachers exist only here on earth. In heaven, there is neither baptism nor communion; neither teachers nor students....

Naturally, however, as long as we remain on this earth, we need churches. Some people will join churches constructed by the hands of humans; there they will praise God, and there they will hear his word. Some churches will be made of stone, others of brick, and still others of wood. But not all of us need churches of this sort. That there are many Christians who do not belong to organized Christianity is similar to the fact that there are many homeless children. But even those of us who do not belong to organized Christianity need some sort of church while we exist on this earth. Where is our church and what is it like?

[Uchimura Kanzo Zenshu, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1963, vol. IX, pp. 210-213]. Tsunoda et al, Sources of Japanese Tradition, New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1958, pp. 854-5.