Option 1:

Cost: about $30 from the local book store.
Materials: Some sort of plastic stuff
Time: one afternoon.
Seismic strength: appears okay, although the steeple has come off occasionally.
Comparison to the historic original: Pretty good.
Practicality for worship: Only if you’re about 1 cm tall.

Option 2:

Cost: About $5 million (NZD)
Materials: Cardboard, steel and some kind of clear plastic.
Time: Over a year
Seismic Strength: Appears okay, but the cardboard doesn’t like getting too wet. No steeple to fall down.
Comparison to the historic original: Nil.
Practicality for worship: Very good.

Once or twice in the Before, I had stopped and sat in the Cathedral-that-was for a few minutes of private prayer in my lunch break.

In between taking photos, I did the same today. The building has changed, but God is still the same God.

How NOT to build a cathedral:

Take the Church Property Trustees through the courts to prevent them from “deconstructing” what’s left of the Cathedral-that-was, thus delaying and increasing their costs for building a permanent replacement, and leaving a deteriorating, weathered ruin.

In my opinion, the cathedral is supposed to be a place for worship, not a museum. Those opposed to its replacement have missed the whole point of the building. The architects would have intended the the building to direct people’s attention heavenward, not for the building to be focus.

In the very unlikely event that Jim Anderton or any other members of the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust are reading this, Please let the Church get on with what the Church is supposed to concentrate on: worshipping God, building relationships and serving the community.

He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!
What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people! It is people! It is people!