The Church Above the Shops is a poem written by Owen Collins about Broadmead Baptist Church and published in the zine BRUTAL Bristol II.
Shoppers clutching pencilled lists
hear the gospel drifting from the striplights.
Charity workers calling in for a meal deal
have been known to come out, converts with Clubcards.
They claim to have found Jesus in the clatter of baskets,
the hum of the freezers. On the street,
those drawn only to the windows’ special offers
will be unaware of the storeys above the storeroom,
the loving praises being given, the whitewash walls
raising themselves impetuously to God like doves in flight.
This is the place to come for last minute essentials,
where the aisles and pews reverberate as one;
the cathedrals fill and swell, their heavy doors
shifting on their ancient hinges,
but here is this hideaway on high,
the worn carpet on the stairwell to heaven,
voices, prayers, psalms rising into the air
like warmth. Like heat.
Owen Collins
Further Reading:
Owen also wrote a great poem about the lost Welbeck Street Car Park. I featured it here and also in the zine of photographs of the car park BRUTAL IV.
BRUTAL Bristol II is the second issue in a collaborative zine series created to showcase the unique architecture of Bristol from the perspective of photographers, writers, creatives and enthusiasts.
Money raised from the sale of BRUTAL Bristol II will be donated to FareShare South West, a charity working in the Bristol area fighting against food waste and hunger. So far the series has raised over £1500 for the charity.
Our Shadows Will Remain 