When I was a kid… one of my favorite little wordy-poems to recite… was this one.  First you would clasp your hands together, and through the poem, make different gestures to reflect the action of the words.
This was it.
Here is the big church.
Here is the big steeple.
Open the big doors….
and there’s the big people.

Now… you could replace the word BIG with anything.  Any color… here’s the green church…. here’s the green steeple… blah blah.  Or it could be replaced with any personification…. fat, skinny, tall, ugly…. etc.  Or even any feeling… hungry, sad, happy…. and on.

Oh… I would entertain myself for hours on end.

But today as I was out walking, I noticed this steeple, and it made me wonder how the whole deal got started.  I mean…. it is one of the most recognizable elements of most churches.   And…. the steeple serves several practical… and symbolic purposes that can be traced back to the earliest Christian churches.

So… Those old Church steeples came around in the middle ages.  They evolved from earlier models of  Byzantine and Greek cupolas that similarly stood above and beyond the main buildings.  In their early days…. many of those first wacky steeples were completely separate structures from the main church.

Then… the architects started plunking them right on top….. about the time when Cathedrals came around.

The steeple’s main purpose during the middle ages was to make the church visible from any part of a town.   Those Medieval folks needed BIG reminders…. so the steeples helped them remember about the importance of Church in their lives.

Then the bells came along.  The ring-a-dings were used for a variety of functions….. both secular and religious. Like ceremonies starting and…. when to fast and when to pray.

They were also good communicators…. uhhhhh… sort of….  the early ADT Systems…. warning the good people of potential dangers…. such as an approaching army or a fire.

But the grand old steeple is seen more as a symbol than anything else.  It is meant to act like a hand, reaching into the sky to touch the heavens themselves.  To remind the humans about transcendence from earth to that which is beyond.

And…. sometimes….  prayers shoot right up into the air through them.  OR… something like that.

Finally…. if someone is hunting you down…. in pursuit… and you have nowhere to go….. you can find what is called “Sanctuary” by running in to a church.  This of course… is called….. The Steeple Chase.

So.  There you have it my friends.  The Steeple in a nutshell.  Or me… the nut…. trying to explain the Steeple.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” – Dr. Seuss