In John Shelby Spong's book, ***Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile***, he asked what believers will call that they build next. He offers a number of options that I, as a believer in exile, have tried on over the years. In the end, I chose a word that didn't carry the excess baggage so many others do: **Hallowstead**. # What is a Hallowstead? A hallowstead is a holy or sacred place or stand-in for something else. > [!NOTE] Hallowstead > **Hallow**: a saint or holy person, relic, or shrine > > **Stead**: an inhabited place > > **Hallowstead**: a place inhabited by the saints I love the word hallowstead because it reminds us of who we are. We are the saints, those consecrated to God through baptism. A saint isn't a perfect person, they are those dedicated to work of God. We are believers, mystics, artists, and activists. We are the body of Christ in this world doing the work of the Gospel: > [!quote] Jesus reading Isaiah 61:1-2 in Luke 4:18-19 > "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, Because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to the captives, Recovering of sight to the blind, To deliver those who are crushed, And to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." These are the works of the Gospel a saint is dedicated to performing. > [!quote] Ephesians 4:11-16 > He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ; from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.