Dream Scenery
Like the set of my own movie, I have a lot of dreams that take place in Wentzville, Missouri, where I grew up. Many of them are set at Immanuel Lutheran Church where my family attended weekly and where I went to school from 2nd through 8th grade. Since my mother taught there I vividly remember killing time sneaking around the hundred year old church and adjoining buildings. I remember the church had a bell tower with a thick rope that was pulled weekly to announce the start of a service or the death of a member. The ancient leaky pipe organ squeeked out hymn after hymn. Little boys in itchy pants could slide across the creeky wooden pews and occasionally catch naps during slow sermons. I remember dark stained glass windows, heavy curtains behind the alter, a towering pulpit, and a storm shelter below – empty exept for a few dusty hymnals.
What does it mean to dream about a church? If I am in the sanctuary I am usually in the loft in the back next to the bell tower. Often I am in the annex off to the side where people congregated after the services to shake hands and chat about whatever it is grown ups talk about. As a child I could escape this ritual and run across the railroad tracks to a flee market where I could empty my pockets on baseball cards.
For some reason the parking lot is a popular dream setting for car oriented dreams. I have the ones where I lose control of my vehicle. The brakes stop responding and I steer my way back to that parking lot where I first learned to drive.
The church still survives, although it looks like there are plans for a new building in the works. A google search reveals that the campus has expanded since my school days but it is amazing how many memories come back as I retrace the steps of my childhood. I am hoping to travel back to Wentzville this year for my ten year high school reunion. I plan on visiting that church and see if I can make some sense of the dreams and maybe figure out why my brain takes me back there at night.
