What is a building?

A Reflection on St. Moses’ Mart, Sacred Space, and the Work of Mercy

 … having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,  in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,  in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  -Ephesians 2:20-22

What comes to mind when most of us think about buildings? Concrete, steel, fluorescent lights, square footage – we typically talk about buildings as objects. Scripture dares to suggest otherwise. It calls buildings a “building which, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20-22). Scripture speaks ontologically when we speak in terms of structure. This is not an architectural language but a language of identity, purpose, and transformation.

And this transformation is happening right now in Shreveport, Louisiana. Lo Mart Grocery Store, a 1975 institution that served the local MLK Jr. /Cooper Road neighborhood, well in past decades, is being reborn in partnership with the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank and many generous supporters. By God’s grace, Lo Mart is being transformed into St. Moses’ Mart, a 16,000-square-foot facility that will serve as: a community food market, an educational center, and a place of prayer.

Fitting together a building for a new purpose echoes the early Christian communities where prayer and feeding the hungry were one seamless movement of love. Through a partnership with the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank, St. Moses’ Mart is projected to distribute one million pounds of food annually to eligible families, offering fresh produce, dairy, meats, and shelf-stable items.

One million pounds! No building can physically lift this weight, but it can become a space where this weight is carried with dignity, where hunger meets reverence, scarcity meets generosity, and isolation meets community. This is how a building “grows into a holy temple” not through adornment but through compassion.

In addition, a mission chapel within St. Moses’ Mart is being established and dedicated to St. Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled to carry Christ’s cross.  Through a bearing of our shared burdens, St. Simon, and we through this chapel, become witnesses to compassion. Father Jason Foster, St. Moses’ Mart Director, sees a chapel where the ancient liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church will be celebrated in the midst of the food bank, where prayer and feeding the hungry will be inseparable expressions of Christ’s love.

Ephesians 2 tells us this “building grows… as you also are being built together…” The St. Moses’ Mart and the community are being fitted together into one living body, a spiritual temple. Consider those contributing to this effort:

•  The volunteers stocking shelves are foundational stones.
• The families receiving food are cornerstones of community.
•  The children learning in the educational center are building blocks.
• The prayers whispered in the chapel form the mortar that binds us together.
•  The burdens carried are beams supporting this vital structure.

St. Moses’ Mart is not just a building; it’s a becoming. It’s not merely a structure; it’s a living body. It is being fit together, with and for this community, into God’s dwelling place.

Who Is St. Moses’ Mart? St. Moses’ Mart is:

•  A witness to neighborhood history.
•  A servant to the hungry.
• A companion to families in need.
• A teacher imparting wisdom.
• A sanctuary for prayer.
• A bearer of burdens.
• A holy temple being fitted together.
• A dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

It’s more than a place, it’s a presence. It’s more than a structure, it’s a calling. It’s more than being renovated; it’s being built together by the grace of God.

So next time you pass this building, don’t ask “What is this building becoming?” Ask “Who is it becoming?” “What is it doing?” “Whom is it serving?”

For in their transformative work-healing, feeding, teaching, praying, loving, and bearing burdens-some buildings remind us that change is possible for us too, and that we all are being fit together into something far greater than ourselves.

Would you like to support St. Moses’ Mart? You can learn more about how to help by clicking here.