" The Church Uptown" by Ian McGuinness

" The Church Uptown" is a very well written and descriptive piece of writing. He started out with a very effective technique to teach us a history lesson of the church and how it came about. He went into great detail to describe the importance of the church and how much it meants to the parishioners." St. Mary's is a place that has not only withstood its trials of time, but has also provided the people of Oxford the opportunity to withstand their own trials of life and faith." Ian is saying that uptown is based around the church. The church meant so much to the people of Oxford that its location, being in the center of town, shows how important it is. He then tells his audience about how the location of the church now is almost like an oxymoron because now it is surrounded by nothing but bars and food. This sacred place of worship is right next to a place where college students drink, dance and sin, how ironic. Now, Ian thinks of it as a bad thing, but I think its perfect because after you sin, what would be better than to walk right next door and repent! But his last sentence really put everything into perspective, "Her lights are always on and her doors are always open." He is saying that no matter what, everyone is always welcome no matter who you are or what you have done, which is a very effective technique to use when concluding his piece.