Kind of Empty

ANGEL
You. You're the—

HIGH PRIEST
High priest, guardian of the word, caretaker of her most blessed temple.

ANGEL
Well, blessed temple's kind of empty, padre.

"Peace Out" Angel 4.21

When I watched this episode of "Angel" today I could not help but think of the many references that were made to "God's House" in Arkadelphia, Arkansas during Slayage 3: Conference on the Whedonverses back in the beginning of June.

Ryan and I first discovered God's House as we were eating at one of Arkadelphia's finest dining establishments, Sonic. God's House is conveniently located across the street from Sonic, so if you are ever running late for a meeting with the Almighty, you can always grab a snack beforehand and bring it over to share. If you need to look it up on a map, it's on the corner of 10th & McNutt. God's House, as you can see in the above picture, is comprised of a dilapidated, boarded up structure. Regarding its appearance, Ryan-just as Angel does in this scene in "Peace Out"-made the eerie comment, "There doesn't seem to be anyone there." I replied, "That's quite a statement."

In a later conversations with some local Arkadelphites, I asked what purpose God's House might serve and no one could give us an answer. Was it a church? A Bible study center? A meeting place for a youth group? No one knew what went down there-so we automatically assumed that a building called God's House would be a perfect front for illicit activities in Arkadelphia, AR and the students of Henderson State University. It is in a dry county after all.