[PaulRobinson]

The piece you're missing is de-consecration. A consecrated space is holy whether the people are in it or not, within the Catholic tradition. Yes, you can deconsecrate it, and then it's just a building. However a loaded tabernacle makes it a holy space in the eyes of Catholics even if it's an empty space. It is conceptually very different to Methodism: the entire point of Methodism is to abandon such mysteries.

[apelapan]

I think we agree, because I did mention the de-consecration as a crucial step.

The Lutheran churches where I'm from do a similar thing.