4 ms·

> It’s about bringing people to God. True enough, but the community ('fellowship') aspect of the faith is essential. Maybe I'm missing it, but it also seems t

> It’s about bringing people to God. True enough, but the community ('fellowship') aspect of the faith is essential. Maybe I'm missing it, but it also seems to be something that's missing in more secular world views.

rjplatte 8y ago
Christianity emphasizes community heavily, and church is one of the last common social events that continues to exist in American society.
- mschaef 8y ago
  I live fairly close to several churches that have been converted to (high end) condos. From an economic point of view I get the appeal. In terms of the modern cynicism about religion, I also get the appeal. But on a personal note, It's hard to get excited about a place that was once home to community events getting turned into a half-dozen or so retreats where people of means can go be alone. (Particularly considering all the other options for housing around here, and the fact I don't exactly see community centers, etc. springing up to fill the gaps left by the churches.)
  - kazinator 8y ago
    Bathrooms of adjacent apartments tend to be clustered together. Maybe a little window can be installed with a sliding shutter; the residents can then confess their sins to each other while sitting on the toilet.
  - rjplatte 8y ago
    There are no replacements, which is the worst part. A healthy community has a gathering place, and without a church, where is it?
bonesss 8y ago
Book clubs, talk therapy 'support' groups, athletics, travel associations, charities, small crop coops... The secular "world view" is replete with fellowship, collective action, and community. Heck, "community centers"... Though, lacking a unifying shared habit of proscribed worship at a single place those things tend to be interest, activity, or goal based.
- mschaef 8y ago
  > those things tend to be interest, activity, or goal based. I think that's a more significant distinction than it might appear, mainly because it seems to imply a narrower and more disjoint view of community than you might expect from an institution like a Church (or Synagogue, Mosque, etc.) Just to illustrate, the church I attend has the usual Sunday services, and it's explicitly a whole-family affair. This includes the kids, for which there are age appropriate breakouts during the service. There's also a breakout of sorts for people with special concerns around illness, death, and other particular needs. After the service, there's another community coffee-hour/lunch of sorts where people get together and are just able to hang out a bit. The kids usually wind up on the playground. There's also a deliberate program after the service to physically reach out to people that were unable to attend due to illness or infirmity. This is not to mention the monthly 'everyone invited' community dinners, the quarterly hosting of several homeless families on church grounds, the food pantry run by the church several times a week... Setting aside the religiosity of it all, the point I'm trying to make is that the organization goes out of its way to be inclusive in a relevant way to a wide spectrum of the community. There's explicitly something for the young, the old, the infirm, people that aren't members of the church... It's harder to see how the more goal-oriented organizations you mention can really address that broad a definition of 'community'. I get how you can use a portfolio of involvement in those groups to get everybody in a family involved in something, but not necessarily how they'd be involved _together_.... which is important. For whatever it's worth, I can easily see how something like this _could_ be assembled outside of religion.... I'm just hard pressed to point out examples where's it's actually happening at all (much less in a way that would compensate for the losses in religious institutions.)
  - chrisweekly 8y ago
    Your church sounds like it's at less risk of "death" than the ones turning to community embrace as an act of desperation.

rjplatte 8y ago

Christianity emphasizes community heavily, and church is one of the last common social events that continues to exist in American society.

mschaef 8y ago
I live fairly close to several churches that have been converted to (high end) condos. From an economic point of view I get the appeal. In terms of the modern cynicism about religion, I also get the appeal. But on a personal note, It's hard to get excited about a place that was once home to community events getting turned into a half-dozen or so retreats where people of means can go be alone. (Particularly considering all the other options for housing around here, and the fact I don't exactly see community centers, etc. springing up to fill the gaps left by the churches.)
- kazinator 8y ago
  Bathrooms of adjacent apartments tend to be clustered together. Maybe a little window can be installed with a sliding shutter; the residents can then confess their sins to each other while sitting on the toilet.
- rjplatte 8y ago
  There are no replacements, which is the worst part. A healthy community has a gathering place, and without a church, where is it?

bonesss 8y ago

Book clubs, talk therapy 'support' groups, athletics, travel associations, charities, small crop coops... The secular "world view" is replete with fellowship, collective action, and community. Heck, "community centers"... Though, lacking a unifying shared habit of proscribed worship at a single place those things tend to be interest, activity, or goal based.

mschaef 8y ago
> those things tend to be interest, activity, or goal based. I think that's a more significant distinction than it might appear, mainly because it seems to imply a narrower and more disjoint view of community than you might expect from an institution like a Church (or Synagogue, Mosque, etc.) Just to illustrate, the church I attend has the usual Sunday services, and it's explicitly a whole-family affair. This includes the kids, for which there are age appropriate breakouts during the service. There's also a breakout of sorts for people with special concerns around illness, death, and other particular needs. After the service, there's another community coffee-hour/lunch of sorts where people get together and are just able to hang out a bit. The kids usually wind up on the playground. There's also a deliberate program after the service to physically reach out to people that were unable to attend due to illness or infirmity. This is not to mention the monthly 'everyone invited' community dinners, the quarterly hosting of several homeless families on church grounds, the food pantry run by the church several times a week... Setting aside the religiosity of it all, the point I'm trying to make is that the organization goes out of its way to be inclusive in a relevant way to a wide spectrum of the community. There's explicitly something for the young, the old, the infirm, people that aren't members of the church... It's harder to see how the more goal-oriented organizations you mention can really address that broad a definition of 'community'. I get how you can use a portfolio of involvement in those groups to get everybody in a family involved in something, but not necessarily how they'd be involved _together_.... which is important. For whatever it's worth, I can easily see how something like this _could_ be assembled outside of religion.... I'm just hard pressed to point out examples where's it's actually happening at all (much less in a way that would compensate for the losses in religious institutions.)
- chrisweekly 8y ago
  Your church sounds like it's at less risk of "death" than the ones turning to community embrace as an act of desperation.