Between 6,000 and 10,000 churches in the U.S. are dying each year

[Cooky]

That means around 100-200 churches will close this week.

What Should America Do With Its Empty Church Buildings? - The Atlantic

 

[columbus]

That means around 100-200 churches will close this week.

But 195 churches open every week.

I heard that on the news.
Tom

 

[Cooky]

But 195 churches open every week.

I heard that on the news.
Tom

Really? I didn't know that.

I do know that in my neighborhood, the Crystal Cathedral was sold to the Catholic Church's diocese of Orange, who have been completely renovating it for the past several years. It is now known as Christ Cathedral.

 

[sun rise]

But 195 churches open every week.

I heard that on the news.
Tom

Study: Thousands of Churches Closing Every Year, but There Is a Silver Lining is an article on that point. What I take from that is a "church" as a traditional building with traditional functions is passing away but there are new models emerging.

 

[Cooky]

But 195 churches open every week.

I heard that on the news.
Tom

Hmmm... Actually, I just googled that and saw nothing about it.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I think the architecture of some churches, such as the one pictured in the OP, is downright gorgeous. Perhaps they can be retrofitted into condos or lofts. Historical societies near me have bought churches and made them historical landmarks converting them into meeting places for whoever contributed to the society.

 

[Cooky]

Study: Thousands of Churches Closing Every Year, but There Is a Silver Lining is an article on that point. What I take from that is a "church" as a traditional building with traditional functions is passing away but there are new models emerging.

Thanks.

 

[SalixIncendium]

But 195 churches open every week.

I heard that on the news.
Tom

I was a contractor in WV for three years and while many churches open, their aesthetics are little more than a residential ranch blown up to house a congregation...essentially a frame dwelling with cathedral ceilings and a roof with a big cross mounted on top (and a pool at the altar for the southern Baptists).

 

[SalixIncendium]

But my previous to posts notwithstanding, a church is a people, not a building. It's the belief that matters and the unity it brings, not the place people congregate.

Salix,
As non-congregational as they come

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Fun fact: The original The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was written as a plea by its author, Victor Hugo, to restore the decrepit and crumbling Notre-Dame cathedral in a romantic bid to preserve architecture as a deceleration of history. (And it worked!) Hugo by then had growing antipathy for the Catholic church and frequently identified himself as a freethinking rational deist who insisted that they be buried without a crucifix or priest. Yet even still he thought of architecture as a part of the living history of a nation which should be protected every bit as much as the books in a library.
Even as a long time atheist I can see the sentiment. And I hope more and more of these buildings with beautiful architecture can be preserved as community centers or libraries.

 

[Vinayaka]

I think the architecture of some churches, such as the one pictured in the OP, is downright gorgeous. Perhaps they can be retrofitted into condos or lofts. Historical societies near me have bought churches and made them historical landmarks converting them into meeting places for whoever contributed to the society.

One here was converted to a restaurant many years ago. Several Hindu temples (and other faiths perhaps) have bought old churches. It makes for fewer problems like rezoning.

 

[Ellen Brown]

That means around 100-200 churches will close this week.

What Should America Do With Its Empty Church Buildings? - The Atlantic


View attachment 25712

In my opinion, most Christian churches have strayed from their mission. If they concentrated on the four Gospels ... The Catholics and Mormons are being pressed to re-order their ideas also. There are some issues, especially in American churches that must be addressed correctly. The Gospel is given for us to order our own lives, not to condemn and order the lives of others.

 

[Valjean]

I hear Alice pulled out the pews and opened a restaurant.

 

[Altfish]

Can it be a coincidence that 6,000 to 10,000 is also the age in years of the earth according to Young Earth Creationists?

It must be a sign from the Flying Spaghetti Monster - man your colanders

 

[Ellen Brown]

At that rate, when will they all be gone?

 

[Jumi]

If you had a state church like we do, they wouldn't close them, but keep them open even if just a few grannies go.

 

[Tumah]

Between 6,000 and 10,000 churches in the U.S. are dying each year

I know how this ad goes:
My dollar a day will help keep a church alive and they'll mail me photos of the church as they grow.

 

[Stevicus]

That means around 100-200 churches will close this week.

What Should America Do With Its Empty Church Buildings? - The Atlantic


View attachment 25712

These are the kinds of churches that impress me the most:

Conveniently located between the laundromat and sushi place.

 

[Katzpur]

The Gospel is given for us to order our own lives, not to condemn and order the lives of others.

Amen! I could not possibly agree more.

 

[Woberts]

Mwahahaha! My master plan is coming to fruition!