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A Radical
New Idea for a Church
Sun, Feb 11, 2001
How about a new idea for a
church? Are you asking why we need yet another church to put on top of the
hundreds of denominations of Christianity and the other hundreds of
non-Christian religions we already have? Well, how about a generic church? We
could call it the Generic Worship Center.
Anyone and everyone from Hindus to Baptists to Wiccans to Atheists to Quakers
and everyone else could attend. Every community could have one, and worship
services would be whenever anyone was there. There would be no minister, but
there would be a small staff consisting of a maintenance person or two to keep
the place clean and in reasonable repair.
Inside would be sparse, with a few benches, a couple chairs and a few been-bag
chairs for those still considering themselves “flower-children.” Outside
there could be a garden with a few scattered benches and some open grass. A few
flowers, a path, some trees and bushes and, perhaps a small pond would finish it
off. The trees and bushes could be arranged to afford semi-privacy for those who
wish to worship with nature in a secluded spot.
The Generic Worship Center would be open all the time. There would be only two
rules. One rule would be for each worshiper to maintain complete silence. The
other rule would be that no worshiper could disturb any other worshiper in any
way. Each person using the center would worship in his or her personal manner,
to himself or herself, not disturbing anyone else using the center. This could
lead to interesting services with Buddhists and Jews and Christian
Fundamentalists sharing worship with each other, and perhaps with a Druid and a
Jehovah’s Witness or two thrown in for good measure. It would be very likely
that none of the worshipers would even know of what religion the others were.
Now that is what I call a good church.
Now, I lay a task on the rest of you: How would such a Generic Worship Center be
funded? Costs would be the building, the grounds and whatever material would be
needed to keep it clean and in good repair. And there would also be the salary
of the maintenance person, or two.
We would certainly not want government to fund it, for several very obvious
reasons, the main reason being that it would add enormous inefficiency to the
center. We probably could not depend on offerings or donations, since people
would not provide enough for all the expenses. Perhaps a private foundation or
even “regular” churches would provide the funding.
The idea is far from perfect, granted, with many of the more practical details
needing to be worked out. The prospect of such a Generic Worship Center does
appeal to me, though. Think on it, fellow TikiVillagers, and add some of your
own ideas and thoughts. Who knows what may become of such a place as the Generic
Worship Center?
Comments?
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