The solution to dwindling church attendances?

[Ulrikke]

Blow-up basilica

Reuters
April 18 2003

London: A British designer has made what he says is the world's first inflatable church - a grey plastic building with a blow-up organ, pulpit, altar, Gothic arches and fake stained glass windows.

Michael Gill says the church, which stands 14m high to the tip of its steeple, could revolutionise the Anglican Church, suffering from dwindling attendances for years.

Vicars could carry it around with them on the back of a truck and set it up on patches of grass or in village squares for impromptu services, he said.

"This could change the whole perception of what the Church of England stands for," Gill told Reuters. "It's revolutionary. It's moving with the 21st century."

"If people won't go to church then the church needs to go to the people," he said. "This is one way of doing it."

Gill says he plans to unveil the church at an exhibition near London next month and has already had inquiries about it from countries as diverse as Belgium, the United States and South Korea

The church is hand-painted and has windows made from coloured PVC. "They filter the light perfectly, just like real stained glass windows," Gill said

He has written to the Pope to see if the Vatican is interested in buying one. "I have targeted him personally," he said.

If the church is a success, Gill plans to diversify into inflatable pubs and nightclubs.

http://www.inflatablechurch.com

[-Sigurd-]

Will the infallible embrace the inflatable?

"He has written to the Pope to see if the Vatican is interested in buying one. "I have targeted him personally," he said."

It is hard to see this innovation as rescuing the fortunes of the church in the west, but it's a nice try! I saw it reported on tv the other day...apart from the wobbling, it actually does look like a proper church; I was particularly taken with the airbrushed-on gothic 'masonry'.

[Ulrikke]

I saw the pictures on the website and others with people inside – on Tv – as well. It looks cheesy, uncomfortable – imagine setting on plastic on a hot day! – , dangerously flammable and overall wacko!

I am not sure how many worshipers the sight of such a plastic structure can draw in, they would probably go in more out of curiosity than out of religious devotion.

But it will be interesting to see how it is received and if will serve its purpose.

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

"If people won't go to church then the church needs to go to the people," he said. "This is one way of doing it."

If people are too damn lazy to drive 5 minutes to church I don't think the inflatable basilica is going to help.

To counter dropping church attendances, religious leaders need to be vocal, active, orthodox, and intellectual. No pandering (watering down the faith), and no requests for blind faith. Give the faithful books on the historical validity of the Bible. They're out there.

[thespitfiredragon]

I teach the 12 to 15-year-old's Sunday school class at my church. Before I was made the teacher they had a problem of about 75% of the kids on the register cutting what we refer to as "second hour"...or Sunday school.

So my church made me the new Sunday school teacher... I was a lot younger than their previous teacher (I was 18 at the time) and I could relate to them better. I knew what kind of directional teaching they would need for their age level.

I also changed the "style" of teaching. Whereas their previous teacher didn't involve the kids I went with a more interactive approach. Kids in my class are responsible for their own learning. If they're not participating in the discussions or skits, etc...then they miss out.

But my greatest tool for encouraging learning...FOOD. If you feed 'em they're a million times more willing to listen to you. I also give them incentives for reading their scriptures...if they bring in a note from their parents that says they read their scriptures at least 15 minutes a day they get a gift. I also give them candy for answering bonus questions.

Not only are all the registered kids in their seats every Sunday morning, but so are their non-member friends, family, neighbors, etc. Kids from the older class (16-18) often sneak back into my class and the kids in the younger class are dying to get moved in when they turn 12.

I think what churches could do to increase attendance is surprise people by changing their perceptions of what church is. Instead of it being "boring" or "tedious" make it fun and interactive so that everyone can learn...not just from the leaders, but from each other.

[HollyElise]

Inflatable basilica... now i've heard all! It sounds like a party doll!

And how will having another church, inflatable or not, solve the problem of their not being able to fill the ones they already have?

I don't know how i feel about bribes... erh... i mean gifts for attendance. On one level it seems good, but i remember clearly learning in psychology about the effects of this... they call it a "token society" and unfortunately the studies seem to indicate it makes people less inclined to adopt the desired behavior for their own once the reward is removed than does a population where no reward is offered for the desired behavior.

That aside, what about door prizes for adults like U2 tickets? That will bring them in!

Okay. More seriously now.......

People seek spirituality for different reasons. Today there are many, many challenges because society is much more complicated.

For example, some people today don't attend a church because they don't feel accepted in their particular church for whatever reason... Even here in my town though we are quite liberal, i know a couple that was attending a Catholic church and when the priest found out they were living together (they were both divorced from previous marriages and wish to be married to each other) they could no longer receive communion in their church... before or after marriage (which they could not have sanctioned). This was very frustrating to everyone, including the priest who was not allowed to marry them, but that was the law he had to obey. For others, they may not be accepted because they are gay, or because they are in racial minority to the church in their neighborhood, or all sorts of reasons. I've known people who don't like attending church even if they can find a congregation similar to them because it is unrepresentative of their whole society (what i mean is, i've known people who are uncomfortable in all-white or all-black or all-hispanic churches and can't find more integrated congregations more evenly representing the people in their community).

Other people find that they have philosophical questions or present day issues that they want to be able to openly discuss and find answers to, and they just don't find traditional church services address these issues.

America's current trend in religion has been described as "a-la-carte." Our population has come to us from all over the world, and as people have mixed, so have their ideas. Many people today find they are a little of this and a little of that. Many people have parents from different traditions. You can argue that it is spiritually muddy, that it is no longer by design. Yet it is how things are and it is the direction more and more people are taking or finding themselves in. Unfortunately because of this, they are often finding that a particular church has little tolerance for their deviations, and also they in turn often find churches do not meet their needs.

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

Originally posted by HollyElise
Even here in my town though we are quite liberal, i know a couple that was attending a Catholic church and when the priest found out they were living together (they were both divorced from previous marriages and wish to be married to each other) they could no longer receive communion in their church... before or after marriage (which they could not have sanctioned). This was very frustrating to everyone, including the priest who was not allowed to marry them, but that was the law he had to obey.

I can certainly understand the preist's decision. The couple wasn't just violating an obscure passage of canon law, but an explicit order from Jesus (Matt. 5:31-2)

Originally posted by HollyElise
For others, they may not be accepted because they are gay, or because they are in racial minority to the church in their neighborhood, or all sorts of reasons. I've known people who don't like attending church even if they can find a congregation similar to them because it is unrepresentative of their whole society (what i mean is, i've known people who are uncomfortable in all-white or all-black or all-hispanic churches and can't find more integrated congregations more evenly representing the people in their community).

I would like to take this opportunty to advertise for the St. Cyprian Catholic Church in Long Beach, Ca, a benchmark for racial diversity.

http://www.la-archdiocese.org/parish...shinfo.asp?451