Interesting ideas, Bryce. I restacked with a note about churches becoming Meeting Houses again. How do we open more public space through the arts, forums, places to sit and contemplate?
Thank you, Todd! From your note: "In New England Congregationalism we called our building 'Meeting Houses' instead of churches. Renewing church space for 7 days a week could create more democratic opportunities." I wonder if the term "meeting house" comes from the common meaning of the term "ekklēsia" in the Greek world of early church days, or if it's somehow connected with the New England town hall meetings that the likes of Lewis Mumford and Thomas Jefferson admired so much?
It could be both meanings. Many of our New England Congregational churches retain the spirit of that history, from being located on the town green, and hosting civic meetings. In Massachusetts, you had to build a church to have a town. It is one reason the United Church of Christ has been active in political issues, especially in working for LGBTQ+ inclusion. We see our role as being a place of meeting and inclusion.
(1) It's interesting that the conception of community, which in New England influences both urban planning--well, town planning--and our framework for some of society's issues. (2) Mumford says that the New England townships were a deliberate revival of a medieval conception of overlapping, "trinitarian" realms of government. The townships with their churches and town halls remind me of the medieval cities I was reading about in Sitte, who said that the central area often included both a church and a palace.
Interesting ideas, Bryce. I restacked with a note about churches becoming Meeting Houses again. How do we open more public space through the arts, forums, places to sit and contemplate?
Thank you, Todd! From your note: "In New England Congregationalism we called our building 'Meeting Houses' instead of churches. Renewing church space for 7 days a week could create more democratic opportunities." I wonder if the term "meeting house" comes from the common meaning of the term "ekklēsia" in the Greek world of early church days, or if it's somehow connected with the New England town hall meetings that the likes of Lewis Mumford and Thomas Jefferson admired so much?
It could be both meanings. Many of our New England Congregational churches retain the spirit of that history, from being located on the town green, and hosting civic meetings. In Massachusetts, you had to build a church to have a town. It is one reason the United Church of Christ has been active in political issues, especially in working for LGBTQ+ inclusion. We see our role as being a place of meeting and inclusion.
(1) It's interesting that the conception of community, which in New England influences both urban planning--well, town planning--and our framework for some of society's issues. (2) Mumford says that the New England townships were a deliberate revival of a medieval conception of overlapping, "trinitarian" realms of government. The townships with their churches and town halls remind me of the medieval cities I was reading about in Sitte, who said that the central area often included both a church and a palace.