Churches fight to stay open as attendance dwindles
abcnews.go.com
Churches faced with empty pews are fighting to keep their doors open, while former houses of worship are being converted into bars, clubs and luxury condos.

Summary

Churches across the U.S. are grappling with dwindling attendance and financial instability, forcing many to close or sell properties.

The Diocese of Buffalo has shut down 100 parishes since the 2000s and plans to close 70 more. Nationwide, church membership has dropped from 80% in the 1940s to 45% today.

Some churches repurpose their land to survive, like Atlanta’s First United Methodist Church, which is building affordable housing.

Others, like Calcium Church in New York, make cutbacks to stay open. Leaders warn of the long-term risks of declining community and support for churches.

  • queermunist she/her
    18·
    6 days ago

    Churches aren’t good enough, but the are certainly community centers.

    My weekly social dances have the same thing, someone else might have a big game night at a board/cardgame shop, and others may go to the pub.

    We don’t have any of that shit, and a pub is not a communal space. You have to pay for it.

    We have a church. A shrinking church that will die when all the boomers die. That’s it.

    • Soup@lemmy.world
      2·
      6 days ago

      Ok, so it sounds like the church is a bad community investment but if the building is repurposed into a community centre run by the municipality then that’s the best option, no? It can even hold religious services for multiple religions now that it’s just a building.

      Also you could totally have dances in a church! The social dances where I’m from are held in the basement of a church on Fridays. Before it moved to a community centre the organization where I live now held them in a church that had been converted like I mentioned above.

      Your issue is a lack of imagination, not a lack of church.

      • futatorius@lemm.ee
        2·
        2 days ago

        That’s what’s happening now in England. The Church of England is selling off redundant churches and church halls, and encourages the buyers to continue using them as community spaces. I know an architect who bought a church hall in our neighbourhood, has put a large amount of money into restoring it after decades of under-investment, and has converted it to his home and offices for his business, but he’s also kept the main hall available for community groups. There are dance groups for kids, political party meetings, t’ai chi classes, and a book circle, and those are only the ones I’ve noticed.

        I also noticed on a visit that a former church in Amsterdam is now a leather club.

        • Soup@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 day ago

          Oooo fuck yea that’s awesome! The conversion in England sounds fun too :P

          But yea that’s very uplifting to hear about, I’m glad the architect to make that work and that the town has taken to it so readily.