Comments on: In Defense of the Megachurch

By: Menachem Mendel

Menachem Mendel — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 01:05:00 +0000

I have always been very interested in mega-churches. I have on file somewhere a very interesting article about them from The Atlantic Monthly which was published about 10 years ago. While the synagogue which we are active in is not too large, 450 families, and we enjoy the rather small number of members, I understand why some people like the variety of services that a larger house of worship offers (such as the gym at another local synagogue which my kids use on occasion). I would add that JCC’s come in all shapes and sizes. Two interesting things of note are a very successful urban JCC such as the JCC on the Upper West Side of NYC which is an incredible institution, and also the new initiative called “Synaplex” which has a number of pilot-programs in numerous synagogues which are attempting to offer as many varieties of Jewish experience as possible. The big question is where should people get these varied Jewish experiences: the synagogue, JCC, the local Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, etc.

By: UU

UU — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 20:55:54 +0000

Antiquated -

The UUs are doing just that.

By: Antiquated Tory

Antiquated Tory — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:28:45 +0000

I think the image problem is that they’re perceived by other communities as ‘scary Christianity lite.’ I can see their social value that you describe, and your post has opened my mind on the subject. On the other hand, I would still be worried that my kids at the preschool would be taught about ‘eeevilution’ and ‘the evils of secular humanism.’ Maybe the UUs should start one of these. (Well, I’d end up at a JCC anyway, over in the book club/coffee shop with the rest of the apostates.)

By: David Schraub

David Schraub — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 20:02:33 +0000

Well, trackback is failing me, so... Megasynagogues and Megachurches, trackbacked from The Debate Link.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 21:03:37 +0000

Christine, it’s funny, b/c as I was reading your post, and before you got to the point about the JCC’s, I was thinking, hey, this is just like a JCC. FWIW, some gyms are trying to be similar: my old gym in DC (the sportsclub LA) had a cafe/bar with great food/drinks, a dry cleaner, a spa, hair salon, and clothing store. You could literally enjoy all Sunday there without being encouraged to pray… I wonder too if JCC’s flourished in part b/c Jews weren’t initially allowed into country clubs or YMCA’s–or now, megachurches. It would be sad if the attempt to recreate “Village” life in a big city were contingent upon identity affiliations. But maybe that’s what provides the traction for these villages to evolve.