Do Churches Need To Be De- And Re- Consecrated When A New Franchise Moves In?

[AB Editor]

Morning,

I was wondering how a new franchise takes over a church. For example, what if there was a little Baptist church run by a Baptist priest/vicar and then, for some reason, the church was sold to the Catholic church.

Naturally they want to get one of their team in behind the pulpit, so they give Jonny Baptists his/her marching orders.

And then what?

Do they take over "fully furnished" in the sense of continuing the consecration "ticket", or do they de-consecrate and reapply their own "ticket"? Or do they just paint over the top with their version, so there's overlap?

I'd like to know the answer, but would also like any little stories you know about this kind of thing :)

Thanks in advance,

Ed

[woofgang]

While I agree with you in principle ED, there is a church in southampton, opposite the Mayflower theatre that is now an ?italian restaurant. It set my teeth on edge to see the pink neon sign on the old exterior wall....nothing to do with desecration, it just looks cheap and tasteless.

[AB Editor]

I very much have a soft spot for silliness like that Woof, sorry!

They're cheerfully getting on with it being an Italian restaurant (looking after the building and adding a better kitchen) and when they're gone someone else can come along and make it something else (and hopefully keep the kitchen!)

[AB Editor]

The next lot will take the sign down :)

[woofgang]

Don't mind the restaurant, loath the sign.

[AB Editor]

Hows the pasta though?

[Octavius]

Urgh, that church is similar to one in Iceland - The Church of Hallgrimur.

http://www.architravel.com/architravel_wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Hallgrimskirkja_kedriki-.jpg

I cant see them being turned into a Wetherspoons.

[woofgang]

No idea Ed, its always full of the theatre crowd and the parking is dire so have never been inside.

[woofgang]

Octavius i rather like that church, it looks like the spaceship the aliens landed in.

[AB Editor]

No, probably not ripe for a spooning Octavius. Lovely style though - as woof says, a little "alien".

[jomifl]

The word 'sacrement' does not occur in the bible, it is another RC invention intended to invest the church with some kind of mystical power. So, consecration is unnecessary..even if you are a christian ( or paulian) :-)

[woofgang]

Jomifli, the ed was asking questions about the beliefs and practices of various organised religions regarding their place of worship and allied subjects, not about our opinions regarding those beliefs

[jomifl]

Thankyou for that woofgang. I was attempting to underline the fact that the whole principle of consecration is not based on any theistic requirement, that even if a deity exists it has not demanded that a site of religious activity be consecrated. My reply was a matter of fact not opinion and there is nothing wrong with shining a little light into those dark corners that are so often ignored.
I think the Ed has a business plan that he is not yet prepared to divulge:-)

[Octavius]

The bible is awash with passages concerning sacred places and gods blessings on them, consecration is an extrapolation of that.

I suspect the Ab Editor is wondering whether there is any mileage and profit in a multi-faith centre where you just change the decor depending on who is queuing at the door and how big your collection plate is.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/mar/14/architecture.religion

[AB Editor]

I'm quite taken with the idea of something like a wedding tent, or very large umbrella which could provide sacred spaces when needed. Or something like the sorting hat from Harry Potter.

Really though I was hoping to cobble together some kind of theological plot device for a little story I was going to write. I'm not sure it will work without a bit of bending from the church. I could ask nicely I suppose.

I like multi-faith churches because they're the closest things to humanist churches... beside the British library and the British museum of course.

[woofgang]

many hospitals have multi faith sacred spaces. I remember seeing one on a sitcom, I think it was Dharma and Greg, where the pulpit had a revolving block set into it with many sides, all carved with different faith images, you just revolved it to the right one.

also (and I know I keep pushing Terry Pratchett), if you want to know about alternative used for prayer wheels and a load of other stuff that is almost quantum, try Thief of Time

[Octavius]

Woof, TP used to be one of my favourite authors (in the days I had time to absorb myself in reading books).

Ab Editor "I'm not sure it will work without a bit of bending from the church. I could ask nicely I suppose." Why not just go ahead with it and then ask for forgiveness. As for your tent idea (I think the sorting hat might need more ....alchemy, or the assistance of the Unseen University) there is a sturdy, portable, recyclable version available on the market....

http://www.dezeen.com/2011/08/19/kiss-by-z-a-studio/

[AB Editor]

Thief of Time was good. Like Octavius I read a lot of his stuff when I had a slightly more leasuirely lifestyle. These days I feel I have to invest my reading more wisely. And by that I only mean: there is only so much you can learn from the satire and warped re-tellings TP works with - the concepts, yes, but the meat of it, no.

Quite like the portable you posted Octavius. I think an umbrella would be better though.

[Octavius]

Probably more suited for the purpose than cardboard in wind, sleet and rain - assuming your enterprise is UK based.

[Clanad]

Seems to me that the Jewish Festival of Sukkot[i would fit your needs admirably, Mr. Ed.

[i]Sukkah] means small rooms in Hebrew. The history of the observance originates with the wanderings in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.

Check here for one: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm

[woofgang]

laughing at you Abed, your reading snobbery is showing...