STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Kelly · Hermes

um, UO in a church?

theotherjess · Chanel

Are you sure it was a church? Or did they just build it to look like one?

If it is/was a church (or I guess even if it's made to look like one), that kind of disturbs me. I read a piece a while back (maybe Anna Quindlen but I can't remember) that said that the mall is our modern place of worship because of rampant consumerism. But an actual place of worship being used as a store is totally disrespectful. God's house should not be used to sell tshirts, period.

carmenb513 · Coach

nope it is in a church...............I'm a Cincinnati Native (born and raised) so when I went into a UO here in New Haven I was perplexed in the opposite way (it of course was not in a church).

I think it is done tastefully in a church the outside structure and the stained glassed windows are the ONLY thing that reminds me that it is a church........No pews or pulpits in the inside, in fact IMO it doesn't look like a church at all in the inside.

I think they chose that primarily because it is RIGHT at the University of Cincinnati. Also it is in the center of Clifton, where that demographic FLOCKS to Urban...........

Did you go to the Creamery right there? It's yummy!

oH AND ALSO....I'm a Christian.....so the first time I went into there I was like..........Oh my Gosh.............no they didn't.

But not that it doesn make it right, pastors, and people who go to church every week do things that are well ....down right terrible to do in one's own house................. right in their church.

Kelly · Hermes

I know it's a good place for a UO, being where it is and all that... but still! I can't believe it. I would feel so disrespectful going in there. There was an empty lot just a block or two away, on the same street right next to UC...they should've built something there! I didn't go inside, it was late so I just saw it through the windows as we were at the corner.

And no I didn't go the creamery! Man, I wish we did! Not that coffee isn't amazing, but I would've much rather gotten ice cream

bex · Chanel

yup! its in a church.

i guess i didn't have a problem with it b/c the inside looks nothing like a church. plus, i used to perform theatre in an old church. or- here's another scenario for you- my friends bought an old church and are turning it into their home. or yet another- a friend of mine bought a church for his photography studio. all of these churches are in bad parts of town that they are trying to bring back around again. i guess i would rather a church be used than abandoned or torn down.

i think the coldstone closed down. the last time i was there it wasn't open and it was right in the middle of the afternoon. but i could be wrong.

NCshopper · Hermes

I might have a very different opinion, but I'll voice it anyway.

The structure--the building itself--isn't what makes it a church. A church is where people go to meet with people of a similar religious mindset and to talk to God. For example, there's a local religious group near me that meets every Sunday to have their services at a movie theater. When they're using it as a church, it's a church, but when they pack up their stuff and put it in a trailer, the building goes back to being a movie theater and that's what it's used for primarily.

I guess I feel similarly toward UO being in a former church. Once the building ceases to be used as a church, then it's really no longer church. I am just of the mindset that a church is the people and the faith--not the building itself.

Hermes

NCshopper wrote:

I might have a very different opinion, but I'll voice it anyway.

The structure--the building itself--isn't what makes it a church. A church is where people go to meet with people of a similar religious mindset and to talk to God. For example, there's a local religious group near me that meets every Sunday to have their services at a movie theater. When they're using it as a church, it's a church, but when they pack up their stuff and put it in a trailer, the building goes back to being a movie theater and that's what it's used for primarily.

I guess I feel similarly toward UO being in a former church. Once the building ceases to be used as a church, then it's really no longer church. I am just of the mindset that a church is the people and the faith--not the building itself.

ditto ditto ditto - I was coming on to post the same thought myself.

speaking of businesses occupying former houses of worship, I love The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh - it's such a cool structure, and they have pierogi pizza mmmm... reason enough for a trip to Pittsburgh alone... apparently, they have recieved a lot of flack as well - I bet the brewing tanks at the altar didn't help matters...

sfclinevandy · Coach

I don't have a problem with it. I have a friend that lives in a loft that is a former church. His isn't even that actual santuary (even though that is a unit) but the church offices and baptismal pool (it was a Baptist church).

In Nashville, there was a bar called Church that was also a former Church and we had a few sorority functions there and you can only imagine the non-Christian behaviours taking place.

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

NCshopper wrote:

I might have a very different opinion, but I'll voice it anyway.

The structure--the building itself--isn't what makes it a church. A church is where people go to meet with people of a similar religious mindset and to talk to God. For example, there's a local religious group near me that meets every Sunday to have their services at a movie theater. When they're using it as a church, it's a church, but when they pack up their stuff and put it in a trailer, the building goes back to being a movie theater and that's what it's used for primarily.

I guess I feel similarly toward UO being in a former church. Once the building ceases to be used as a church, then it's really no longer church. I am just of the mindset that a church is the people and the faith--not the building itself.

I totally agree. It isn't a church anymore if it isn't the place of worship for parishiners. It is just a beautiful piece of architecture.

Bloomingdales did that here in Chicago with the historic Medinah Temple. They transformed it into a home store and it is very lovely. They kept all of the beautiful windows and architecture, but made it into a home store. Quite tastefully I must add.

atlgirl · Gucci

NCshopper beat me to it. IMO there is nothing in the hard materials of a church that makes it different from any other building. The spirituality comes from its worshipers.

blubirde · Chanel

atlgirl wrote:

NCshopper beat me to it. IMO there is nothing in the hard materials of a church that makes it different from any other building. The spirituality comes from its worshipers.

Agreed. I think it's a great way to preserve amazing architecture.

Jahni · Dooney & Bourke

I have to admit that it bothers me a little. (imagine that...a southern baptist with a problem with something like this...) I agree that it is the parishoners that ultimately make the church a church, but I just keep thinking back to when my church built it's new sanctuary. We had a big dedication ceremony where we dedicated the building to always be used for God's work. It just seems to me that a church (whether it's currently being used or not) should always be considered a reverant (sp?) and holy place...I like Urban Outfitters...but reverant and holy aren't really two words I would use to describe it..haha...

As far as abandoned churches that are sitting and ruining, I don't know what the best idea would be for them, it's kind of cool that people are redoing them and using them for alternative living spaces or photography studios, but I guess I'm not really sure where one would draw the line on saying what is and isn't an appropriate use for an abandoned church.

BUT I DO KNOW ONE THING: there's an abandoned church in Oklahoma City that someone has reopened as a night club and named it "Purgatory." I'm pretty sure that God or my mother would STRIKE ME DOWN for walking into that place...hahahahaha

valenciana · Dooney & Bourke

i tend to agree that it's the people and the community that make a church a church, not the building. in college, they held church services in classrooms and rec halls - just what was available - didn't make it any less of a sacred space for that hour. plus i'd rather preserve existing buildings and shop/dine/whatever in a building with some character.

there's actually some controversy over this in my hometown right now...the church congregation my parents belong to is trying to build a new church, as they've outgrown the one they have now by almost double capacity...but they can't build the new one until they can sell the old one. sooo...they're trying to get it rezoned (the building itself looks nothing like a church, by the way...i wonder if that makes a difference in the argument?) so they can sell it to be used as a daycare or gym or something.

Kelly · Hermes

For some reason, things like using it as a photography studio or a theatre don't bother me nearly as much. Re-doing a church as apartments is something I've never thought of, but it doesn't really bother me as much, either - although I don't think I'd feel comfortable living there! But while UO is definitely not the priciest store where you can shop, I always feel a little gluttonous when I shop and so having a business - an enabler of gluttony - in what was intended to only be a most holy place...it just makes me so very uncomfortable. I especially can't believe that nightclub thing. It makes me sick.

I know that many church services are held in classrooms and buildings that weren't erected for the purpose of holding services inside. I don't think that those services are any less sacred or enriching - certainly you can have a "church" without the actual building. I know it's the people. But I just feel like the buildings themselves are built to be intended as holy places, which seperate the sacred from the rest of our profane world. This is regardless of my religion. I wouldn't be comfortable shopping in any building that used to be a sacred location for any religion.

I also can't help but think that teenagers and college students will get a certain rebellious kick, out of shopping in what used to be a church. I know a lot of my friends from high school started rejecting their family faiths as soon as they moved away from home, and I could definitely see some of them loving something like this a few years ago. It's not that I don't think children should be able to make their own decisions, but it just makes me sad to see this kind of disrespect.

-- Edited by ttara123 at 21:16, 2006-10-02

carmenb513 · Coach

NCshopper wrote:

I might have a very different opinion, but I'll voice it anyway.

The structure--the building itself--isn't what makes it a church. A church is where people go to meet with people of a similar religious mindset and to talk to God. For example, there's a local religious group near me that meets every Sunday to have their services at a movie theater. When they're using it as a church, it's a church, but when they pack up their stuff and put it in a trailer, the building goes back to being a movie theater and that's what it's used for primarily.

I guess I feel similarly toward UO being in a former church. Once the building ceases to be used as a church, then it's really no longer church. I am just of the mindset that a church is the people and the faith--not the building itself.

I agree with exactly everything you said............you said what I was thinking I guess it just didn't come out that way.

Oh and like Bex said...I think.......It's another way to preserve that structure/architecture.

cat · Marc Jacobs

NCshopper wrote:

I might have a very different opinion, but I'll voice it anyway.

The structure--the building itself--isn't what makes it a church. A church is where people go to meet with people of a similar religious mindset and to talk to God. For example, there's a local religious group near me that meets every Sunday to have their services at a movie theater. When they're using it as a church, it's a church, but when they pack up their stuff and put it in a trailer, the building goes back to being a movie theater and that's what it's used for primarily.

I guess I feel similarly toward UO being in a former church. Once the building ceases to be used as a church, then it's really no longer church. I am just of the mindset that a church is the people and the faith--not the building itself.

I totally agree with this.

I don't know how old the building is in question but I also think it is great when an older building is saved and reused instead of being torn down.It adds a diffrent style and character to the area instead of cookie cutter buildings.

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

Jahni wrote:

BUT I DO KNOW ONE THING: there's an abandoned church in Oklahoma City that someone has reopened as a night club and named it "Purgatory." I'm pretty sure that God or my mother would STRIKE ME DOWN for walking into that place...hahahahaha

Okay, I would definitely draw the line with this one...it seems to be making a mockery of religion and I don't support mocking anyone's spiritual beliefs.

FashionPrincess · Hermes

Yeah, I don't agree with it becoming a club like Jahni was talking about but I've actually been to the UO you're talking about and I thought it was really cool. And I'm very conservative. I think it was a great way to preseve the historical structure.