Way back in the day, like the 1500s, people, men, specifically, would go to their work, maybe in a factory or on a farm, then they would go home in the evening. This continued into America and on into today. Work and home would be considered their first and second place. It seems that people are wired to be able to have three places, however. Back in the 1500s and up to the 1900s, church was considered the third place. Especially in early America, the church building would be the center of the town. It would be the social gathering place as well as the place for worship. If a person got news or gossip, it was gained at church. For most people, they saw the people they worked with at church. Women who stayed at home, found and befriended other women and they helped each other.
In every society, there would be those who would not attend church, even as a social place. They would find another third place, whatever it may be. Places like bars, gambling halls, general stores, barber shops, bingo halls, lodges, bowling alleys and other non-religious social places could be selected as their third place. However, for the vast majority of Americans, in the early years, church was the third place.
Today, we have what some have called “virtual places.” With the advent of the internet, social media and social messaging, people can get their news and gossip and even “community” from people all over the world, that they have never met. For many, “social media” has become one “place.” So Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other are seen as one place with one group of people in the minds of users. This takes place unconsciously, of course.
As a pastor I have read many books and articles about how the church is no longer the social Mecca for people in a town. News and gossip and social interaction can be found so many different places, and the judgements that are assumed to be in churches are avoided. Additionally, there is no common “third place” for people living in a town or city, so people are not exposed to the same news and the same gossip and certainly not the same experience. As such, our societies are fragmenting. We no longer gather together to share our stories, our news and our experiences. Instead everyone, everywhere is sharing everything and people get to pick and choose what they want to listen to. Church, therefore, is no longer a third place, except for the oldest generation. Instead it is a place where people slip in for an hour or so once a week, check a mental and spiritual box and believe they have done their duty to God. Relationships are found elsewhere as people spread themselves so thin, there is no longer any depth in their places. Of course the places we choose here will have an impact on the place we go when this is all over.
In every society, there would be those who would not attend church, even as a social place. They would find another third place, whatever it may be. Places like bars, gambling halls, general stores, barber shops, bingo halls, lodges, bowling alleys and other non-religious social places could be selected as their third place. However, for the vast majority of Americans, in the early years, church was the third place.
Today, we have what some have called “virtual places.” With the advent of the internet, social media and social messaging, people can get their news and gossip and even “community” from people all over the world, that they have never met. For many, “social media” has become one “place.” So Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other are seen as one place with one group of people in the minds of users. This takes place unconsciously, of course.
As a pastor I have read many books and articles about how the church is no longer the social Mecca for people in a town. News and gossip and social interaction can be found so many different places, and the judgements that are assumed to be in churches are avoided. Additionally, there is no common “third place” for people living in a town or city, so people are not exposed to the same news and the same gossip and certainly not the same experience. As such, our societies are fragmenting. We no longer gather together to share our stories, our news and our experiences. Instead everyone, everywhere is sharing everything and people get to pick and choose what they want to listen to. Church, therefore, is no longer a third place, except for the oldest generation. Instead it is a place where people slip in for an hour or so once a week, check a mental and spiritual box and believe they have done their duty to God. Relationships are found elsewhere as people spread themselves so thin, there is no longer any depth in their places. Of course the places we choose here will have an impact on the place we go when this is all over.
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