Comments

  • Well, the Jews now have the Trylon, perhaps it is only fair that the Christians have the Midway. Perhaps the Muslims will bid on the Cinemart? Btw, in my humble opinion, the absolute best theater in the area is the Kew Gardens Cinema on Lefferts. It is a class operation run by a family that really takes pride in its operation.

    Posted by bobbyrab
    on June 14th, 2007 at 10:04 am

  • I still haven’t been there — is it true that it used to be a porno theater? Talk about cleaning up. I’m waiting for some indie flick I really really need to see, then I’ll go.

    Posted by Steve
    on June 14th, 2007 at 10:09 am

  • Yes, Steve the Kew Gardens Cinema used to be the infamous “Austin” porno house. Now, it specializes in indie and smaller Hollywood releases. Go try it — I assure you the seat are no longer sticky!

    Posted by bobbyrab
    on June 14th, 2007 at 10:12 am

  • Hi, my name is Jeremy and I am the pastor of FHCC. Thank you for posting information regarding our church in your blog. I was thrilled to see that you like both our promotional pieces and innovation and wanted to let you know that I am actually the one who designs and prints the flyers. We have no big (or little) PR firm, just “power from on high.”
    Thank you again for the compliments. We would love to have you join us soon!

    Posted by Jeremy
    on June 14th, 2007 at 12:16 pm

  • Thanks for putting out a positive vibe Pastor Jeremy. Our blog host may not like the concept of having a congregation inside the Midway, we perhaps should point out that all religions, Christian, Jewish and Muslim, believe that God is everywhere. We will definitely try to attend your service this Sunday.

    Posted by Dudley
    on June 14th, 2007 at 1:16 pm

  • Well, to clarify, I think a church inside a movie theater is kinda cute. It’s huge megachurches that creep me out.

    Posted by Steve
    on June 14th, 2007 at 1:35 pm

  • Megachurches are some of the greatest works of all time. Check out the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican, or just St. John the Divine here in New York. Oooh Steve, you forgot your politically correct hat at home today.

    Posted by Dudley
    on June 14th, 2007 at 6:17 pm

  • Being politically correct does not mean blindly or fearfully agreeing with everyone and everything. We can still be inclusive of and kind to others without agreeing with them.

    Posted by victoria
    on June 15th, 2007 at 10:19 am

  • Well, Victoria, you said it more succinctly than I could. Dudley, modern religious belief and observance is one of my very favorite topics, and I would love to engage in a serious discussion about it, but I’m going to decline to do so as this totally isn’t the right place. Pretty impressive on my part — believe me, I’m tempted! I do have to say this, though: I never said megachurches didn’t make impressive contributions to the world of architecture. You don’t have to go back to the Renaissance — even, say, the Crystal Cathedral is something to behold.

    Posted by Steve
    on June 15th, 2007 at 12:41 pm

  • Yes Steve, I agree this probably isn’t the proper forum for a serious religious discussion. I don’t know what aspect of your chat is impressive, although you did say that megachurches creep you out which, as put, paints a negative connotation and can be deemed offensive.

    Posted by Dudley
    on June 15th, 2007 at 1:10 pm

  • I meant that my restraint in not continuing this further is impressive, even though I did ask for it in the first place.

    I don’t think there’s anybody out there who isn’t at least a little creeped out by some aspect of some religion.

    Posted by Steve
    on June 15th, 2007 at 1:23 pm

  • I deem you dudley offensive.
    I tried typing this is so many nice ways - but I don’t see a point.
    You have this really sickening tone that makes me want to vomit and reminds me why, and how much
    i hate self aggrandizing religious idiots like you.
    He doesn’t like big, theater type churches Dudley, learn reading comprehension.
    And so what if he didn’t like religion?
    Unlike at church, everyone can like or dislike, and offend.
    I hope your very offended and crying in your cereal.

    Posted by imdesi
    on June 15th, 2007 at 2:55 pm

  • I believe what Steve is referring to are the new, 20,000 square-foot zombie factories like they have all along I-75 in Orlando. Anyone ever see those? They are monstrous! Certainly not the gorgeous Roman Catholic Church on QB - love that place. I even went there for midnight Mass - and I’m Jewish!

    Posted by jellystone
    on June 15th, 2007 at 3:09 pm

  • Jellystone: Growing up Jewish, it was more or less implied to me that I would turn to sand and blow away if I entered a Catholic church. Perhaps you can relate to that. But from the day I moved here, I badly wanted to check out the inside of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs (great name, by the way). I finally did about six months ago. It’s a great building that I love having right there.

    Architecturally speaking, my favorite house of worship is the gorgeous Baha’i Temple in Wilmette, Illinois, just up the road from where I went to college. As a freshman, I took a long walk, saw it for the first time from a distance and actually felt myself drawn to it, as if by some mystical force. I did not take this as a sign to convert, however.

    Posted by Steve
    on June 15th, 2007 at 6:33 pm

  • That’s funny Steve. Growing up Christian, I was told Hasidic Jewish people worshiped the devil but that doesn’t mean that a synagogue, no matter how big, creeps me out. We have to respect what others hold deeply, even though we may get “the creeps” about it.

    As for Imdesi, get a life.

    Posted by Dudely
    on June 15th, 2007 at 9:43 pm

  • Again, I’m afraid you’re misunderstanding me here. I didn’t say Catholic churches creep me out.

    Hasidic Jews, on the other hand, kind of do! FYI, though, they don’t worship the devil.

    Posted by Steve
    on June 15th, 2007 at 11:53 pm

  • I’d continue but you clearly don’t read what people write, so its pointless.
    Biting wit though with the insult though.

    Posted by imdesi
    on June 16th, 2007 at 12:09 am

  • I think the best way to end this is to say thanks to Steve for putting his time into a nice website that gives us a lot of information about our wonderful neighborhood…and of course allowing us to have this forum. Have a great weekend and thanks again.

    As for Imdesi, get some grammar lessons too.

    Posted by Dudely
    on June 16th, 2007 at 8:51 am

  • Well, you’re very welcome, sir, and your opinions are always respected and welcome here.

    Posted by Steve
    on June 16th, 2007 at 9:09 am

  • […] post by Steve for Soul […]

    Posted by Saving your soul at the movies · It’s My Soul
    on June 29th, 2007 at 3:10 pm

  • Hmmm. Evangelicals in Forest Hills. Color me cautious. I visit a lot of Evangelical websites - FRC.org, CWFA.org, Focus on The Family, Traditional Values Coalition and these people are SCARY. That isn’t to say there aren’t liberal Evangelicals out there that have a different world view than these groups. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

    “Well, the Jews now have the Trylon…”

    The major difference is that Jews don’t proselytize. Except for a few exceptional cases - like what is going on in the Five Towns area, Jews generally keep to themselves.

    Posted by jeff
    on July 12th, 2007 at 4:52 pm

  • 4bci59aga91r4n4d

    Posted by William Shannon
    on November 12th, 2008 at 10:29 pm

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Saving your soul at the movies

Posted by Steve on Thursday, June 14th, 2007

Walking past the Midway Theater on my way home from work today, I got handed a flyer by a couple of fresh-faced young women promoting the Forest Hills Community Church, which I had never heard of. The flyer advertised a Father’s Day breakfast and prayer service and was the sort of bright, glossy, intentionally kitschy artifact you don’t really associate with local houses of worship, which tend to favor sober motifs and a definite Xerox vibe. No, this was the kind of flyer that you might expect to see from a church with its own highly paid PR team, say an evangelical congregation housed in the former home of the Houston Rockets.

It’s not quite in an NBA arena, but it turns out the FH Community Church is actually located inside the Midway Theater. This strikes me as a strange arrangement; as a new church, either you should have your own building or meet in someone’s living room. Unless, that is, you’ve got few resources and big dreams. I’m not sure I like this — it’s so not New York. A few years ago, I saw an evangelical-Christian study lamenting that Queens is one of the nation’s most underserved areas when it comes to megachurches, and that was fine with me. I suppose this is a burgeoning attempt to fill in the gap. I must admit to being fascinated by the concept of a church in the movie theater. But with a local population that’s heavily Jewish and Catholic and proud of it, maybe throwing in a couple of free tickets and some popcorn is their best shot.