10145 What Next???

Just a nice article.

Blow-Up Church Looks To lure Italian Beach Goers

OME (Reuters) - Catholic nuns and priests in Italy are following their flocks to the beach this summer, establishing an inflatable church and a beach-convent in the sands to lure sunbathers.

The 30-metre (98 ft) long blow-up church -- staffed by priests ready to take confession -- will debut on Saturday on the Adriatic coast in the Molise region, an organiser said.

"There will be four or five people singing, with music about God," said Chiara Facci with Catholic group Sentinelli del Mattino. Night time activities, which will not include Mass, will run from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The first attempt to inaugurate the inflatable church last month on the holiday island of Sardinia failed after strong winds forced organisers to relocate, she said.

Big cities like Rome and Milan empty in August, when Italians head to the beach for summer holidays, leaving streets empty and many businesses closed. Churches are hardly immune, and also see their congregations thin.

On the Mediterranean coast, nuns from a convent near the southern Italian city of Naples have relocated to beach cabins to join holidaymakers saying the rosary. An adjoining altar was set up under two tents.

"The concept of a beach-convent is something that is appreciated by vacationers and the nuns themselves," priest Antonio Rungi, who helped spearheaded the initiative, told Italian news agency ANSA.

(Reporting by Olivia Scarlett and Phil Stewart, editing by Mary Gabriel)

Category
General chat about Italy

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 18:08

A nice article - but serioulsy old news.

Non è una novità a livello europeo. Dal 2004 un’azienda inglese affitta per cerimonie una chiesa in plastica gonfiabile completa di vetri istoriati, organo e acqua santiera.
La “inflatable Church” (chiesa gonfiabile) è nata da un'idea dell'estroso designer brittannico Michael Gill, che ha detto di voler dare nuova vita alla cristianità portando le preghiere – e i luoghi di culto - all'interno delle comunità.
“Le chiese una volta erano il centro delle nostre comunità e purtroppo non è più così – ha spiegato -. Questo è un modo per invertire la tendenza, rendere le chiese più accessibili e riportarle dove dovrebbero essere”. Tutta in pvc, completa di campanile, organo di plastica, pulpito, altare, arco gotico, comode panche e vetrate colorate.
In 14 metri di altezza e lunghezza e circa 7 metri in larghezza, stanno comodi circa 60 fedeli, di cui 12 seduti. Trasportabile su camion, costa circa 35 mila euro, salvo la possibilità di poterla affittare al prezzo di 3.500 euro al giorno.

Wouldn't you believe ....it was a Brit who invented it more than four years ago!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 18:33

Bouncy Castle owners eat you heart out! Picnic and pray is the order of the day. :laughs:

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 18:51

Is there a vacancy for Poet Laureate does anyone know??? lol

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 02:27

I understand that the Church needs to come to the people.... if they don't go to Church... but I would not go there. I will prefer to leave the beach early and go to a real church. I don't think that to find one nearby would be too much of a problem in Italy. Besides, they are so empty and cool in the middle of summer that they are a real treat.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 04:06

I believe that 'inflatable nuns' have been available in certain shops forn many years!

Not sure they do anything for church attendance though.