Prague's 'Church on a Boat' tries to bring Czechs back on board with religion
A Prague church movement is spending $800,000 to turn an old shipping barge into a church boat. The founder says Czechs won't go to church, but they'll go to church on a boat or in a go-cart hall.
Tom谩拧 Janda stands on the deck of the future 'Church on a Boat' in Prague, Czech Republic.
Jacy Meyer
Prague, Czech Republic
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
Here鈥檚 the scene: a thumping band, flashing lights, and a fog machine on a Sunday evening in Prague. Where are you? In church.
鈥淲e wanted to have a church that was easy to invite people to,鈥� says Dana Janda, a volunteer with Prague鈥檚 branch of International 海角大神 Fellowship. 鈥満＝谴笊駍 are quite old-fashioned and we wanted to make it cool.鈥�
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International 海角大神 Fellowship (ICF) is a European nondenominational 海角大神 movement. The Prague church has been around for more than three years, quite a feat in one of the most atheistic countries in Europe. Mrs. Janda and her husband, Tom谩拧 Janda, helped form this youth-driven church, where the pastor, at 40 years old, is the oldest member. The majority of the 150 or so congregants are between ages 15 and 25, a population the Jandas say isn鈥檛 being reached by traditional churches.
鈥淭he problem is packaging,鈥� said Mr. Janda. 鈥淐hurches are still using the form from 300 years ago.鈥�
So ICF decided to go 鈥�nonchurchy鈥� and rent a go-cart hall with a warehouse feel and a super light and sound system. Songs are sung in English and the sermon, in Czech, gets kicked up a notch with film clips and other multimedia. The clublike atmosphere provides flexibility.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no problem to change the structure,鈥� said Mr. Janda. 鈥淭he content is the same; we just experiment with the form.鈥�
Their newest experiment is Church on a Boat. ICF Prague has acquired an old shipping barge and has just begun to reconstruct it to serve as a worship vessel. They hope to rent it out for weddings and cultural events to introduce people to the church in a nonthreatening way. The project will take nearly three years and around $800,000 to realize their vision of spreading the gospel in Prague through unusual venues.
鈥淚t attracts people,鈥� said Mrs. Janda. 鈥淲e hear, 鈥業 wouldn鈥檛 go to church, but I鈥檇 go to a church on a boat.鈥� 鈥�
IN PICTURES: Unusual churches from around the world
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