What Pastimes Are Fading/Failing With Aging Boomers?

[HFWR]

And yet...megachurches are a thing.



A Catholic church in my community has undergone a real boom in the last 10 years and is getting close to mega-church-hood. To the basic old stone church, they have added on new church wings, a school, and a funeral home...the whole cycle of life.

We call it the "Baptidome"...

 

[audreyh1]

Based on my own church (UCC/Congregational), I would say most definitely that people are attending less.

Seriously? Probably regional. In the Deep South these humongous mega-churches keep popping up.

 

[audreyh1]

We call it the "Baptidome"...View attachment 26254

I think the parking space is the most impressive!

 

[Scuba]

I think the parking space is the most impressive!

Where is this? It's huge!!

 

[Gumby]

This is our meetinghouse. With a full house at Easter, we can squeeze in 400 people. A normal Sunday is only about 150-200 people, which is down about 30% in the last 20 years. The building dates to 1823 and is the third meetinghouse on the site. The congregation was gathered in 1639. Not even close to the Baptidome.

 

[Koolau]

This is our meetinghouse. With a full house at Easter, we can squeeze in 400 people. A normal Sunday is only about 150-200 people, which is down about 30% in the last 20 years. The building dates to 1823 and is the third meetinghouse on the site. The congregation was gathered in 1639. Not even close to the Baptidome.

That is a beautiful picture. Exactly the way I picture a Congregational Church.

 

[ERD50]

Seriously? Probably regional. In the Deep South these humongous mega-churches keep popping up.

There is a super-humongous-mega church here in the NW suburbs of Chicago, far from the 'Deep South".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_Creek_Community_Church

The church has three weekend services averaging 26,000 attendees, making it one of the largest churches in the United States (this ranking includes multi-site churches)

Is that 26,000 per service, or average for the three combined? Either way, that's a lot!

We attended with some friends once, decades ago when it was merely humongous. I'm not religious, so wasn't expecting to be 'moved', but figured I might get something out of it. At the time (and probably today), it seemed much more of a 'show' and 'production' than anything deeply spiritual. I was not impressed, but it obviously attracts a crowd.

Of course, most churches include a choir, organ, and often more instrumentation. But it is traditionally used to augment the message. In these places, the production seems to be larger the the message. JMO.

A friend of DW's keeps talking it up and inviting us to attend some special program that's just so moving. Not sure how many polite "No Thanks" she's gonna need before she gets the message.

And parking lot to match! "Praise the Lord and Pave Paradise"!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/-88.1363649/@42.091277,-88.1348627,1252m/data=!3m1!1e3

-ERD50

 

[Bestwifeever]

This is our meetinghouse. With a full house at Easter, we can squeeze in 400 people. A normal Sunday is only about 150-200 people, which is down about 30% in the last 20 years. The building dates to 1823 and is the third meetinghouse on the site. The congregation was gathered in 1639. Not even close to the Baptidome.

It must be hard to get people into your church as they are too engrossed by its exterior beauty! And a pond . Lovely.

 

[Scubamax]

A long past ritual...rewinding video tapes before you return them to the rental place.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Cleaning out my Dad's basement I came across a bag full of my old marbles. Had to explain what they were for to the nephews.

 

[Midpack]

Cleaning out my Dad's basement I came across a bag full of my old marbles. Had to explain what they were for to the nephews.

I assume "jacks" have become extinct too. When I was a kid, boys played marbles and girls played jacks. Probably an app for them today...

 

[steadystate]

Here's one I bet you've never even heard of ... amateur telescope making, in particular mirror making. Turns out you can make a telescope optic with sub millionths of an inch accuracy, using simple tools, your hands, and a simple but elegant optical test setup. I have made mirrors myself and it is immensely satisfying to view the universe with a tool made by oneself. Back in the '30s during the hobby's heyday, commercial scopes were ultra costly, and economics worked in favor of the amateur maker.

As time marches forward though, we are flooded with cheap Chinese optics that remove the economic advantage. So, fewer and fewer folks pursue the hobby, and those who do are mostly older. Oh well.

 

[jjquantz]

Here's one I bet you've never even heard of ... amateur telescope making, in particular mirror making. Turns out you can make a telescope optic with sub millionths of an inch accuracy, using simple tools, your hands, and a simple but elegant optical test setup. I have made mirrors myself and it is immensely satisfying to view the universe with a tool made by oneself. Back in the '30s during the hobby's heyday, commercial scopes were ultra costly, and economics worked in favor of the amateur maker.

As time marches forward though, we are flooded with cheap Chinese optics that remove the economic advantage. So, fewer and fewer folks pursue the hobby, and those who do are mostly older. Oh well.

A real shame - I still have a complete set of Amateur Telescope Making by Albert Ingalls. This was something of the bible of the process WAY back in the day - 1940's.

 

[Texas Proud]

There is a super-humongous-mega church here in the NW suburbs of Chicago, far from the 'Deep South".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_Creek_Community_Church



Is that 26,000 per service, or average for the three combined? Either way, that's a lot!

We attended with some friends once, decades ago when it was merely humongous. I'm not religious, so wasn't expecting to be 'moved', but figured I might get something out of it. At the time (and probably today), it seemed much more of a 'show' and 'production' than anything deeply spiritual. I was not impressed, but it obviously attracts a crowd.

Of course, most churches include a choir, organ, and often more instrumentation. But it is traditionally used to augment the message. In these places, the production seems to be larger the the message. JMO.

A friend of DW's keeps talking it up and inviting us to attend some special program that's just so moving. Not sure how many polite "No Thanks" she's gonna need before she gets the message.

And parking lot to match! "Praise the Lord and Pave Paradise"!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/-88.1363649/@42.091277,-88.1348627,1252m/data=!3m1!1e3

-ERD50

HA.... a small piker church!!! Need to go to Lakewood here in Houston... I cannot say that it has as nice of looking church as the others as it converted the old basketball stadium for its need... so only seat 16,800 at a time... but has multiple services....

From wiki...

Lakewood Church is a nondenominational charismatic Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is the largest congregation in the United States, averaging about 52,000 attendees per week.

Osteen's sermons are also televised in more than 100 countries, with an estimated 7 million viewers each week

​

Now, there are a few other mega churches.... this one does have a huge campus... it has 6 campuses, so the number I think is for all of them...

Second Baptist Church Houston is a megachurch in Houston, Texas, USA affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention that has a membership of over 63,000. Its senior pastor is Dr. Ed Young.

​

Others in Houston or area... a total of 16 listed on the protestant church list... not sure about other religions...

New Light Christian Center Church Houston TX Ira V. Hilliard 20,000

Woodlands Church The Woodlands TX Kerry Shook 18,400

Sagemont Church Houston TX John D. Morgan 17,700

Windsor Village United Methodist Church Houston TX Kirbyjon Caldwell 17,000

The Woodlands United Methodist Church The Woodlands TX Ed Robb 12,000

 

[pb4uski]

I recall that one of my favorite childhood pastimes was a chemistry set. Just googled them and they still make them.... which my sister the chemist major will be happy to hear.

 

[6miths]

I recall that one of my favorite childhood pastimes was a chemistry set. Just googled them and they still make them.... which my sister the chemist major will be happy to hear.

But they are way, way 'safer'. Back in the day you could really do some exciting 'experiments'. Which reminds me that I was going to add firecrackers and bottle rockets to the list (in most jurisdictions).

 

[kcowan]

We used to live on an acreage and had a ride on lawnmower. The other job was trimming around the many planted areas. While we were at it, the neighbours had the gardeners doing that work while they were working out at their club! We began to appreciate outsourcing.

 

[eytonxav]

I am not sure if its already been mentioned, but ham radio is also something that has been diminishing as older hams die off.

 

[Souschef]

I am not sure if its already been mentioned, but ham radio is also something that has been diminishing as older hams die off.

Your comment struck a chord with me. I remember in the early 60's running phone patches from service people overseas to their families in the States/
Now you can use Skype.

 

[braumeister]

Your comment struck a chord with me. I remember in the early 60's running phone patches from service people overseas to their families in the States/
Now you can use Skype.

Yes, even in the 70s I used to do a lot of phone patches for folks in Antarctica.

Alas, I've used amateur radio hardly at all in recent years.

 

[scrabbler1]

As a kid I had an Erector Set. Remember those things? It included metal plates, girders, and wheels which you screwed together with little screws and nuts. There was also a motor in one of the more advanced sets. It gave me some good practice following diagrams to assemble things, like any of those assemble-yourself things you buy at Ikea, for example.

 

[Midpack]

As a kid I had an Erector Set. Remember those things? It included metal plates, girders, and wheels which you screwed together with little screws and nuts. There was also a motor in one of the more advanced sets. It gave me some good practice following diagrams to assemble things, like any of those assemble-yourself things you buy at Ikea, for example.

When I was very young, I spent hours playing with my wooden trains. I guess they still exist, but the trains are painted now, they were bare wood in my day. My Mom would [-]bribe[/-] take me to the store and buy me one piece of track when I was good. I probably didn't have much track...

When I got a little older I had an Erector Set, Lincoln Logs and American Bricks. NOW that I think about it, that's probably why I ended up becoming an engineer.

 

[Nemo2]

When I got a little older I had an Erector Set

I'm not going to comment on that line, but those things have given a lot of people problems!

 

[CRLLS]

But they are way, way 'safer'. Back in the day you could really do some exciting 'experiments'. Which reminds me that I was going to add firecrackers and bottle rockets to the list (in most jurisdictions).

Our chemistry set had a 2# bottle of Mercury! It was our favorite part of the set. Push it around the table and push all the little balls into one big blob. If we knew then what we know now. Of course the alcohol burner was always fun for a 7 or 8 year old too.

 

[Midpack]

DW mentioned home cooking/baking. Remember this thread was about what pastimes will fade or disappear when Boomers aren't around to support them, not what Boomers are supporting. You often see couples on HGTV and other shows who admit they don't cook at all (some curiously adamant about "needing" an upscale kitchen), they just warm things up. I've seen young couples who've said all they need is a fridge and a microwave. But maybe cooking will make a comeback if median incomes remain flat/down?