Ways Churches Can Help Suburbia.

Tim Chester on Subtext shares some thoughts on using the church to build community cohesiveness.

So here are some ideas for a kingdom approach to architecture and town planning:

– the creation of civic foci in suburbia
– the provision of infrastructure for walking
– the integration housing, retail, business and light industry
– the integration of different social grouping through mixed housing
– a focus on shared space in the home rather than segregated space

Christians would also do well to think about shared space for family
life and hospitality when they choose homes, and to prioritise this
over separate space (like en suite facilities). I would also love to
see Christians in the UK finding ways to spend time out at the front of
their homes.

This would be awesome in the US as well. Take the community stance of Wendell Berry, the sociological-theological function of the church from Milbank, the liturgical significance of locality from Gordon Lathrop, and mix it all together and you end up with something like this.