Judson Visit

(As you can see, I'm catching up on the visit posts :-P)

I've always kind of wanted to check out Judson Memorial Church, but I've never had a reason. I'm not Christian, I'm not religious, and furthermore, I have no sense of spirituality whatsoever. I'm obnoxiously pragmatist, if anything. Given that, I'm glad we got to go, particularly since we got to speak with the pastor and see the space when it was empty.

I think community spaces are great. I know Think Coffee lets out its basement for people who want to have meetings or gatherings, as does Bowery Poetry Club, and I think even the Fat Cat. Judson doesn't explicitly serve that role, but in a way it does those places one better. People flock to it naturally, and they gladly let it happen. I enjoyed the one story about how the church let everyone in to safety during the folk-singing riot of the '60s.

These kinds of places are the kinds that make a highly populated, anonymous place like the Village a real tight community. Most of the people in that community aren't really a part of it, but there is a community there should anybody want it. Judson is probably too historic to ever be destroyed, but there is certainly concern for its sanctity. NYU has already owned a good chunk of it for years, which is just referred to as the "NYU Annex", I believe. As long as it stands there, I don't think there is any risk of the park becoming completely white-washed. So, I suppose, I just hope nobody tries to take it down.