November 21, 2009
UTNE READER

The Big Tony Hawk in the Sky

January 11, 2002 Issue
By Sara V. Buckwitz 
Article Tools
Print
Comments
RSS
Bookmark and Share
W

RELATED CONTENT

edged in the middle of church row in Portland sits "skate church" -- possibly the most popular indoor skate park in Oregon, even with the required half-hour sermon before every skating session. What makes the skaters stick around? One element, writes Katia Dunn for the weekly Portland Mercury, is the pastor's use of language the skaters can understand.

"'Dude,' yells Gerald Griffin, the pastor of skate church, in a sermon given a few weeks before Christmas. 'Dude, the punishment that Jesus suffered--that punishment was totally gnarly.'"

Though the sermons compel a few kids to convert, most just come to skate, because when it's rainy out the converted warehouse is the only place to skate, and Portland is not exactly known for its dry climate.

A local church supports the facility and treats it as an outreach program, and though the conversion rate may be low, Pastor Griffin feels that "for every hour a skater is at skate church, that's another hour he's not getting in trouble."
--Sara V. Buckwitz
Go there>>
Bookmark and Share
RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

Comments

Add Your Comment

We’d like to know what you think. To comment, please use this form. E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments. First time registrants: You will receive an email confirming your email address. Once you confirm, your comment will be posted. Questions about our comments policy? Click here.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Utne Reader?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.
FEATURED ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR


Pay Now & Save $6!
First Name: *
 Last Name: *
Address: *
 City: *
State/Province: *
 Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
 Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Want to gain a fresh perspective? Read stories that matter? Feel optimistic about the future? It's all here! Utne Reader offers provocative writing from diverse perspectives, insightful analysis of art and media, down-to-earth news and in-depth coverage of eye-opening issues that affect your life.

Save Even More Money By Paying NOW!

Pay now with a credit card and take advantage of our Earth-Friendly automatic renewal savings plan. You save an additional $6 and get 6 issues of Utne Reader for only $29.95 (USA only).

Or Bill Me Later and pay just $36 for 6 issues of Utne Reader!