How the other half worships in Manchester, NH

Manchester, NH has its share of big, beautiful churches. Of these, my favorite is probably Ste. Marie's, the largest church on the West Side. St. Joseph Cathedral, on the east side, is also impressive, as is First Congregational Church on the corner of Hanover and Union streets.

But the churches I find most interesting in the city are those whose congregations are not made up of the the most prosperous individuals in the area. These churches are invariably located in the poorer sections of town and are, more often than not, to be found occupying store fronts or older, traditional church buildings of which they are not the original occupants. Their grounds, if they have them, are far from lush. You probably won't find any stained glass, vaulted ceilings or ornate decorations either. And you certainly won't see any fancy cars parked out front.

I first began really noticing these churches are receiving and reading a review copy of Camilo Jose Vergara's "How the Other Half Worships," an excellent book that profiles, in words and photographs, the churches of America's urban poor.

Like their counterparts across the country, Manchester's poorer churches are mostly found in the center city.

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They represent an array of denominations, from Assembly of God to Pentecostal to Southern Baptist. The best of them, like Grace Haven Baptist Church in the West Granite neighborhood, are true neighborhood churches that cater not just to their parishioners' spiritual needs, but to their material ones as well. They don't just talk about abstractly about Jesus' words about helping the poor and downtrodden, they put them into action.

Another is Main Street Mission, located on Manchester, NH's Rehab Row, so-called, on the Manchester Street block between Elm and Chestnut streets. According to its brochure, Main Street Mission doesn't care if you're is drunk or sober. Nor do they mind if you're clean or dirty, or if you use foul language. That's a bit of a departure from most churches I've set foot in before.

In thinking of this, I am reminded of a quote (attributed to a one Captain Obvious) that my friend Glenn uses as part of his email signature. It reads:

"Each week, millions and millions of upper middle class American citizens put on expensive dress clothes, and load themselves into SUV's and drive past homeless shelters, orphanages, prisons, missions, and halfway houses on their way to a very expensive and nice church, where somebody tells them how to be more like Jesus."