Church to go to in manhattan for tourists

Hi everyone

I am going to NYC at the start of april %26#39;08 on holiday with my flatmate and we were thinking of trying out a church on sunday to see what it is like. Lively would be great

Thank you

Jonathan

Church to go to in manhattan for tourists

Hmm. Lively. All of our churches are open for tourists. That%26#39;s the nature of churches. However, if you want %26#39;lively%26#39; (not quite sure what that means- bingo during the service? Dancing priests?), you could go on one of the gospel tours. buynewyorktours.com/tours/鈥?/a>

As an ex-Catholic, I tend to find Masses pretty lively (stand up, sit down, kneel), but that%26#39;s just me. I%26#39;m not sure what you mean by %26#39;seeing what it%26#39;s like%26#39;- these are religious ceremonies, not entertainments. It would be rude to walk out or comment during the service if things are not to your taste. Likewise, you should dress appropriately out of respect for the congregations- no shorts, no baseball caps, no t-shirts with %26#39;funny%26#39; sayings.

Church to go to in manhattan for tourists

Thank you for your reply

By %26#39;see what it is like%26#39; i meant, experience church in a different country as i live in scotland. I have no intention of leaving a service before it is over.

I plan to attend a protestant service

I%26#39;m sure churches in NYC welcome all - be they locals or tourists - if you are looking for a %26#39;lively%26#39; service perhaps a church that caters to black/Afro Americans, with a gospel choir would fit your needs.

Many if these are of the Protestant bent....

Poppa

I agree - if you want ';lively';, go to a old-fashioned Black Baptist church in Harlem or Brooklyn. To read more, enter ';Harlem churches'; or ';gospel service'; or something similar in the search box. The Abyssinian is the most famous, and hence the most popular with tourists - and you can tell. They have a very strict line-up for visitors.

Go to a smaller one and the early service for smaller crowds and no or few tourists.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn is a mult-cultural gospel church with a world famous choir. Very easy to get to by subway. If you go, you can eat at the original Junior%26#39;s and then walk to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge. To read people%26#39;s experiences, enter ';Brooklyn Tabernacle'; in the search box.

You can sort by date if you wish.

I don%26#39;t know quite what you mean by lively, but three midtown Protestant churches with good sized, welcoming congregations and generally good music are St. Bartholomew%26#39;s, on Park Ave. near 50th Street, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, on Fifth and 55th, and Marble Collegiate Church, on Fifth Avenue and 29th Street. St. Bart%26#39;s is Episcopal (Anglican) and has really excellent music. In addition to their main Sunday service at 11, they have a more casual Sunday evening service at 7. FIfth Avenue Presbyterian is of course Presbyterian and of the three perhaps historically the closest to the Scottish church. Marble Collegiate was the church of the famed Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (author of ';The Power of POsitive Thinking';). The Collegiate church (there are a couple others in Manhattan) is what remains of the original Dutch church in New York.