Just wondering how far everyone has to go to find fellowship. How far is too far. I would like church can just walk to but just havent found one yet. I mean if my car breaks down it would take me 40 minutes to walk to the one I now attend. I heard some people go all the way across town. Isnt church meant to be in your local area? Like the centre of your town and the whole focal, gathering place of your community?
I've heard of times and places where the church was the center of the town, as you describe, but I don't live in a setting like that. (I'd be interested to hear from people who do live in that kind of setting.)
I live in a small town that's one of a cluster of small towns, all in the shadow of one of the large cities on the east coast of the US. Like many Americans, while I think it's great if I can walk places, in reality I get to most places in my car. Each of the towns near me has an assortment of churches, one for each of the major denominations: a Presbyterian church, a Methodist church, a Catholic church, an Episcopal church, a Baptist church, maybe a couple of others (Lutheran, Friends, nondenominational, etc.). The church I go to is an Episcopal church a couple of towns over from me, about 15 minutes' drive away. By American standards, that's close.
Because Americans are used to driving so much, my sense of my local area is anything that's within about 15-20 minutes' drive.
I will add that there's a Presbyterian church in my neighborhood, within easy walking distance. They host a local community/political organization that I attend, so that's a bit of the "gathering place" element you described. But it's not really the focal point of the entire town.
