Churches and Church Organizations
The first organizations
to begin in Greenbelt came through the church services because they were
the
social gatherings of the week for the members of the church. The first
interdenominational
church services began in the city on November 14, 1937 and the first
Protestant Church services began on November 21, 1937 (Greenbelt
Chronicles, p.1). Both of these were only about a month and a
half after the first
five families moved in so they were sort of an icebreaker to begin the
socializing process for the new residents. Churches became the
centerpiece of social
gatherings in order to meet people in their neghborhood through similiar
religions because it was a comfort zone. People could find things in
common very easily because they were of the same faith. The only
problem with these gathering was that these church services were
without a church. The services had to be held in the theater and
other community buildings due to the lack of individualized
structures.
Even though Church Structures were not constructed at
Greenbelt's opening, the services began as soon as
possible.
Organizations formed easily
through the church. The first type of organizations to form was under
each religion as a basis. The Catholic Church two organizations: the
Solidality of the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Name Society. The
Solidality of the Blessed Virgin was a society open to anyone in the
church who wanted to join, but was made up mostly of women, and it was
constructed to study the religion and
help the pastor as much as possible. The Holy Name Society was open to
any Catholic man in Greenbelt and its purpose was to
"aid in the Spiritual Welfare of Catholic Men"
(Ibid,
p.2).
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints and the Greenbelt Community Church only had one
organization each and they both were through the church itself. If you
were a member, you were to go to services and voluntarily pledge money to
the church along with attend any meetings other than services that were
held by the group.
The last two groups were open
to everyone in Greenbelt who wanted to join. The first was the Community
Church Choir and they welcomed all who could sing, or at least was willing
to try. The last was the Young People's Society and it was an informasl
group of the youth in Greenbelt who wanted to be involved in the community
through their religions.