Holy Balls, Batman.

What a Holy Roller might look like:

Ha. The Catholic Church I belonged to as a kid had a four lane bowling alley. And a bar!

I'm not religious anymore, but that's still example #1 of why u find Catholicism more appealing than the more joyless Protestant sects.

That church closed down a few years ago. I have no idea if the bowling alley is still functional.

Also, on the subject of unlikely locations for bowling alleys, apparently the starship Enterprise had one. Kirk's ship. Though it was never shown on screen.

So then, if you are bowling in a church and you pray for a strike- Do you get it?

/No. Even the Lord knows that wouldn't be fair.

If I weren't such a horrible bowler, this concept would intrigue me.

I wonder what the strangest places to find a bowling alley are?

White House (new window)?
Norwegian Pearl (new window) cruise ship
Holler House (new window) (Milwaukee)

There are at least three churches within 5 blocks of my house that used to have bowling alleys.

/all gone, sadly
//the alleys, not the churches

wallywam1: Grew up in a zero-alcohol Protestant environment. Went to a Catholic church once and saw a beer tap in the basement. Mind blown...

Grew up Protestant myself, always found the vehement anti-alcohol stance of many protestants to be amusing. Apparently a lot of them think they'll go straight to hell if they drink alcohol.

I remember trying to point out the biblical examples of Jesus endorsing wine, like the wedding feast at Canaan, or the last supper. I had people tell me with total sincerity that both of those were non-alcoholic wine: just plain grape juice and the bible just called it wine. These from people who otherwise treated the Holy Bible as the literal, inerrant, unquestionable Word of God. . .except the word "wine" must obviously mean "grape juice" instead.

I kind of like bowling. I can't do that little bowler dance when they walk up and do the flourish with their whole body, but i can usually gracelessly curve a ball at an angle for a strike. If I can have a full practice round before the "real" match, I'm golden.

I've found it's very hard to play at most alleys around here, though. It seems like every time slot from about 1:00 pm to closing time is "League Night."

I searched for a bowling group on meetup.com but the only one in my area was named something like Bowling for Jesus. It was in fact a hardcore rightist Christian sect that set up a bowling group. Not really my crowd.

I'd bowl more. Just can't find a place where I can in fact bowl without league setup. Or Jesus. Also last time I went bowling, almost every table behind the lanes was full of old dudes nursing beers and staring at the short skirts of the young women bowlers. Part of me laughed inside; part of me died.

Yay! My church is mentioned in the article. One correction. The bowling alley is in the elementary school. We used to duck and cover behind the bar.

I was hoping for moar Kingpin references.

Omnivorous: I wonder what the strangest places to find a bowling alley are?

White House (new window)?
Norwegian Pearl (new window) cruise ship
Holler House (new window) (Milwaukee)

There have been more than a few condemned or unoccupied buildings and even regularly occupied dwellings where a sealed off section contained a fully functional bowling alley (among other things, such as kit for rum runners). Usually two lanes tops. It's been a strange trip. Even in our own back yards we find discarded rooms. Kinda like we got our own Aztec ruins beneath USA cities. What else lays hidden, untouched for decades, perhaps a century? Most of it is lost beneath the force of our awesome machines. Just a bit more detritus to clear for the next development.

/who will redevelop what buildings stand now?

Did everyone here really grow up in a church with a bowling alley? Or is this the usual making-crap-up that goes on around here? Because I've never, ever, seen this.

What does God need with a bowling alley?

Bowling? Lame.

My church has beer, cannabis, hunting, and death metal.

/It's also not a church

Jacob_Roberson
Did everyone here really grow up in a church with a bowling alley?

Absolutely. We would have a Boy Scout meeting in the church basement every Monday, then walk over to the club in the school. The grownups would have a beer and the kids would have a pop, play some pool or goof around. Monday was a league night for bowling. After the Monday Night Football halftime highlights, everybody headed home.
About ten years ago, the school closed. The church and club are still doing okay. Of course, the bar has been grandfathered in for decades. It would never be allowed in a new school. We also used to walk to a bar after school, about a block away. They had a candy counter.

Jacob_Roberson: Did everyone here really grow up in a church with a bowling alley? Or is this the usual making-crap-up that goes on around here? Because I've never, ever, seen this.

I swear. St. Gerard's Church on the east side of Buffalo. Although technically, the bowling alley and bar was in a church-owned building right next door to the actual church.

You have to remember, a lot of these Catholic churches from the early 20th century serving blue-collar immigrant communities (German, Irish, Polish) served basically as social clubs as well as houses of worship. And these immigrant ethnic groups were not as stuck-up as the Puritan Protestants - thy liked to smoke and drink and gamble. So why not do it at the church?

Another thing, our club had a cigarette vending machine in the lobby. I can't recall any kid ever trying to buy cigs out of it. The risk was not worth it. IIRC, a pack was 60 cents.

I purchased my new equipment after 20 years away from the sport from a bowling center in the basement of a church in South Philly. Saint Monica Lanes. Still functional though I find myself bowling closer to home. They also have odd hours.

/ This dude abides.

Immaculate Conception Church Omaha NE still has a Bowlitorium! Bonus: Tridentine Catholics http://latinmassomaha.org/recreationcenter.html (new window)

ICC bowling alley click here LOL (new window)

/i am not an image criminal
// I guess I am

Jacob_Roberson: Did everyone here really grow up in a church with a bowling alley? Or is this the usual making-crap-up that goes on around here? Because I've never, ever, seen this.

I'll just leave this here. (new window)

/Found out from the CIO's executive assistant (ex-nun)

attention span of a retarded fruit fly: ICC bowling alley click here LOL (new window)

Ahh, the good ol' ICC Bowlatorium. Still alive and kicking. Bowled there once for a tournament.

If my church got a bowling alley, they would get tired of me being around there after no more than 6 weeks for the most patient of them.

Dear Jerk:

Doc Daneeka:

phamwaa:

Damn. I go to SBC occasionally and they're never this much fun. :(

My protestant church in downtown Toronto had a bowling alley - it was sparingly used about 30 years ago, and is now gone. The building was torn down :/ That was after they converted the bowling alley in to office space.

It was kinda cool to bowl there, though it didn't happen often. The building also had a gymnasium, showers, a large dining area and a great apartment.