Just got back from a long weekend in Philadelphia, for a reason that I'll be able to explain later. This morning, I went to divine liturgy at Holy Ascension Antiochian Orthodox Church, a mission parish in Devon, a small-town exurb of Philly. Let me tell you, if you live in the area and are curious about Orthodoxy, or are already Orthodox and want to try a new parish, check out Holy Ascension. The feeling there reminds me of the early days of the great Holy Cross parish in Linthicum, Maryland. It's a relatively small parish, but full of energy -- and kids (I think there were slightly more children than adults), which is a sign of vitality. I was pleased to meet a couple of faithful readers of this blog (hey guys!), and was sorry that I had to run off to the airport shortly after the liturgy ended. I would have loved to have stayed to talk.
Joseph, one of this blog's readers, is a college professor and an emigre from Texas. He told me he and his wife were concerned about how difficult homeschooling would be in Pennsylvania, given that its laws are more strict than in Texas. In fact, he said, they've found it to be much easier in the Philly area, because the cultural capital is so much more concentrated. I didn't have time to discuss this further with Joseph today, but given conversations I've had with other crunchy con homeschooling types in the area, the idea, I think what he means is that with so many colleges in the area, there are so many resources available to homeschoolers. I have an Anglican friend in the area whose family is part of a homeschooling cooperative on the Main Line, and the things he's told me about that group astonishes. Anyway, Joseph said that in the Philly area, there are lots of conservative Christians who are culturally engaged and building up the resources and networks to live a kind of Benedict Option. I know from talking to my friend C., another reader of this blog and a Chestnut Hill resident, that the farmers market and alt-food culture in Philly is rather advanced.
Like I said, I really wish I could have stayed longer to hear more about this, but airlines have this thing about leaving on time. But if Joseph or anybody else from the area cares to elaborate in the comments boxes, please do.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
I think what I take issue is the new thesis you introduce late in the post about airlines having a thing about leaving on time. I would like to see some data to back it up, because I have a lot of contrary anecdotal evidence.
"Sure, there are exceptions. But watch the culture slowly unwind in areas like Philly...you can see it happening."
Spend a lot of time in Philadelphia do you? A homeschooler moves there, reports his experience, but it cannot possibly be true because it is in the Northeast. Good example of conservative PC.
Steve
New York has a rep for being the hardest state in the Union to homeschool in - and yet we haven't found it particularly onerous. We have to mail in a piece of paper a few times a year - big deal. Honestly, I think you can homeschool just about anywhere without too much trouble.
Sharon
Ditto Sharon. We homeschool in NYC. I've found the Department of Education's Central Office for Homeschooling to be quite pleasant and very helpful.
The idea of "Crunchy Cons" in Philadelphia is actually rather less unlikely than you make it seem. It is true that the city proper is very liberal and Democratic, but on the whole Pennsylvania, like its westerly "Rust Belt" neighbours Indiana and Ohio, is not really a very liberal state. More than that, the whole "Rust Belt", or, in using Joel Garreau's rather less unflattering name, "the Foundry", has had a long tradition of subversive, countercultural conservatism like very few other regions of North America.
Attempts to revive localism against the forces of centralisation have in face been heavily concentrated in Joel Garreau's "Foundry", and Pennsylvania itself seems to be the centre of the area where this type of revival seems to occur (one can roughly locate it as covering the Upper South and extending to upstate New York). The reason for this is probably the way in which the hilly topography encourages small communities in a manner impossible in the flatter "Breadbasket" or arid "Empty Quarter", and a culture that has historically been much more welcoming to traditional religion than that of the Europe-like, ultrasecular Pacific Rim "Ecotopia".
In fact, Rod, moving from Texas to Pennsylvania is in no way an unnatural choice for a person of your beliefs and could in fact allow you access to more people of your persuasion.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.