Kent Bowl Should Be A Church

For many bowlers, the local bowling alley is more than a fun activity center. It's a lifestyle, meditation, and a friendly community.

Many of the local bowlers are lost without their local lanes being open, and many want Kent Bowl to reopen as a church.

Why?

Because Kent Bowl has been closed since February 2020, for almost six months now, and albeit an opinion, I believe that if a church can be open during Washington State’s Phase 2 of the COVID virus mitigation, then so can a bowling alley.

Yes, as a former weeknight leaguer at Kent Bowl, to approach the concourse and do two “John Goodmans” (where one leans back with his ball in hand and takes deep ‘John Goodman’ like deep breaths, as seen in ‘The Big Lebowski’) is a spiritual experience.

Being in a bowling league has many similar, if not enhanced properties that are also commonly found in being a member of a church or religious institution.

In a church or religious institution, they pass around a weekly collection hat or box, and people put money in it to support the church or religious institution financially.

At Kent Bowl, they pass around a weekly collection envelope, and people put money in it to support Kent Bowl financially.

In a church or religious institution, people walk down the aisle, drink some wine, and take bread or crackers.

At Kent Bowl, people walk down the bowling carpet, drink some beer, and take fries or onion rings.

My friends, I also have evidence that I am not simply conjuring up the notion during COVID times. In fact, my good friend and bowling partner and I, (let’s just call him “Stryker”), joined our first bowling league at Kent Bowl about two years ago. It is no coincidence that, during our first league (well before I ever recently proclaimed that it would be easy to deem Kent Bowl as a church), we used to tell each other to get “spiritual” to increase our performance. It simply is a spiritual experience.