Huh, that's really interesting, I hadn't connected the godhar with protestant churches, and I was unaware of the Eigenkirchen - that's certainly a useful bit of comparative evidence with the Icelandic godhar!

And your last point hits the nail of what was underlying my line of questioning right on the head: I'm trying to more carefully separate baby from bathwater when it comes to learning from religious models and approaches that have been successful, with a specific focus on what might be different for us Americans than our European forebears.

Thanks again!
Jeff