Ever think about the good your congregation does for the community – even when you aren’t trying? Yes, we know that congregations are critical parts of every community’s safety net. As the Boston Globe reported, with thousands of refugees needing assistance, it is often faith communities that organize the food, shelter, clothing, and other assistance…
Nobody really knows how many there are or how much all that real estate is worth, but the buildings owned by religious congregations are a formidable physical presence in virtually every American community. Elsewhere in the world, they are no less present – from grand cathedrals and temples to humble shrines and improvised shelters. People…
There are amazing resources available to people who want to understand — and support —congregational life. Here are a few that are worth checking out. See how these sources intersect with our Frames for Study and how they help you imagine what tools from our Toolkit you might use. Surveying the Landscape If you are…
There’s been a lot of buzz recently about the state of health and happiness among the people who lead U.S. congregations. One widely-circulated blog post expounded on the stresses and strains that led one pastor to call it quits – not just from his church, but from the profession itself. The responses to that post…
When we say we are ‘observing’ congregational life, we often think about using our eyes to see what people are doing and using our ears to listen for the words used. But what else can our ears tell us? That’s a question the American Religious Sounds Project has been asking. Since 2014, scholars from…