Finding God in a Pandemic and Beyond:
Online and Ordinary Sacred Places

Attendance, Buildings & Spaces, Catholic Parishes, Culture Frame, Ritual & Worship, Technology & Internet, Theology Frame, Theology-Feature, United States & Canada

Where does one go to find God? Quite commonly, a place of worship. Even people who aren’t sure if God exists seek divine help in churches and mosques and cathedrals because such religious buildings are understood as sacred spaces. If God does exist, surely God will be found in these holy places. 

This understanding of sacred space poses a problem in a global pandemic, however. Where does one go to find God when those religious buildings are closed? And beyond the pandemic, it challenges communities of faith to think in new ways.

Networked Congregations:
Together and Apart

Catholic Parishes, Commitment & Belonging, Culture Frame, Networks & Relationships, Ritual & Worship, Theology Frame, Theology-Feature, United States & Canada

Worship is a central activity of congregations everywhere, but what has happened during these months when gathering hasn’t been possible? A survey conducted during the first two months of the outbreak in North America showed that pastors’ top priority was to find a way to continue their weekend worship services in the midst of the…

Faith-Based Programming:
Four Tips for Congregations

Buildings & Spaces, Ecology Frame, Neighborhoods & Contexts, Networks & Relationships, Resources Frame, Social Service & Activism, United States & Canada

How should congregations aiming to initiate or expand their social service programming go about doing so? We recently published The Arc of Faith-Based Initiatives (2018, Springer) and have both examined congregational social services for about two decades. Our research suggests four critical considerations. What’s your programming focus and will it fill a void? The field…

Flourishing Congregations:
Not All Are As They Appear

Attendance, Congregational Size, Interviews, Leadership, Process Frame, Process-Feature, Resources Frame, Surveys, Thriving Congregations, United States & Canada

Amidst the endless stream of research studies, news stories, and anecdotes that rightly report on religious decline across denominations and congregations, where are the signs of congregational life and vitality, and what can we learn from such settings? These are anchoring questions for our Canadian-based research team at the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University.…