American Congregations

by Wind, James P.; Lewis, James W.

• ISBN13: 9780226901879
• ISBN10: 0226901874
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

American Congregations, Volume 1:Portraits of Twelve Religious Communitieschronicles the founding, growth, and development of congregations that represent the diverse and complex reality of American local religious cultures. Some, like Center Church in New Haven, trace their stories back to colonial times. Others, like the Swaminarayan Hindu temple in suburban Chicago, are recent attempts to create local religious worlds. Ranging from congregations of Lebanese Muslims in Northern Canada to Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, the essays convey the distinctive character of each congregation and provide vivid evidence of the importance of congregations in daily life. "This study refreshingly illuminates [congregations'] strengths as places where the public and private lives of their members meet in dynamic creativity and as havens of religious meaning and comfort in the midst of a secular world."Choice"A major contribution to how debates about American religion will be framed in the years ahead. . . . In giving us these case histories and a set of excellent interpretive essays, Wind and Lewis have reminded us that American religion must be understood in its particular, local, gathered, human forms. They remind us that congregations matter."Nancy T. Ammerman,First Things"Well-presented and engaging essays, by some of the foremost religious scholars working today, examining the histories of twelve diverse religious institutions. . . . A fascinating and important social history of religion."Kirkus Reviews"Scholarship and the religious traditions have been enriched by the labors of the Congregational History Project. Theologically, its pioneering research invites us to examine ourselves."Gabriel Fackre,Christian Century

Author Biography

Elizabeth A. Kaye specializes in communications as part of her coaching and consulting practice. She has edited Requirements for Certification since the 2000-01 edition.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(13)
James P. Wind
James W. Lewis
1. A New England Congregation: Center Church, New Haven, 1638-1989	14	(89)
Harry S. Stout
Catherine Brekus
2. "A Special Feeling of Closeness": Mt. Hebron Baptist Church, Leeds, Alabama	103	(56)
Wayne Flynt
3. From Synagogue-Community to Citadel of Reform: The History of K. K. Bene Israel (Rockdale Temple) in Cincinnati, Ohio	159	(62)
Jonathan D. Sarna
Karla Goldman
4. A Social History of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore: The House of God and the Struggle for Freedom	221	(72)
Lawrence H. Mamiya
5. Sugar House Ward: A Latter-day Saint Congregation	293	(56)
Jan Shipps
Cheryll L. May
Dean L. May
6. An Oak among Churches: St. Boniface Parish, Chicago, 1864-1990	349	(47)
Stephen J. Shaw
7. XXXQue es esto? The Transformation of St. Peter's Parish, San Francisco, 1913-1990	396	(68)
Jeffrey M. Burns
8. Making a Difference: Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago	464	(56)
Marilee Munger Scroggs
9. The History of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation	520	(52)
George Papaioannou
10. Reducing the Distance: A Muslim Congregation in the Canadian North	572	(40)
Earle H. Waugh
11. Swaminarayan Hindu Temple of Glen Ellyn, Illinois	612	(51)
Raymond Brady Williams
12. Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California	663	(36)
Randall Balmer
Jesse T. Todd, Jr.
Contributors	699	(4)
Index	703