Strength for the Journey

by Diana Butler Bass (Alexandria, Virginia)

• ISBN13: 9780787955786
• ISBN10: 0787955787
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

In Strength for the Journey, Diana Butler Bass illustrates the dynamic strength and persistence of mainline Protestantism. While many baby boomers left the church, only to come back later in life, Bass was a "stayer" who witnessed the struggles and changes and found much there that was meaningful. Offering thought-provoking portraits of eight parishes she attended over two decades, she explores the major issues that have confronted mainline denominations, congregations, and parishioners during those years- from debates over women clergy to conflicts about diversity and community to scrimmages between tradition and innovation.

Author Biography

<B>Diana Butler Bass </B>writes a weekly newspaper column on contemporary religion as New York Times syndicate columnist. In addition to being a popular speaker, retreat leader, and seminary professor, this scholar of American religion serves as director of faith formation at Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia. 17 02 <I>"The church cannot depend on the past for its future."</I> <BR> &mdash; Diana Butler Bass <P> At a time when many mainline churches were losing members, Diana Butler Bass chose to stay and discover the vibrancy at the very heart of her faith. She was not alone. There has been a quiet resurrection in the mainline tradition, energized by a new generation of churchgoers and a host of new members. The reemerging Protestant mainline possesses an unexpected and underestimated vitality. And in recent decades, mainline churchgoing has been anything but dull, as congregations have struggled to understand their identity and vocation in a changed world. <P> In <I>Strength for the Journey</I>, Diana Butler Bass illustrates the dynamic strength and persistence of mainline Protestantism. While many baby boomers left the church, only to come back later in life, Bass was a "stayer" who witnessed the struggles and changes and found much there that was meaningful. Offering thought-provoking portraits of eight parishes she attended over two decades, she explores the major issues that have confronted mainline denominations, congregations, and parishioners during those years&mdash; from debates over women clergy to conflicts about diversity and community to scrimmages between tradition and innovation. <P> Diana Butler Bass's story reveals the church's history among us. She uses her life as the focal point to tell the larger story of contemporary mainline church life, with all of its ups and downs. During the last two decades, she says, "the church was being quietly transformed by the experiences of stayers like myself who demanded different visions and practices of churchgoing than the institution had traditionally offered." And out of the turbulence, a new kind of mainline congregation has been emerging, and a new period of American Protestantism is being born.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Phyllis Tickle
Acknowledgments	xv
Introduction
Resurrection
All Saints Church, Pasadena, California, 1996	1	(20)
Coming Home
All Saints-by-the-Sea, Santa Barbara, California, 1980--1981	21	(32)
Competing Authorities
Christ Church, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, 1982--1987	53	(36)
The Establishment
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Durham, North Carolina, 1987--1989	89	(32)
Practicing Faith
Church of the Holy Family, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1989--1991	121	(32)
Interim
Santa Barbara, California, 1991--1994	153	(36)
The Open Door
Trinity Church, Santa Barbara, California, 1995--1997	189	(34)
The Household of God
Grace--St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Memphis, Tennessee, 1997--2000	223	(38)
Conclusion Pentecost
Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia, 2001	261	(24)
Bibliography	285	(6)
The Author	291