Clergy Notes 1996-2001
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Clergy Notes was a monthly publication by The Polis Center as a part of their Project on Religion and Urban Culture to provide information about issues that were of interest to clergy regarding their communities and urban life.
Published from November 1996 to March 2001. Each issue has a topical title.
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Item Advertising Religion: A Necessary Evil, or Just Necessary(2000-09)Many in the clergy are reluctant to advertise in secular media, though lay people are generally more open to the idea. Culture and even theology will determine whether advertising is appropriate for a particular congregation. For advertising to work, it must be well thought out and given time to show results. This issue includes an interview with George Martin, a former Episcopal priest and director of the Church Ad Project, a leading company in the field of religious advertising; and resources.Item Alternative Services(2000-05)New congregations are springing up-sometimes as an off-shoot of established congregations-aimed at members of the so-called Generation X. The services feature guitar-driven music and a conversational preaching style.Item Call It Declension…Or Staying Power(1999-02)Scholars use the term declension to describe the deterioration or declining influence of an organization or institution. The theme of declension…encourages the tendency to pay more attention to what religion is not doing and what it used to do rather than to what it is doing and continues to do.Item Changing Expectations for Clergy Activists(1999-10)In this issue, we explore how the public role of clergy has changed over this century. Sometimes that change has been shaped by congregations who expect their clergy to be hands on managers and leaders. Community building often is regarded as an internal, rather than external, activity.Item The Changing Face of Indianapolis Religion(1997-05) Diamond, Etan; Farnsley, Arthur E. IILike a photograph, a survey provides a snapshot of people’s attitudes or behaviors at a single point in time. It often reveals little about the past and how those attitudes have changed. Only by comparing different surveys from different points in time can we begin to see how attitudes have shifted, how the landscape has been altered.Item Cities on a Journey(1998-12)As a child, I was brought up with Bible maps that plotted in huge squiggles Abraham’s wanderings through the ancient Near East. The community which Abraham and Sarah drew around them seems a model for our contemporary experience of rootlessness, and aspiration for community: for a place where blessings are shared, strangers welcomed, faith is passed on, hope takes root, and relationships are tested.Item Clergy in the Classroom(2000-07)The principle of church-state separation has banished religion from the schools in its overt forms. Still, religion has played a crucial role in the shaping of culture, and there are opportunities for clergy to share their particular knowledge and insights with students in the classroom. This issue examines the circumstances under which clergy may be invited to speak in the classroom, with suggested topics, and offers guidance as to what is permitted and what is not. The issue includes resources and an interview with Ken Knowles, a teacher of Bible Literature at Carmel High School.Item Coming Down from the Volunteer Summit(1997-06)Congregations of all sorts have been in the volunteer business a long time. Polis researchers have found that the volunteers congregations recruit are mainly for the educational, administrative and liturgical programs of the congregation. Community service is important to many congregations, but in most cases it is not the highest priority.Item Community Lost?(1996-11)Are we becoming a nation of loners? Yes, claims sociologist Robert Putnam in his essay "Bowling Alone."Item Congregations and Computers(1999-01)While many congregations own computers, few benefit fully from their capabilities. How important are these "indispensable" machines to you?