The Rural Church In America

The Rural Church in America

Volume I: The Rural Church in Context

Unit 1 OVERVIEW OF THE RURAL CHURCH IN AMERICA

Readings

History of the Rural Church
A Century Ago in a Country Parish	D. L. Scott	1-1
Reformers and the Rural Church, 1900-1950	James Madison	1-2
The 'Country Life Movement' and the American Churches	Merwin Swanson	1-3
A Step in the Right Direction	Jeff Ray	1-4
Parish Life in Town and Countryside	Gary Burkart and David Leege	1-5
The Rural Church Program: 30 Years Later	Gary Farley	1-6
Theology of the Rural Church
The Church and the Farm and A Theological Background	Kathleen Daugherty and Foster McCurley	1-7
The Rural Parish	Mary Ann Simcoe	1-8
Land as Promise and as Problem and Blessed Are The Meek	Walter Brueggemann	1-9
Theology for the Wretched of the Earth	Hal Warehime	1-10
Nature of Call and Small Church Ministry	Presbyterian Church ,USA	1-11
Why Save Rural America: Theological/Ethical Perspective	Tex Sample	1-12

Projects

Additional Resources

UNIT 2 CHARACTERISTICS AND DYNAMICS OF THE RURAL CHURCH

Introduction

Readings

Urban and Rural Churches Compared
Rural-Urban Differences in Religiosity	Hart Nelsen, Raytha Yokley, and Thomas Madron	2-1
Rural/Urban versus Regional Differences in Religiosity	Paul Chalfant and Peter Hiller	2-2
Patterns of Religion in the United States	James Shortridge	2-3
Small-Town Religion	Emilia Martinez-Brawley	2-4
Characteristics of Rural Churches
A Dozen Characteristics of Smaller Churches	Gary Farley	2-5
Basic Issues Confronting the Small Membership Church	Bruce Ough	2-6
What the Small Church Does Better	Alma Henckel	2-7
A Cultural Definition of the Rural Church	Art Jaggard	2-8
Dynamics of Rural Churches
Understanding the Dynamics of the Small Church	Gary Farley	2-9
Unique Dynamics of the Small Church	Carl Dudley	2-10
What Motivates Behavior in the Small Church	Anthony Pappas	2-11
Developmental Stages in the Life of a Small Church	James Cushman	2-12

Projects

Additional Resources

UNIT 3 IMPACT OF SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE ON THE RURAL CHURCH

Introduction

Readings

Factors Which Have to Do with the Decline of the Country Church	Anton Boisen	3-1
Why Rural Churches Decline	R. Don Whitehead	3-2
The New Face of Town and Country America and Its Challenge for the Church	Merle Boos	3-3
Change in Rural America and Its Churches	Gary Farley	3-4
New Rural Population: A Challenge to the U. S. Church	Jeff Ethan	3-5
The Influence of Economic and Demographic Factors on Rural Church Viability	Richard Rathge and Gary Goreham	3-6

Projects

Additional Resources

UNIT 4 RURAL CHURCH'S RESPONCE TO SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES

Introduction

Readings

Basis for Churches' Response to Contextual Change
Action in the Farm Towns	James M.Wall	4-1
Rural Churches: A Beacon of Hope	Raylene Nickel	4-2
Requirements for Rural Social Action: The Church	Charles Cleland	4-3
Ways the Church Can Respond to Contextual Change
Impact of Rural Transition on North Dakota Churches and Their Response: An Exploratory Study	Gary Goreham and Richard Rathge	4-4
Parish Development Aids	Marvin Judy	4-5
Types of Cooperative Ministry	Marshall Schirer and Mary Anne Forehand	4-6
A Suggested Agreement to Share Facilities	Marshall Schirer and Mary Anne Forehand	4-7
Church Activity and the Yoked Parish: A Structural Adaptation to Scarcity	Randolph Cantrell, James Krile, and George Donohue	4-8
Area Ministry	John Photiadis	4-9
Local Churches Improving Life in Appalachia: A Collective Action Commentary	Michael Carter and Greg Hoover	4-10
Economic Activism of Minnesota Churches in Two Regions	Wolfgang Bielefeld, Randy Cantrell, and George Donohue	4-11
Church Activism Among Farm Couples: Measuring the Impact of the Conjugal Unit	John Wilson, Ida Harper Simpson, and David Jackson	4-12

Projects

Additional Resources

UNIT 5 RURAL CHURCH'S RESPONSE TOSTRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE NATURAL RESOURCE INDUSTRIES

Introduction

Readings

The Church and Change in the Structure of Agriculture
Death and Resurrection in Rural America	Gary Comstock	5-1
Is There a Conspiracy Against Family Farmers?	Edward Schuh	5-2
Is the Church Open to Victims of the Rural Crisis?	Judith Bortner Heffernan and William Heffernan	5-3
The Rural Crisis and the Church's Ministry	Roger Field	5-4
The Churches' Response to the Rural Crisis	Frank Dorsey	5-5
The Response of the Christian Denominations to the Farm Crisis	Gary Farley	5-6
Toward Wholeness and Community: Strategies for Pastoral and Political Response to the American Rural Crisis	David Ostendorf	5-7
Farmers in Crisis: A Pastoral Response	Walter Thiessen	5-8
What Do I Do New on the Rural Scene	Marcia Smith Wood	5-9
How You Can Help	Sherri Brown	5-10
The Church and Change in the Structure of Mining
The Destruction of Black Wolf	Denise Giardina	5-11
A Stand for Justice in the Coal Fields Christians and the Coalfield Conflict	(Editorial)	5-12
Christians and the Coalfield Conflict	Linda Johnson	5-13
Which Side Are You On, Sisters?	Ken Chumbley	5-14
Chronic Technical Disaster and the Irrelevance of Religious Meaning: The Case of Centralia, PA	Stephen Kroll-Smith and Stephen Crouch	5-15
The Church and Change in the Structure of Forestry
The Exploitation of Forests	Peter Moore	5-16
Forestry with a Softer Touch	Janet Stephenson	5-17
When a Tree Falls in the Forest	Brian Jaudon	5-18
The Church and Change in the Structure of Fishing
Fishermen as Victims	Linda Petruceli	5-19
Burning with the Fire of God: Calvinism and Community in a Scottish Fishing Village	Jane Nadel	5-20
When to Bear False Witness: An Evolutionary Approach to the Social Context of Honesty and Deceit Among Commercial Fishers	Craig Palmer	5-21

Projects

Additional Resources