The 2008 Yearbook of Churches:
don't leave home without it
 New
York, February 15, 2008 – It may not be escapist
reading, but the National Council of Churches'
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches can
certainly improve your grasp on reality.
Researchers and scholars have relied on the annual
Yearbook since 1916 as the most complete and accurate
source available of church membership statistics and
financial information. Many religion writers keep a copy
of it on their desks for ready access to histories,
descriptions and contact information for 224 national
church bodies. And each year, pastors and congregation
lay leaders discover more reasons the Yearbook should be
in their libraries.
"I've
been in church settings for a long time, as a pastor,
ecumenical staff person and seminary professor," says
the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the
National Council of Churches. "My appreciation for the
Yearbook continues to grow. When I want to be sure about
facts ranging from a date in a communion's history to
the address of a city council of churches, it's the
first place I look."
There are
many other reasons church leaders will find themselves
consulting the Yearbook. Among them:
• You have been approached
by a local pastor of the Apostolic Christian Church. His
congregation wishes to discuss with your congregation
the possibility of using your sanctuary on Sunday
evenings for worship. You wish to present this request
to your church board but you are not familiar with this
church and its traditions and beliefs. You consult the
directory for U.S. Religious Bodies, to read about this
denomination. For follow-up questions you contact the
church headquarters at the number listed in the
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches.
• Tornadoes sweep through
a neighboring state and your congregation wants to
provide relief supplies and a youth work camp to assist
victims. You open the
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches
and consult the directory of U.S. Ecumenical Bodies, to
obtain the name and contact numbers for the councils of
churches in the stricken area so you can forge a
partnership in a ministry of relief.
• There is a large
Muslim community in your town. Your church is planning
to host a community health fair in the year 2007. You
want to be certain that the date will not conflict with
any Muslim holidays. You consult the
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches
to find a date that is
respectful of all religious traditions.
• Your Stewardship
committee is planning a presentation to the congregation
to develop financial pledges to the church. Last year
per capita giving in your church was $613. The committee
is interested in how this compares to giving nationally
within your denomination and in others. You consult the
statistical information in the
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches,
which allows you to see your pattern of giving within a
larger context.
• Your congregation
will soon celebrate its centennial. A group is working
on writing a history of the parish. The group needs to
locate some records for your denomination, which are
nearly 100 years old. You consult Depositories of Church
History Material in the
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches,
which provides the group with the contact information
for your denominational archives.
• Your congregation,
working with other congregations in a local ecumenical
agency, recognizes the need to establish a local
ecumenical youth ministry. Many ideas about program,
focus, cost, and organization are put forward.
Consulting the
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches
chapter index for U.S.
Ecumenical Bodies, you note that nearly 40 ecumenical
agencies provide such programs. With the contact names
and addresses, you suggest your group collect some
information about what others are doing.
• A young woman in your
congregation is interested in pursuing a vocational
call. She doesn't know which seminary she should
consider and wonders how many women are engaged in
theological study. You refer her to the
2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches
where she finds in the directory of U.S. Theological
Schools and Bible Colleges, a complete listing of
schools with contact information and denominational
affiliation. In this section she is able to review
seminary enrollment statistics for women over the last
decade.
The 2008 Yearbook of
American and Canadian Churches costs $__ and may be
ordered at
www.electronicchurch.org |
