When Steeples Cry: Leading Congregations Through Loss and Change

When Steeples Cry is a book about embodiment—yours and mine—and the nature of loss occurring in North American church contexts. It is not meant to be a "how to" book, but it envisions you being a different kind of leader to your community. Written especially for church leaders and those seminarians who will serve in mainline Protestant churches, When Steeples Cry identifies the work of mourning as a significant aspect of being a church leader in North America today.



When Steeples Cry explores numerical, relationship, material, identity, functional, role, and systemic losses, and suggests how to grieve well and move on in healthy, life-giving ways.

The United Methodist Church (USA) has lost more than 3.3 million members. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost more than 2.3 million members since 1971. The Episcopal Church (USA) has lost more than 1.1 million members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church (USA) has lost more than 540,000 members, including a loss of 61,871 members between 2001-2002. Forty-five churches closed their doors in 2002. The majority of North American Protestant congregations and denominations, says Hamman, have experienced significant losses since the 1960s. Moreover, the dynamic and growing churches that are changing their traditions experience the loss of what was familiar to them. In many churches, losses past and present remain unnamed and unmourned.

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When Steeples Cry: Leading Congregations Through Loss and Change

When Steeples Cry is a book about embodiment—yours and mine—and the nature of loss occurring in North American church contexts. It is not meant to be a "how to" book, but it envisions you being a different kind of leader to your community. Written especially for church leaders and those seminarians who will serve in mainline Protestant churches, When Steeples Cry identifies the work of mourning as a significant aspect of being a church leader in North America today.



When Steeples Cry explores numerical, relationship, material, identity, functional, role, and systemic losses, and suggests how to grieve well and move on in healthy, life-giving ways.

The United Methodist Church (USA) has lost more than 3.3 million members. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost more than 2.3 million members since 1971. The Episcopal Church (USA) has lost more than 1.1 million members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church (USA) has lost more than 540,000 members, including a loss of 61,871 members between 2001-2002. Forty-five churches closed their doors in 2002. The majority of North American Protestant congregations and denominations, says Hamman, have experienced significant losses since the 1960s. Moreover, the dynamic and growing churches that are changing their traditions experience the loss of what was familiar to them. In many churches, losses past and present remain unnamed and unmourned.

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When Steeples Cry: Leading Congregations Through Loss and Change

When Steeples Cry: Leading Congregations Through Loss and Change

by Jaco J Hamman
When Steeples Cry: Leading Congregations Through Loss and Change

When Steeples Cry: Leading Congregations Through Loss and Change

by Jaco J Hamman

Paperback(New Edition)

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Overview

When Steeples Cry is a book about embodiment—yours and mine—and the nature of loss occurring in North American church contexts. It is not meant to be a "how to" book, but it envisions you being a different kind of leader to your community. Written especially for church leaders and those seminarians who will serve in mainline Protestant churches, When Steeples Cry identifies the work of mourning as a significant aspect of being a church leader in North America today.



When Steeples Cry explores numerical, relationship, material, identity, functional, role, and systemic losses, and suggests how to grieve well and move on in healthy, life-giving ways.

The United Methodist Church (USA) has lost more than 3.3 million members. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost more than 2.3 million members since 1971. The Episcopal Church (USA) has lost more than 1.1 million members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church (USA) has lost more than 540,000 members, including a loss of 61,871 members between 2001-2002. Forty-five churches closed their doors in 2002. The majority of North American Protestant congregations and denominations, says Hamman, have experienced significant losses since the 1960s. Moreover, the dynamic and growing churches that are changing their traditions experience the loss of what was familiar to them. In many churches, losses past and present remain unnamed and unmourned.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780829816945
Publisher: Pilgrim Press, The/United Church Press
Publication date: 05/28/2006
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 190
Product dimensions: 6.74(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

Jaco T. Hamman is assistant professor of pastoral care and counseling at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He received his PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments7
Introduction9
Chapter 1Grieving is the gospel23
Chapter 2All the church's losses, all the church's griefs46
Chapter 3Conversation-as-the-work-of-mourning73
Chapter 4Communion-as-the-work-of-mourning108
Chapter 5Compassion-as-the-work-of-mourning149
Conclusion175
Notes185
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