Scott Thumma
Study: Attendance hemorrhaging at small and midsize US congregations
By Yonat Shimron — October 14, 2021
(RNS) — The Faith Communities Today survey finds that half of the country’s congregations had 65 or fewer people in attendance on any given weekend, a drop from a median attendance level of 137 people in 2000.
‘COVID has been harder on us’: Some Black churches remain hesitant to reopen
By Adelle M. Banks — October 4, 2021
(RNS) — Black churches reflect a cautious approach on the part of ministers, reopening task forces and the average people currently not in the pews.
Largest Catholic parish in US being built in ‘heart of California’s dairy industry’
By Alejandra Molina — September 14, 2021
VISALIA, Calif. (RNS) — ‘It’s the best-kept secret in the nation — little Visalia building the largest parish church in modern U.S. history,’ said the Rev. Alex Chavez.
Bridging the digital divide, company gives churches free websites
By Adelle M. Banks — November 30, 2016
(RNS) More than 670 participating churches and nonprofits, many of them predominantly black or Hispanic, have new sites.
Southern Baptists decline as Assemblies of God grow
By Adelle M. Banks — June 7, 2016
(RNS) The Assemblies of God are benefiting from immigration -- particularly from Central and South America as well as Africa -- much more than the Southern Baptist Convention, an expert said.
The megachurch boom rolls on, but big concerns are rising too
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — December 2, 2015
(RNS) Attendance is still high but individuals worship less often and Gen-Xers are drifting away, according to a new study of 2,000-member-plus congregations.
Diana Butler Bass grounds herself in nature and finds God
By Jennifer Preyss — October 8, 2015
(RNS) Her latest book, “Grounded: Finding God in the World, a Spiritual Revolution,” champions a return to nature and an embrace of hospitality. It also begs a frequent question, “Where is God?”
Better than church? Religions’ social events have higher purpose
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — June 24, 2015
(RNS) People say these events strengthen their faith -- and folks with no religion like them, too, a new study finds.
Slow church movement fights the ‘McDonaldization’ of church
By Bob Smietana — March 27, 2014
(RNS) The book’s authors are part of a loose network of writers, friends, theologians and pastors who apply the lessons of the slow food movement to congregational life.
Can online Communion be a substitute for the real thing?
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — October 10, 2013
(RNS) The idea of online Communion raises fundamental questions about the definition of community, individual participation, the role of tradition and basic theological understandings of the meaning of Communion.
For aging religious leaders, is it still ’till death us do part’?
By Adelle M. Banks — February 25, 2013
(RNS) When aging religious leaders reach the top echelons of temporal and spiritual power, their followers have a certain expectation: Till death us do part. But Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise resignation has shifted that calculus, prompting introspection about when, if and how to let go of religion's senior management.
Page 2 of 2
