In 1890, Marshall Hudson, a Syracuse (New York) crockery merchant, began a men's Bible class, called Baraca. The aim of the class was to make happy or bless every man who came into the circle, and the class tried to have an engagement with its members every night of the week. Men and women were encouraged to study in separate classes with separate…

This paper presents a brief review of the ways in which a church has incorporated art activities, particularly drama, in its ministry. The contents of the paper include a discussion of the initiation of and planning for a church theater, a description of the activities offered as part of the drama program, an overview of the staffing of the drama…

This handbook was prepared for the guidance of participants in a workshop designed to help teach Greek Orthodox lay persons the basic elements for creating religious retreats. Part 1 of this document teach Greek Orthodox lay persons the basic elements for creating religious retreats. Part 1 of this document defines the meanings of the terms…

For more than a quarter of a century, both human service agencies and religious organizations have provided for the needs of the elderly. In order to study the relationship between these groups, clergy from mainline Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish churches and synagogues (N=34) and social service agency administrators in a midwestern suburb were…

Respite and in-home services have been identified by caregivers as vital for maintaining a frail older person in the community. A program called The Alzheimer Support/Tender Loving Caregivers Project was undertaken in northwest Indiana to strengthen the informal support network of disabled elderly in the community. An interfaith coalition of…

After discussing the church's increasing role in career development activities for youth, particularly high school students, the authors describe the Second Presbyterian Church's (Knoxville, Tennessee) career development program for grades 9-12, involving its ministers, religious education specialists, and laymen. The four steps in the program are…

This paper traces the history of professional meetings of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians from 1951 to 1976. It uses primary historical documents, primarily the proceedings of the various conferences, to trace the history of these meetings, the content of the papers presented, and the resolutions and actions taken. These meetings gave the…

Church-based programs for caregivers of black elders have emerged from both demographic and cultural factors. To investigate the effectiveness of a training program for caregivers of noninstitutionalized elders, 95 Washington, D.C. adults (99% black, 87% female), who were providing caregiving assistance to an older adult, completed a 12-hour…

In teaching basic health concepts in developing countries, puppets can be an inexpensive and interesting way to hold people's attention and to give them logical reasons for changing their behavior. Puppets are small, easy to transport and to operate, fun to see, have little cultural identification, can talk about embarrassing things, and can…

This paper traces the history of two mission projects and associated schools in rural Kentucky and examines how the missionaries' social constructions of reality with regard to Appalachia determined their actions. The two mission projects studied were Red Bird Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church and Hazel Green Academy of the…

The Pennsylvania Commission for United Ministries in Higher Education is seven Protestant communions working together to carry out a Christian Ministry in colleges and universities in the state. As part of the organization's tenth anniversary celebration conference, two presentations were given concerning future directions for higher education in…

Neither public nor private agencies address the extensive religious involvement that children and youth receive in child care facilities and foster home placement situations. In a five-state mid-west study (N=252), this paper examines religious practices in foster homes. The study identifies a strong Christian-based affiliation of foster homes.…

This Technical Committee Report focuses on theological, ethical, and spiritual values within the context of spiritual well-being from the perspective of institutionalized religion in America. The place of organized religion in regard to aging and its role in developing national aging policies is examined. A presentation of the data base for this…

The Catholic Church has a responsibility to create an environment in which the practice of the faith makes sense to Hispanics, and enables their religious vitality to express itself within the Church of the United States. Over the next one hundred years the Catholic population of the United States will be predominantly Hispanic. The Church and its…

Blacks have spent much time and energy "filling other people's pockets" (as Margaret Walker has said) but have not addressed the needs of their own community. Black communities are in a state of deterioration for which the treatment must be self-help. In this paper the example of an unhealthy organism is used as a metaphor for prescribing a cure…