Organizational readiness for wellness promotion - a survey of 100 African American church leaders in South Los Angeles.

BackgroundChurches are an important asset and a trusted resource in the African American community. We needed a better understanding of their readiness to engage in health promotion before launching a large-scale health promotion effort in partnership with South Los Angeles churches.MethodsIn 2017, we conducted surveys with leaders of 100 churches. Surveys were conducted face-to-face (32%) or by telephone (68%) with senior pastors (one per church) and lasted on average 48 min. We compared small (less than 50 active members), medium (50-99 active members) and large churches (at least 100 active members), and assessed which church characteristics were associated with the implementation of wellness activities.ResultsMedium and large churches conducted significantly more wellness activities than small churches and were more likely to have wellness champions and health policies. Regardless of church size, insufficient budget was the most commonly cited barrier to implement wellness activities (85%). A substantial proportion of churches was not sure how to implement wellness activities (61%) and lacked volunteers (58%). Forty-five percent of the variation in the number of wellness activities in the last 12 months was explained by church characteristics, such as size of congregation, number of paid staff, leadership engagement, having a wellness ministry and barriers.ConclusionsMany churches in South Los Angeles are actively engaged in health promotion activities, despite a general lack of resources. We recommend a comprehensive assessment of church characteristics in intervention studies to enable the use of strategies (e.g., stratification by size) that reduce imbalances that could mask or magnify study outcomes. Our data provide empirical support for the inner settings construct of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research in the context of health promotion in African American churches

(The) history and the present status of religion in state universities.

Typewritten sheets in cover. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University Bibliography: p. 73-80

“Upon this Rock”: architectural, material, and visual histories of two Black Protestant churches, 1881-1969

This dissertation comparatively analyzes the architectural and visual histories of two black churches as examples of the material contribution of African Americans to the nation’s built environment. As cultural repositories, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) (1881-1886), Washington, D.C., and the Shrine of the Black Madonna #1, Pan African Orthodox Christian Church (1925/1957), Detroit, MI, are two sites that represent distinct forms of Black Nationalism. The history of Metropolitan AME uncovers aspects of late nineteenth century Classical Black Nationalism cultural practice. The Shrine of the Black Madonna #1 reflects the revisionist agenda of the Black Cultural Nationalist Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The objective of this study is to expand through a cultural lens the growing body of scholarship that seeks to excavate under-recognized African-American visual and architectural traditions. This study contrasts different modes of claiming space for cultural affirmation: construction and real estate acquisition. Chapter one offers a rationale for the artifactual interrogation of African American churches and outlines the interdisciplinary methodologies employed in the case studies. In chapter two, Metropolitan A.M.E. Church’s architectural history presents an instance of an African American community using popular architectural and artistic styles in an associative manner to articulate racial advancement. Chapter three documents the aesthetic legacy of Metropolitan A.M.E. Church by considering the sanctuary’s stained glass window program, mural commissions executed by two rarely-discussed African American artists, donated art objects and the circulation of images of the religious site. Chapter four explores the Shrine of the Black Madonna #1’s 1957 purchase of a 1925 Colonial Revival ecclesiastical structure. This assessment contextualizes the lived interventions of a radical congregation to understand how shifts in material and visual patterns expressed cultural identity. Chapter five critically explores the aesthetic history of the Shrine of the Black Madonna #1 that begins with the Black Madonna and Child (1967) chancel mural by Glanton V. Dowdell. As the conclusion indicates, African American churches contain visible but hidden histories that expand African American art by introducing new iconographic considerations and revealing new art communities

A Study of the Spiritual Influence of the Arts on Christian Liturgy: with Special Emphasis on the Impact of Architecture on Seventh-day Adventist Worship Practice

From its beginning the Seventh-day Adventist church has taken seriously the commission of Christ to proclaim the gospel to all the world. In this endeavor she has laid emphasis on the spoken word in evangelism. It is not so surprising then that the rather controversial area involving the role of art in the visual proclamation of the gospel has received only passing attention. In view of the keen interest, and in some cases excesses, in art and architecture among the Christian churches today, however, the Adventist church cannot stand aloof. She is bound to be influenced and, therefore, needs to give concerted study to the relationship of art and architecture to the proclamation of her unique message to the world. Administrators, pastors, and leading laymen have a significant responsibility today to give wise counsel for the building and furnishing of houses of worship that will rightly represent the teachings of the church. It has been the purpose of this project to stimulate this kind of study, and to this end a number of recommendations are submitted for consideration. The final result, within the limits of this project, is the submission of suggestive guidelines for building committees of Seventh-day Adventist church buildings. The pursuit of this goal has required a wide survey of historical and current literature pertaining to church art and architecture. Interviews with pastors, architects, and artists have yielded valuable information. The field component has involved the study of some forty churches, some reflecting the traditional styles and others the contemporary trends. The sample churches are only illustrative. Criteria for evaluating the quality and suitability of the churches charted has fallen into three main areas: theological, practical, and aesthetic. It is expected that the basic principles established will have application not only for the church in North America but also worldwide. The material is organized in four main sections which correspond to the content of the four chapters: (1) the role of art in worship, (2) a brief historical survey of the main types of church architecture, (3) a survey of contemporary trends, and (4) governing considerations for a Seventh-day Adventist church. A summary chart at the end of each chapter provides a quick overview of the points made. Diagrams, floor plans, and pictures serve to make references to visual images more comprehensible. The appendices present additional church plans, church building check lists, and an index to pertinent counsels from the writings of Ellen G. White. The ultimate aim of the project is to lead people to a keener understanding and appreciation of worship in the beauty of holiness. Art, when true to its purpose, will lead worshippers to a fuller ascription of praise to God, the Creator and Lover of Beauty

A Legacy Cut Short The Impact of Pepperdine University on African Americans and South Los Angeles from 1937 – 1981

Due to the California gold rush in the 1800s, White Southerners seeking quick wealth flocked to the “free-state” of California. These new settlers included enslaved Africans, religion, and Southern attitudes that set the foundation for California to be a Southern-attitude state, which eventually attracted generations of free African Americans and a large White Southern population. White Southerners shaped California through passing discriminatory housing, education, banking, and employment policies against African Americans with the intention of marginalizing African Americans\u27 existence and limiting their economic opportunity. The Church of Christ was largely a Southern and Midwestern religion that was one of the last church denominations and its educational institutions to integrate. Pepperdine University was founded in 1937 in South Los Angeles, becoming the only Church of Christ educational institution to be integrated, which attracted African Americans from around the country seeking to have a Church of Christ religious education. Therefore, Pepperdine became an integral part of the Black Church of Christ. This dissertation provides a historical analysis of the intersection of race, location, and faith as Pepperdine University is forced to confront race during the university’s two-campus model from 1972 - 1981 that led to the final demise of the LA Campus

Congregation Activism in the Community: A Study of Faith-Based Leadership

Policymakers have acted as if the federal government was the prime mover in developing and supporting American communities with significant needs. That assumption is now being challenged not only by politicians who recommend funding faith-based initiatives, but also by scholars who make the case for giving the nation\u27s churches a central role in tackling community problems, including problems associated with poverty (Boddie, 2003). These scholars point out that, with over 300,000 congregations in America, faith-based organizations are strategically located in the community to address community needs (Boddie, 2003). As government services devolve to the community level, these scholars argue, congregations with spiritual and material resources are able to develop and transform communities. To date, there has been little systematic study of congregation activism in the community, in general, or faith-based initiatives, in particular. This qualitative study investigated congregation activism in two different churches and communities: (a) An African Methodist Episcopal church located in a Los Angeles community with a largely African American population and (b) a predominately White Lutheran church located in a rural part of San Diego\u27s North County with a substantial number of Hispanic residents, some of whom are undocumented immigrants. The investigation focused on three specific issues: (a) congregational versus pastoral leadership; (b) the impact that a congregation\u27s faith-based initiatives have on communities; and (c) the impact of initiatives on the spiritual lives of each church\u27s members. The study documented quite different approaches to pastoral and congregational leadership in the two congregations: In the African American church, nothing much happened without the direct support of the pastor; in the predominately White church, however, the clergy took a laissez-faire approach and members of the congregation were the prime movers. No matter what leadership pattern was operative, however, initiatives exhibited very little organizational infrastructure. In addition, in both congregations, the evidence of impact on the community was quite limited. Furthermore, although in each congregation there was some evidence that congregation members who were directly involved with initiatives were personally impacted by their involvement; the number of these individuals was quite small in proportion to the size of each congregation

A future with a history: the Wesleyan witness of the Free Methodist Church, 1960-1995 . Volume 1

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/freemethodistbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

Lilly Endowment Inc. - 2002 Annual Report

Contains board chair and president's message, program information, community development, religion, and education grantee profiles, grants list, and financial statements

The Pillar of Fire : yesterday, today and tomorrow

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/2184/thumbnail.jp

Pentecostal Women and Religious Reformation in the Progressive Era: The Political Novelty of Women’s Religious and Organizational Leadership

The Progressive Era in America from 1870 to 1920 introduced unprecedented change in the way Americans lived, worked, and thought about themselves in relation to the rest of the world. New platforms of charitable benevolence, religious activism, and legislative reform were enacted to meet the changed demographic landscape initiated by waves of new immigration from Europe. The tenor of religious worship shifted in mainstream and evangelical churches to reflect not only new ways of response to these changes, but new ideas of women as authoritative leaders in secular and religious institutions. Charismatic evangelical women influenced by an era of change worked to establish autonomous ministries unbeholden to clergymen who declined to accept their scriptural authority to preach or occupy the pulpit. Women who identified within Holiness and Pentecostal traditions were no longer content to preach from street-corners or rented meeting rooms. Instead, women who considered themselves prophets and preachers established ministries that supported their initiatives of religious reform and advancement of women