The Catholic Experience of Small Christian Communities - Softcover

Lee, Bernard J.; D'Antonio, William V.; Elizondo, Virgilio P.; Killen, Patricia O'Connell; Rodriguez, Jeanette; Whitehead, Evelyn Eaton; Whitehead, James D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0809139375 ISBN 13: 9780809139378

Publisher: Paulist Pr, 2000

Synopsis

The future of the church At a time when overall church attendance is dropping, many Catholics are becoming not less involved but more. This is due in large part to the phenomenal growth of small Christian communities. A wide-scale sociological study headed by the authors examined who these community members are, what they did in their groups, why they joined, and what difference the groups make. The findings are summarized in this book, as well as considerations of what the findings mean. Small-group members, the study concludes, are apt to be more aligned with the parish, more social, more vocal, and more active than other Catholics, making their impact on the church of undeniable importance. The book-- --gives an overview of the phenomenon's recent history --shows how small Christian communities connect Word to world --includes a theological reflection on this U.S. experience --offers practical pastoral recommendations for working with small Christian communities --investigates groups on college and university campuses as well This is important reading for-- o pastors o diocesan offices o sociologists o small group leaders

About this title

Reviews

Lee (Loyola Univ., New Orleans), a Marianist priest and theologian, joins sociologist D'Antonio (Catholic Univ. of America) to detail a 1995-1997 study of the post-Vatican II phenomenon of small lay communities developing within the U.S. Catholic Church. More traditional groups, such as secular institutes and third orders, were not included in the project, which was conducted by researchers and theologians. This large census of small Christian communities (SCCs) found at least 37,000 groups with a strong parish connection. Types sampled were categorized as general SCCs, Hispanic/Latino, Charismatic, Call to Action, and Eucharist centered. The results show that the deep need for belonging and faith sharing are not met on the parish level alone and hark back to the household communities of the early church. This careful study may serve as a model for future ones monitoring the changing ways of faith living. It should be carefully considered by religious decision-makers. Recommended for religion and sociology collections.
-Anna M. Donnelly, St. Johns Univ. Lib., New York
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Paulist Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809139375
• ISBN 13: 9780809139378
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 191