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Volume One Number Two May 2004 |
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Each newsletter issue contains two feature articles. The first feature is a summary of religion research findings often drawn from several of the web sites covered by this newsletter. A second feature article will be an in-depth review of the content offered by one of the more than 20 web sites associated with the InSites into American Religion project. What Clergy do All Week Many church members might think the life of the pastor is spent preparing for that one hour Sunday worship. A new survey of Roman Catholic and Protestant pastors shows they do a lot more. The survey and full report of the findings is available at the Pulpit and Pew web site. The survey by Becky R. McMillan, titled, “What do clergy do all week?” finds that preparing for preaching and worship is, indeed, the most time-consuming task. But clergy also find the time to provide pastoral care, attend meetings, train people for ministry and assist in denominational and community-wide events. A majority of full-time Protestant pastors reported working between 42 and 63 hours a week. During that week, the two biggest tasks were preparing for Sunday morning services (one-third of their time) and providing pastoral care (nearly one fourth of their time). Catholic priests, the survey found, work more hours - a median of 53 hours vs. 46 hours for Protestant clergy. Those extra hours were devoted to administrative tasks. The survey shows that priests spend 31 percent of their workweek overseeing the church, compared to 14 percent among Protestant pastors. McMillan suggests this is because Catholic parishes tend to be larger than Protestant congregations, and priests may rely less on lay leaders to manage administrative affairs. Like Protestant pastors, Catholic priests also spend nearly a third of their time -31 percent - preparing for worship. African American pastors worked the longest hours of all, and spent more time teaching and attending to denominational or community affairs. The median workweek for black pastors was 72.3 hours, regardless of denomination. Male and female pastors work about the same number of hours each week, the survey found. However, women pastors tend to spend more time in pastoral care and in administration and less time preparing for preaching. Female pastors spend 24 percent of their time providing pastoral care; male pastors spend 19 percent. Female pastors spend 23 percent of their time attending to administration; male pastors only 15. That leaves female pastors with about a quarter of their time getting ready for Sunday worship, while men devote one-third. Having hired help, the survey found, does not free the pastor to work fewer hours. In churches with more than one minister, the senior pastor spent a few more hours on administrative duties, while keeping roughly the same amount of time for the other core tasks of ministry. Senior pastors, the survey showed, worked a median of 54 hours compared to 49 hours for pastors with no ordained clergy working alongside them. The survey does not attempt to explain why senior pastors work more hours. Finally, a comparison of mainline and conservative Protestant pastors showed that conservative clergy spend more time on preaching and worship and less time on administration. While mainline pastors spend 20 percent of their time attending meetings and running the church, conservative pastors spent only 12 percent of their time on those tasks. Conservative pastors also spent more hours in prayer and meditation, about 10 percent of their time compared to 6 percent among mainline Protestants. To read the full report on this topic visit www.pulpitandpew.duke.edu/clergyweek.html
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Calvin
Institute of Christian Worship
The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship “aims to promote the scholarly study of the theology, history, and practice of Christian worship and the renewal of worship in congregations.” The web site is a rich and diverse resource of practical help for congregational leaders and also stimulating and though-provoking presentations about the practice of Christian worship in a global context. John D. Witvliet directs the Institute. Dr. Witvliet also serves as Dean of the Chapel and Associate Professor of Worship, Theology, and Music at Calvin College. He is also supervisor of campus worship and conducts the 80-voice Calvin College Campus Choir. While visiting the site, make sure to check out
the Institute’s worship planning resources which are The site excels in drawing together concerns about social justice with reflections on contemporary worship trends and the use of the arts and space issues in the liturgical context. The information on the site about the use of technology in worship, articles on diverse worship practices globally, and news of upcoming worship conferences is also particularly helpful.
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| Hidden
in most web sites are gems of knowledge, pages known only to the web
developers. In this regular column we hope to uncover and highlight some
of those treasures. Enjoy!
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| True
to its name, this section will highlight an interesting, useful and
educational feature of one of the affiliate web sites. The section will
also identify newsworthy information about conferences, grant programs
and deadlines, and new informational resources.
Want to know what is going on in your pews?
Want to survey your members?
Need some data?
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| The
Tech Tips section will include handy items of interest regarding web
resources, techniques for Internet searching and browsing and other
facts to facilitate doing ministry in our technological world.
How to improve your use of search engines We all use search engines to find what we need on the web, but do you know how to find what you need quickly? These few tips will help you search more efficiently:
What to search your favorite book?
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InSites is a quarterly E-newsletter designed to educate the public about the web resources from religion institutes and projects related to the initiatives in religion of the Lilly Endowment, Inc. This is a joint project of Scott Thumma, Hartford Seminary and Joe Coalter, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Scott Thumma is the newsletter editor, with assistance and writing by Samantha Gonzalez and Yonat Shimron. An abbreviated version of the e-newsletter is distributed quarterly via email. If you would like to receive this email please send a subscription email to InSites@hartsem.edu and request either the html or text version. An Adobe pdf version of the newsletter is available online for printing and distributing. To open a pdf document you must have the free Adobe reader installed on your computer. Download the program at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Everyone is free to print and distribute the newsletter. Permission to excerpt and reprint portions of the newsletter content is hereby given. Send an email to InSites@hartsem.edu for more information about the newsletter or to offer suggestions and feedback. An archive of previous issues is available at the Resources for American Christianity web site at www.resourcingchristianity.org Please forward the newsletter to a Friend! |
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This
quarterly electronic newsletter is dedicated to promoting the work and
research of over twenty web sites of religion institutes, programs and
projects related to the initiatives in religion of the Lilly Endowment,
Inc. The newsletter
offers informative summaries of research and news contained on these web
sites in an effort to make this information more widely known and used. 
organized around
liturgical themes or current interest topics. For instance, this section
of the site features a checklist for planning worship services that
reflect a concern for justice and a very helpful “wedding planning
checklist.” These resources on this site will be particularly useful
for pastors and worship leaders, but they are also an excellent source
of information for professors of worship and others interested in the
worship life of congregations. 
Ever wonder what clergy think about the ministry they do? The Explore
Ministry web site has an interesting section of interviews with clergy
about their call and ministry. Check it out at 
Did you ever wonder about the demographic profile of the average person
in the pew? How often would it help to know the spiritual habits and
personal practices of your congregational members. The U.S.
Congregational Life Survey (USCLS), containing information on over
300,000 church attenders, sheds insight into these and many other
issues. In addition to being able to read about these and other findings
on the USCLS web site 
Use 