Alban Institute's Business is Helping Congregations
Diocesan Press Service. August 25, 1975 [75292]
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The conviction that "the congregation is the key to the effectiveness of the church " is the premise on which the Rev. Loren Mead , executive director, and his associates established The Alban Institute in 1974. The ecumenical, Washington-based organization seeks to challenge, support and nurture the laity in their ministries by helping congregations understand their tasks and by assisting them to use the experience of others.
One problem, according to Mead, is that whereas private industry has established the value of learning from the experience of others and budgets a portion of its income to this end, church institutions are historically disinclined to spend money for this purpose. "Consequently," Mead has observed, "congregations keep inventing wheels that have already been invented. "
The Alban Institute, however, is in the business of helping congregations learn from the successes and failures of others by linking producers of knowledge in religious systems with people who need that knowledge. Among the resources available are tapes, consultant resources and referrals, training events and specific services to meet specific congregational needs. Major research, publication and training efforts have gone into helping congregations find the "right" new minister.
The Alban Institute's commitment of service to congregations includes publishing many books and papers authored and edited by the institute's associates and other people who have experience in helping congregations develop effective ministries. Recent titles include The Second Industrial Revolution by Russell Ackoff, professor at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; The Task of the Church and the Role of its Members by Bruce Reed of England's Grubb Institute; Learning to Share the Ministry by James Adams and Celia Hahn; Religious Authenticity and Clergy Development by John Fletcher, and Religious Pilgrimage by Jean Haldane. Adams, Hahn, Haldane and Fletcher are residents of the Diocese of Washington. (From Washington Diocese, Sept. 1975)
* Mead was formerly director of Project Test Pattern, a project initiated by the National Advisory Committee on Evangelism.