2003
Geoffrey Thomas Boyer
Ministry in the Marketplace: A Study of the Process Used by St. Michael’s Episcopal Church Lansing, Michigan to Engage the Commerical Neighborhood of Which It is A Part
This congregational thesis is a detailed description of the steps and measures taken by a pastoral-sized congregation in decline to generate data for determining new ministry options in an adjacent commercial neighborhood. While the data are suggestive rather than conclusive, they raise questions about mercantile or marketing assumptions in relation to altruistic entities. A brief critique of market-driven economics is offered and a discussion of the “high theology of work” is presented. The concept of separating church and commerce – as a corollary to the separation of church and state – is also introduced.