Alban Institute closes its doors after 40 years T
he Alban Institute, founded four decades ago and used as a consulting and publishing
firm by Protestant denominations, announced March 19 it was shutting down. Its founder and former presi-
dent, Loren Mead, was a well-known resource regarding the future of U.S. denominations and was one of the first to predict denominational decline. In 2002, the Alban Institute, based
in Herndon, Va., had 40 employees before it downsized to 12 in 2013. Six employees remained when the orga- nization shut down. Many mainline churches had
looked to Alban to provide resources for maintaining their institutional life—on everything from finding a new pastor to strategies for growth and financial health. But as more publishers and consultants got into the business for which Alban paved the way, the institute found it difficult to continue its niche. Like other non- profits during the recent recession, it also lost revenue. At presstime, Alban was in talks
with Duke Divinity School, Durham, N.C., to assume its remaining assets, estimated at $300,000 to $500,000, with the possible creation of an “Alban Endowment Fund.” Alban’s publishing program was
acquired by Rowman & Littlefield, which will continue to publish 20 to 30 books a year on church gover- nance, leadership and development with the Alban imprint. The pur- chase includes about 270 active titles from authors such as Diana Butler Bass, Peter L. Steinke and Roy M. Oswald. In a letter from the board of direc-
tors posted on its website, its chair, Chicago attorney Case Hoogen- doorn, expressed gratitude to those who have helped Alban fulfill its mis- sion “to build up congregations and their leaders to be agents of grace and transformation to shape and heal the world.”
M
LWF membership continues to grow Paper stops presses The monthly Metro Lutheran has ceased publication after a 29-year presence in the Twin Cities. Editor Bob Hulteen announced the change in his March column, citing decreased advertising (80 percent of its budget at its peak) and contributions that couldn’t cover that income loss. The newspaper (
www.MetroLutheran. org) has been delivered primarily through some 750 Lutheran congre- gations in a 20-county area. Its board is examining other options for dis- seminating news, such as an email version. Hulteen is now director of communications and stewardship for the Minneapolis Area Synod.
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embership of the 142 churches (plus 10 recognized congregations and two recognized councils) belonging to the Lutheran World Federation stands at 72.3 million as of February 2014.
Since the statistics were last released in 2011, LWF membership
increased by 3 percent (600,000 people) in Africa and 19 percent (1.7 mil- lion) in Asia, respectively. Membership continued to decline in North America (down 7.8 per-
cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (down 0.3 percent) and Europe (down 1.6 percent). Among the 79 countries represented, Germany has the most Lutherans in the LWF (12.2 million).
According to the LWF, the top dozen churches in terms of membership are: 1. The Church of Sweden, 6.5 million. 2. Ethiopian Evangelical [Lutheran] Church Mekane Yesus, 6.3 million. 3. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, 5.8 million. 4. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, 4.4 million. 5. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, 4.15 million. 6. Protestant Christian Batak Church (Indonesia), 4.1 million. 7. ELCA, 3.95 million. 8. (Lutheran) Church of Norway, 3.8 million. 9. Malagasy Lutheran Church (Madagascar), 3 million. 10. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover (Germany), 2.8 million. 11. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (Germany), 2.51 million. 12. Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (India), 2.5 million.
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www.thelutheran.org
Commission launched Pope Francis appointed Marie Collins to a church commission charged with combating clergy sex abuse of minors. Collins, abused by a Roman Catholic priest in Ireland during the 1960s, is an advocate for justice for victims of 12
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