Church

The Basic Issue

A statement of my assessment of the place of the Church in the current dynamics of rural life is found in the opening statement of my current CV. My relation to this dynamic is articulated in the later portion of this document.

Rural Development Institute Research Studies

• "Local Development in Quebec" - Ray D. Bollman and Richard Rounds
  These three articles are from an international forum on perspectives on Rural Employment. The three papers deal with local development, local investment, and local industrial systems in Quebec. The church - clergy connection plays a significant part in these papers.

• "Issues in Institutional Restructuring in the Rural Sector" - Dr. Bruno Jean (Chap.1)in Changing Rural Institutions
  This chapter is a key one in dealing with the restructuring needs of rural institutions in general, which is a process the rural church is going through now. It comes from a sociological background in which the role of institutions in general plays a significant focus of attention.

  The paper outlines a framework for approaching the social change in rural society today. It holds up the classic sociological view of institutions as the locus of community life, and therefore an excellent window into the changing life in Rural Canada. He notes that there are institutions unique to rural life but that most rural and urban institutions are converging, so separating them out is not all that productive. What is of interest, he claims is the changes taking place owing to the :

  • withdrawl of state service provision
  • decline in population from urban migration
  • rise in he threshold of "critical mass" necessary to permit institutions to function in society in general.

  He holds that creativity is seen more in rural areas, but what he seems to be referring to is the fact that it is a long tradition on the prairies to engage problems with resources available and find new solutions out of necessity.

  All institutions, and voluntary ones in particular are faced with three alternatives:

  • protect themselves
  • maintain themselves
  • transform themselves

Other Resources