Charles Dickens, in a Preface to The Christmas Carol



“I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly.......” Charles Dickens, in a Preface to A Christmas Carol

Monday, August 15, 2011

Department 56 Snow Village Displays: Churches, Churches, Churches

 
Dept. 56, Original Snow Village,
"Country Church,' #50047
The First Churches in the Snow Village  In 1976 Department 56 of Bachman's Florists inventoried into its stock six ceramic buildings to be sold as decorations during the winter season.  This first offering included  four snow-encrusted houses and two churches, "Country Church," #50047 and "Steepled Church," 50054.






Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Steepled Church,"#50054
This line of Christmas miniatures was to become Department 56's largest:  The Original Snow Village.

Over the years, the line grew and evolved.  Homes and churches were supplemented by schools and barns and mobile homes, businesses and government buildings.  The Original Snow Village came to represent Main Street America, with its glorious array of unique homes, shops, restaurants and theaters, and idiosyncratic buildings.  Over the years Department 56 made licensing agreements to include businesses that have become household names, like Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Harley Davidson, and McDonalds.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Gothic Church," #50288
Lots of Churches in Snow Village Throughout the process, however, Department 56 continued to introduce churches.  Over the years Department 56 has introduced approximately 375 Snow Village buildings. (Note: it is not easy to define "building." For example, is a floating casino a "building?"  A lighthouse?)  Of that number, about 39 buildings have been churches, and there was also a parsonage.  Approximately 10% of all Snow Village buildings are churches, on average, about one a year.



Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Silent Night Church", #55378
In some ways, of course, this is understandable.  The Snow Village was originally conceived as a magical moment that, like a good photograph, sums up an entire time and place and evokes wonderful images.  Since the moment was during the winter, it implied Christmas.  Since it was Christmas, it implied church. Department 56 Silent Night Church

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Woodlake Chapel," 55068
Before Cable tv, video, smart phones and texting, and internet social media, there were organizations.  Some of the most ubiquitous were the family's churches, which were religious organizations with a social connection.  Entire school and event schedules were planned around church holidays,  Christmas and Easter notably.  Churches were important to whole families, so it is not surprising that Department 56 introduced so many churches.Dept 56 Woodlake Chapel

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Stone Church," 50096
Similar Churches  What is surprising is that some of the churches Dept. 56 introduced were so similar.  Consider the "Stone Church" of 1977, #50096, left with its two color versions.








Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Stone Church," #50591
Then take a look at the strikingly similar "Stone Church," #50591 of 1979.









Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Village Church," 50261
Or consider the Village Church, #50261, issued in 1983.










Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Parish Church," #50393
Then compare it to the "Parish Church," #50393, issued in 1984.  Different color, pretty similar church!

But my job is not to discuss the aesthetics of the Snow Village churches, or to speculate on the intent of Department 56.  My job is to help explain the cultural milieu that these villages represent.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Wooden Church,' 50318
Church Attendance in 1976 I tried to find data on church attendance in 1976.  That process became a snare and a delusion.  According to a Gallup poll, the "fraction of Americans who say that 'religion is very important in my life' fell from 75 percent in 1952 to 52% in 1978, but then recovered somewhat to 60% in 1999." (Source #1-See bottom of blog.)  However, many social scientists have questioned the results of such polls.  Many feel that people report what they "normally" do, but what they do on a specific day, thus raising the actual participation scores.  Nonetheless, over time, it is reported that somewhere around 40% of Americans report participating in some religious activity. Other recent studies suggest the number is exaggerated by half, and claim that only 20.4% of the population attend church each weekend. (Same   Source)

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Start a Tradition," #54623
Largest Denominations In the US there are approximately 335,000 religious congregations.  Of those, about 300,000 are Protestant, 22,000 are Catholic and Orthodox, and about 12,000 are non-Christian. (Source #2)  The following are the top five denominations/communions from the 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches:  Shady Oak Church Starter Set




Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Our Lady of Guadalupe,"
#4020215
1.  The Catholic Church, 68,503,456 members The Original Snow Village from Department 56 Our Lady of Guadalupe











Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Countryside Church,"
#50583
2.  Southern Baptist Convention, 16,160,088 members











Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"St Luke's Church," #54216
3.  The United Methodist Church, 7,774,931 members










Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Pioneer Church," # 50229
4.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) 6,058,907 members









Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Church of the Open Door,"
#50482
5.  The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members













Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"New Stone Church," #


Different Baptist Denominations It is interesting to note that, in the largest 25 denominations, there are multiple Baptist groups:  The Southern Baptist Convention (16,160,088 members); the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc., (approx 5,000,000 members); the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.(approximately 3,500,000 members); National Missionary Baptist Convention of America (approx. 2,500,000); American Baptist Churches in the USA, (1,310,505); and the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (1,010,000 members).

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"All Saints Church," #50709
Church Data There are some fascinating data on church attendance.  For example, "... while the United States has a large number of very small churches, most people attend larger churches....the smaller churches draw only 11 percent of those who attend worship.  Meanwhile, 50 percent of churchgoers attended the largest 10% of the congregations (350 regular participants and up." Source #4.) Dept 56 Snow Village All Saints Church & Choir Kids

In 2005, the four Christian groups who were growing the fastest were:

Dept. 56, Snow village,
"Cathedral Church," #50674
1.  The Orthodox Church in America, which reported a 6% increase, bringing total membership to about 1 million members








Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Town Church," #50717
2.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon), approx. 2% increase








Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Redeemer Church," #51276
3.  The Assemblies of God, approx. 2% increase Dept 56 Original Snow Village Redeemer Church 5127-6











Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Mission Church," #50625
4.  The Catholic Church, less than 1%











Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Good Shepherd Chapel and Church School,"
#54240
In comparison, the following mainline Protestant denominations declined:

1.  The United Methodist Church
2.   The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
3.  The Presbyterian Church USA
4.  The United Church of Christ
5.  The Southern Baptist Convention

Remember, data are tricky.  A 1% increase or loss in a huge denomination is a huge loss in actual number of people.  A 1% increase or loss in a small denomination is a small number of people.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Spanish Mission Church," #51551
One piece of information was very interesting.  The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has a full range of demographic comparisons among religions.  In identifying traditions that have the most members in post-graduate (i.e., post college) education, Hindus lead with 48% getting post-graduate degrees, while 35% of Jews do, 21% of "other faiths," and 20% of "other Christians."  Mainline churches have 14%, Catholics, 10%, and Orthodox,18%. (Source #5)





Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Parsonage," #50296
Clergy Data  There are about 600,000 Christian clergy in the US, including retired clergy, chaplains in hospitals, prisons and the military, denominational executives and ordained faculty at seminaries and divinity schools.







Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Trinity Church," #50350
What has been the profile of a clergyman in recent years?  First,  more clergy have entered religious service having already pursued another career.  The median age of solo or senior Protestant pastors is 51, while Roman Catholic priests have a median age of 56.  Assocate pastors are slightly younger.






Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"English Church," #50784
Image from
www.dept56retirees.com
Additionally, women are making up about a third of all seminary students, according to the Association of Theological Schools.  Thirty years ago women were less than 20% of seminary students.  Still, twice as many men as women completed the Masters in Divinity degree in 2005. (Source #6)

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"St. James Church," #50687
Salaries vary widely.  For example a Protestant pastor of a small congregation would receive, on average, a salary and housing package of $31,234.  But a Protestant pastor of a large denomination of more than 1000people may receive a package of just under $82,000.





Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Our Lady of Grace," #805503
Catholic priests, who have no families to support, receive less, between $21,000 and $26,095. (Source #7) on average, the mainline pastor spends 50.8 hours a week at work.Department 56 Snow Village Our Lady Of Grace Church








Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Holy Spirit Church,"
#55003
The salary gap between men and women clergy is narrowing.  In 1991, women earned 91% of men's salaries in comparable positions, but by 2001 the disparity had virtually disappeared.  However, 70 % of men were serving in medium or large churches, compared to 37 % of women.  Therefore, the gap in opportunity persists. Dept 56 Holy Spirit Church

Dept 56, Snow Village,
Colonial Church, #51195
Mega-Churches A new phenomenon in American Christian life is the growth of the "mega-church."  While this kind of church first appeared in the 1950, it was in the 80's that they experienced explosive growth. Dept 56 Original Snow Village Colonial Church 5119-5

Dept 56, Snow Village,
New Hope Church, #54904
By definition, a mega-church grows very quickly, generally over a 2 to 5 year period,  It is a congregation with 2000 or more parishioners that organizes itself with multiple ministries along program lines, and sets up structures for members to interact.  They typically have a charismatic pastor who attracts large crowds and who can build the church organizationally also.







Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Wedding Chapel," #54640
Wikipedia states that there are approximately 1300 Protestant mega-churches in the US, and about 50 of these have attendance from 10,000 to 47,000.  Catholic Churches with similar attendance are not seen as part of the movement, because they do not display the other characteristics associated with mega-churches. Dept 56 Original Snow Village Wedding Chapel 5464-0

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Congregational Church," #50342
The Snow Village churches I have included in this section may signify the size of some of the smaller mega-churches, but generally not the architectural elements.  Mega-churches are frequently new, large, with large lobbies, spacious auditoriums with theater seating, stages, sometimes video screens for easy viewing, and few religious symbols.





Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Stone Steeple Church,"
#55610
Mega-churches strive to be relevant to the modern person, and sometimes those who are "unchurched" or not attracted to traditional religious approaches.  Obviously, the Department 56 Snow Village churches follow the more traditional architectural forms.

Dept 56, Snow Village,
"Mount Olivet Church," #54429



Most often, mega-churches are in suburban areas, in locations that are highly visible, have easy access, and room to expand.    Mega-churches tend to  attract a certain demographic of people:  consumer-oriented, highly mobile, well-education, middle class families.  Dept 56 Original Snow Village Mount Olivet Church

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Happy Easter Church," #55325
Over 75% of these nega-church congregations are located in the Sunbelt states.  California has the highest concentration, followed by Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Meadowbrook Church," #55349
Denominational affiliation is not critical to mega-churches.  The church, its pastors, and programs attract members, and generally the denomination does not.  Consequently, most are independent and non-denomination.  However, about 20% are Southern Baptist, 9% are Assemblies of God, and 10% have historical ties with African American denominations. (Source #8) Meadowbrook Church 


Source #1:  From Robert D. Putnam, citing Mayer, The Changing American Mind, http://books.google.com/books?id=rd2ibodep7UC&pg=PA453&lpg=PA453&dq=religion+is+very+important+in+my+life+75%25+in+1952&source=bl&ots=G3EapXtjV2&sig=YulX3Xesa1zAAWhG1dfZqfk9pVE&hl=en&ei=o1ZJTtW6DenmiAK278DuAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=religion%20is%20very%20important%20in%20my%20life%2075%25%20in%201952&f=false
Source #2:  Hartford Institute for Religion Research, http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html#numcong 
Source #3:  Hartford Institute for Religion Research, same URL as #2 above.
Source #4:  The National Congregations Study,
  http://www.soc.duke.edu/natcong/ as reported in the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, same URL as #2 above.
Source #5:  The Pew Forum on Religion and public Life http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#
Source #6: The Association of Theological Schools, as reported in the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.  se URL #2 above.
Source #7: Jackson Carroll, as reported in the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.  See URL in #2 above.
Source #8: http://cbelan.free.fr/documents/megachurches.pdf

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Department 56 villages are a wonderful way to start a new tradition, or you can continue to add on to your current village with new selections for the year.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know where the fuse is located in the 6-light D56 cord?

Thecath Travel Tips and Other great Tips said...

I recently acquired a dfs country church (50047) whose signage to the left of the door reads ‘The Chapel’ versus another country church that I also have whose signage reads ‘Wayside Chapel Welcome Traveler’. Both versions have sold for similar money on eBay. Does anyone have thoughts as to which version came first or any other way to estimate date/age? Thanks